By Staff
May 25th, 2017
BURLINGTON, ON
As people think about whether or not they will attend the Meridian Brick information meeting this evening they might want to read over the note that the Mayor posted on his linked In page.
He said:
“After extensive review by staff in several city and regional departments, we have come to understand that Meridian Brick is within its legal rights and that the Province of Ontario, not the City of Burlington, has jurisdiction over this matter.”
Site of the third shale pit that the brick company wants to begin mining.
He appears to have washed his hands of this issue; those in the Tyandaga community are on their own.
The Meridian meeting is at 7:00 pm at the Crossroads Centre at 1259 North Service Road just west of Kerns Road.
Related article:
What is the issue behind the mining of shale for brick manufacturing.
Vince ~ Applaud your ethical, earth conscious & humanitarian principles. As with everything that threatens the planet, & species survival, follow the money. I was looking for corporate info about Meridian Brick, but only got this > https://www.forterrabrick.com/about-us. No principals owners listed, no trading data, no financials. Yet, as a self-proclaimed First in North America, rest assured they know their way around municipal, provincial & national ‘ecological standards’. ~ It is surprising that the NEC isnt objecting, but I’m guessing the company’s license to extract was in place before the NEC & Greenbelt got ‘ratified’. It also is surprising that the RBG Eco-Park initiative is ‘quiet’ about this. Again, my guess is that the decades of tax revenue into the coffers of the City of Burlington, compounded by a supportive local ‘construction’ industry, would deter ‘legal’ action. (There may even be a NAFTA challenge, as apparently the HQ of Meridian is States side …) All in all, this will be a tough one to fight & win. Public opinion is the only way to generate support & opposition. Signing the petition isnt enough. Pressure has to come from the press & supportive groups, like the Sierra Club, World Wildlife Federation, Bruce Trail, Nature Canada etc. ‘Endangered species’ will help, and it’s obvious that the salamanders are there as King is a ‘cross walk’ to breeding pools. ~ Overall, one wonders about the ‘right mindedness’ of the quarry owners. The only feasible understanding of activating this site is ‘profit’. The location & infrastructure has the shale close to market. Who ARE the owners, the people, behind the quarry? The public needs to know.
People of Burlington will remember next election, Mr Mayor.
I don’t believe Mayor Goldring has washed his hands at all. He has stated the facts.
Plain and Simple.
I have walked this forest and in my opinion, its ecologically significant. This is the only woodlot I’ve seen in Burlington that does not have a problem with invasive trees (Buckthorn and Honeysuckle). While I did not see any of the reported endangered salamanders, I did see New Jersey Tea, which is the host plant for the endangered Mottled Duskywing Butterfly which is present in Burlington.
About a 1000 residents live within a kilometer of the proposed quarry. The character and nature of their neighborhoods will be changed if this quarry expansion proceeds.
Nearly 2000 people have signed this petition to save this ecologically significant forest. https://www.change.org/p/kmcgarry-mpp-co-liberal-ola-org-stop-meridian-brick-from-clear-cutting-burlington-s-forest
Obviously, more than just the people who live next to the quarry care about saving this ecologically significant ecosystem.
IMO, ecosystems have a rights, just like people and corporations. If the earth is to continue to support life, we must balance what is good for human beings against what is good for other species. I would include this ecosystem in the Mayor’s constituency as per a legal construct known as the “Rights of Nature” which is an international movement, supported by a growing number of municipal, regional and national governments. Link: https://therightsofnature.org/what-is-rights-of-nature/
No one should have to remind Mayor Rick Goldring that the primary role of elected representatives is to represent their constituents. Whether or not the mayor believes a barren hole in the ground is a more important than preserving an ecologically significant forest within walking distance of a thousand Burlington residents is beside the point. He has an obligation to represent the interests of his constituents first.
If the mayor wanted to defend this forest, he could point out that the permit for this quarry expansion was issued well before the Ontario’s Species at Risk Act 2007 was passed, and should be revisited. He could also consider if municipal services that the city provides Meridian Brick warrant a “review”. (Roads, utilities, permits….) As mayor, I’m sure he come up with many creative ways to be a thorn in he side of Meridian Brick, if he was truly concerned about local conservation issues.
I will attend this meeting tonight:
Meridian Brick’s Community Meeting
7:00pm, Thursday, May 25, 2017,
Town Square Café, Crossroads Center, 1295 North Service Road, Burlington
I hope our local elected representatives Mayor Rick Goldring, City Councillor Rick Craven and MPP Eleanor McMahon will also attend.
I also hope to see representatives of Meridian Brick at this meeting and I expect that everyone will show them respect. As the Mayor said, they have a legal right to exploit the Queenston Shale resource under the forest. That doesn’t mean they must exploit it. I’m hoping people attending this meeting will help convince Meridian Brick to seek a solution to this problem, that preserves Burlington’s natural heritage as well as their bottom line.