MPP Mike Schreiner criticized the Local Planning Appeal Tribunal’s (LPAT) decision to rule in favour of Hidden Quarry applicant James Dick Construction Ltd.
Yesterday, the LPAT released a decision ruling in favour of opening a 61.5-acre quarry at Highway 7 and 6th Line outside Rockwood. Schreiner pointed out the impact on residents who had been working for years as opponents to the quarry.
“This is a devastating decision for citizens in Halton Hills and Wellington County who have worked so hard to defend a precious resource - the water we drink,” Schreiner said in a press release. “Nothing is more important than protecting the long-term supply of our drinking water, and yet Ontario’s weak aggregate and water-taking rules continue to put private profits first.”
The seven month wait for a decision came after an eight-week long tribunal in July 2019. Local governments and residents raised issues with the site such as a negative impact on local wildlife, debris from blasting and groundwater contamination. Schreiner said he put forward the Paris Galt Moraine Conservation Act to put projects such as the Hidden Quarry under more strict evaluation.
“If my private member’s bill was passed, then projects like this would be assessed under a much more rigorous land-use planning framework that puts food and water first,” he said in a press release. “Without such a framework, we are allowing industrial pressures on our water supply to pile up, on top of drought and other threats brought on by climate change.”
The decision is likely final because further appeals can only be made based on errors in law made by the tribunal.
Schreiner also expressed his gratitude for resident action and reiterated his environmental support.
“I want to thank the local governments and citizens who spent time and money opposing this quarry and protecting our water and communities,” he said in a press release. “I will continue to support people pushing for stronger laws to protect the natural environment that gives us the water we drink.”
