A version of this story was first published by MiltonToday, a Village Media publication.
The premier and his candidate in the Milton byelection are sending mixed messages about a proposed quarry that's fiercely opposed by some local residents.
After ensuring concerned residents and officials four years ago that he'd put a stop to the proposed Campbellville quarry, Ford said Monday his government will decide once the project’s environmental assessment (EA) review process — started last December by proponent James Dick Construction Ltd. (JDCL) — is completed.
“Well, it's under environmental assessment,” Ford responded to a question from MiltonToday on his commitment during a transit announcement in Milton Monday. “We encourage all members of the community to write their comments in. And then when that time comes, we'll make a decision on that.”
At a community meeting organized by ACTION Milton last month, Zeeshan Hamid, the local byelection candidate for the PCs, told the audience that Ford told him he'd stop the project from happening — while first letting the environmental assessment process play out.
We have reached out to the premier’s office for confirmation of that, but haven’t received a response.
The chair of ACTION Milton, a group that opposes the quarry, questioned the necessity of the EA.
“There is no logic to this continuing anymore,” George Minakakis, said in a previous interview, calling it a waste of taxpayers' money and time. “The premier has the opportunity and the ability, and the support of the community, to do this.”
The approximately 72-acre site for the proposed Reid Road Reservoir Quarry is located at 9210 Twiss Rd.
JDCL plans to extract up to 990,000 tons of aggregate annually by underwater blasting. Community members — along with the Town of Milton and Halton Region — have raised concerns about potential health and environmental impacts, including endangering water supply for more than 20,000 residents.
