A quarry, a Council, and a matter of integrity

February 5, 2026 · 0 Comments

by SHERALYN ROMAN

When one assumes a political role there’s an expectation of respect and decency, and that one would hold themselves to a set of standards appropriate to holding public office. While fewer and fewer examples of this play out at all levels of government these days, at least at the local level, when your peers on Council might also be your next-door neighbour, we should expect better of one another. It’s arguable, that someone contracted by the Town to work specifically in the role of Integrity Commissioner, would hold themselves to an even higher standard. Over the course of this past term of Council however, none of this appears to be true. Add in the concerted efforts of CBM/Votarantim to disturb the integrity of Caledon’s land and water, destroying our once proud reputation as “the Greenest town in Ontario” and the concept of integrity is as grainy as quarry dust.

The meeting of Council on January 27, was a contradiction. Fractious interactions between our Mayor and members of Council, the Integrity Commissioner and members of Council combined with resident frustrations with the IC have reached the boiling point. Members of the public have had enough of the conflicts and heated discussions taking place between Council members, the Mayor and the Integrity Commissioner. There is too much at stake in Caledon right now for a divided Council. We need everyone working together and strong leadership that respects the contributions of every member.

Yet on the other hand, that same meeting also saw Council coming together to present a united front to address concerns about the aggregate industry and its direct impact on our town.

Council agreed to continue advocacy for strengthening requirements on air quality, dust mitigation, to safeguard agricultural lands, and the protection of groundwater and surface water through their commitment to send letters to all levels of government and to pursue potential involvement with TAPMO. While it’s not enough, and the integrity of our agricultural and greenbelt lands is at stake, it was a small step in the right direction. Next, we’ll need every member of Council to be bold, to stand with integrity and vote against the quarry application.

Speaking of quarries, 150+ residents attended in person (and more online) a meeting to discuss the proposed CBM/Votorantim quarry debacle (oops, I mean proposal) that will deeply impact Caledon for generations. Delegates came armed with facts and figures, and passion, advocating for the integrity of 800+ acres of prime agricultural land to remain undisturbed, to protect the Credit River, wetlands, species at risk, the tree canopy and of course, the safety of drinking water throughout the area. Spreading across both sides of Charleston Sideroad and both sides of Main St. (the main thoroughfare leading into the small village of Alton) this is no ordinary quarry.

The plan is to dig below the water table. Well, actually, not to dig, but rather to blast. Apparently Votorantim, not content with the billions of tonnes of aggregate already held in reserve (enough to last four decades) nor it seems, with their billions of dollars in corporate assets, sent paid representatives to the public meeting, promising that they (CBM) “look forward to continued open dialogue.”

Here are just a few examples of what that looked like: A number of well-informed delegates spoke to the varied, and serious, concerns of allowing a blasting quarry in Caledon. They were able to point out obvious “misstatements” by the company and at least one direct contradiction between what was presented vs. what was contained in their submission materials. As this was the second of two public meetings (the first being almost two years ago) CBM provided follow-up information to residents concerned about well, and groundwater contamination. Assuring those gathered that they had listened, they announced they now have a “Private Well Complaints Procedure.”

Promising a response to a resident’s call within 24 hours sounds good except when measured against the caveat that they will only take action if they believe the problem to be a result of their blasting quarry. So, the folks you’re complaining to about damaging your well and endangering your family, and/or your livestock’s well-being, are the same folks who police the process of investigating who is at fault. That should work out just fine. For Votorantim that is. Worse still, CBM/Votorantim’s studies suggest only 23 known private wells are “at risk.” Those residents with wells (estimated in the hundreds) sitting just outside the extremely small “at risk” zone rightly scoffed at what might happen when their own wells run dry or become contaminated.

Still on the issue of water, this time related to the integrity of what gets dumped in the Credit River, and how it gets there, residents were told the details of an arrangement between TPC Osprey Golf Course and CBM/Votorantim were “confidential.” So, a deal that allows excess water to be pumped from the quarry, to water the golf course, is a mystery. Also a mystery? How that water will be monitored for contaminants when it flows through the golf course, its settlement ponds, and then eventually into the credit river watershed. Oh, and this: where is all the water going to go for the six months of the year no one plays golf and the grass won’t need watering? I guess we’ll never know.

The company also addressed concerns about flyrock, a predictably unpredictable side effect of a blasting quarry. They promised to ensure “flyrock is not permitted to leave the site.” The snickers were audible. When you use dynamite to make a big hole even bigger, sending flying rocks everywhere, in all directions, all at once, and at dangerous velocities, I’m not exactly sure how you prevent “permitting” it from leaving the property? A stern exhortation to behave perhaps?

The integrity of the entire process was called into question repeatedly and with little wonder. If the paid representatives can’t even keep the materials of their own presentation straight, yet residents, like the dedicated members of the Forks of the Credit Preservation Group, are able to put together clearly articulated, well-researched and fact-based presentations on the dangers of blasting quarries, why on earth would anyone believe anything this multi-national company has to say?

Finally, if you’re thinking none of this impacts you because “I don’t live nearby,” I beg to differ. We are a community in crisis. Our roads are already over capacity, dangerous and ill-equipped to handle 75 additional fully-loaded aggregate trucks every hour, for 23 hours a day/six days a week on all of our major roadways. Such volumes put your family and mine at risk. The final irony? While we blast away at this giant new hole in the ground, just down the road we’re filling in other giant, now redundant holes in the ground (meaning yet more trucks) with all manner of “fill,” that is possibly or probably, depending on who you ask, contaminated.

Our agricultural land is already being plundered at an alarming rate not just by quarries but also by illegal trucking yards. Caledon’s once “Greenest Town in Ontario” label is but a distant dream as is our, “proactive environmental initiatives and commitment to sustainability.” Meanwhile, an Office of the Auditor General’s report from 2023 found violations by aggregate companies were “widespread in the industry, self-reporting was failing, and that there are “no guarantees of rehabilitation of pits and quarries.” Kind of calls into question the integrity of the industry doesn’t it?

By the way, integrity means “the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles,” or, as it relates to the land “the state of being whole and undivided, upholding territorial integrity.”

Integrity indeed.