Event at GoodLot will update residents on proposed blasting quarry

Reform Gravel Mining Coalition stopping in Caledon on August 29 as part of “Rock Tour” series

By ZACHARY ROMAN

Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Caledon residents can receive updates on a proposed blasting quarry in Town later this month.

On August 29, the Reform Gravel Mining Coalition (RGMC) and Forks of the Credit Preservation Group (FOTCPG) are hosting an event at GoodLot Farmstead Brewing Co. in Alton.

The “Caledon Mega Quarry Beerfest” begins at 6:30 p.m. and David Sylvester, chair of the FOTCPG, said he's very thankful to GoodLot for providing their brewery space for free to host the event. 

The event is part of the RGMC's “Rock Tour” series that began in July and will continue until October. The RGMC is hosting events in communities across Ontario that are fighting against the impacts of aggregate extraction. 

The tour is being held to “celebrate the cherished rural places that provide Ontarians with healthy food, safe drinking water, clean air, and outdoor enjoyment,” according to an RGMC media release.

Brazilian conglomerate Votorantim Cimentos has proposed an over 700-acre below-water table blasting quarry south of Alton to extract limestone bedrock. The quarry has become known as the “Caledon Mega Quarry” thanks to a recent FOTCPG lawn sign campaign. 

According to the RGMC, there is no need for new pits or quarries in Ontario. The coalition said every year the Province authorizes companies to extract 13 times more sand, stone, and gravel than is needed to meet average annual consumption.

“It is time for the province to regulate aggregate just like every other non-renewable resource, from cod to natural gas—based on a rational analysis of supply and demand,” reads the RGMC media release.

Sylvester said the August 29 event will be more fun and casual than the FOTCPG's previous meetings due to its location, but that it will be equally as important. He said he expects to fill GoodLot to capacity with attendees and then bring them all up to speed on the group's efforts.

The FOTCPG's lawyer will be in attendance to update Caledon residents on the legal path the group has been taking against the mega quarry. The group will also be giving residents updates on the progress made by the Town of Caledon in updating its aggregate policies. Sylvester said Caledon has tremendous potential to protect its citizens from the impacts of aggregate extraction with new policies if Town planners are creative and courageous enough. 

Sylvester said the FOTCPG is continuing to meet with, and hire, technical experts to go through the thousands of pages of documentation submitted by Votorantim Cimentos for its proposed quarry. He said it's a time-consuming but critical process to ensure nothing slips by the group.

“I'm pleased with the continued progress, ambition, and enthusiasm that our group has maintained,” said Sylvester.

He said the group's recent “Say NO to the Caledon Mega Quarry” sign campaign has been going really well. 

“The demand for the signs has astonished and delighted us,” said Sylvester. “We've created over 200 now and we are giving them out as fast as we can make them.”