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Public meeting being held by Highland Companies opposition

BY Staff January 15, 2010 17:01

According to the North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Task Force (NDACT), the Highland Companies has amassed landholdings in Melancthon and Mulmur Townships, in the County of Dufferin, of over 7,000 acres of farmland.

NDACT said the Highland Companies is poised to file an application for a limestone quarry that could be as large as 2,400 acres. The quarry could extend 200 feet deep, which would take it below the water table.

More than a million people's water will be compromised, the group claims.

NDACT is holding a public meeting this Sat., Jan. 16 called Community in Crisis: Your Water, Your Land, Your Future, Your Community from 10 a.m. to noon at the Norduff Room in the North Dufferin Community Centre at the Honeywood Arena, 706114 County Rd. 21, Honeywood, Ontario.

Guest Speakers are Stephen Ogden, Mark Calzavara (from the Council of Canadians) and Dini Petty.

In June 2009, the Highland Companies sent a letter to a planning consultation company in Barrie that said it was planning on filing a license application with the Township of Melancthon under the Aggregate Resources Act "to permit the extraction of aggregate".

NDACT said the land sits on the aquifer and is a source area for the Nottawasaga River and the Grand River systems, which eventually flow into the Humber and Credit rivers.

NDACT has lobbied local, provincial and federal governments to stop Highland's proposed quarry.

The Highland Companies said it is the operating and investment vehicle for a group of private investors based in Canada and the United States. It said it is creating a diversified portfolio of sustainable local businesses in and beyond Melancthon Township in Dufferin County.

For information about the public meeting, contact Nanci Malek at 519-925-0591.

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