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Our Communities obviously disagree with the company’s interpretation of events and suggestions that the provincial government’s decisions were made inappropriately or for improper purposes.

• It is clear that this proposed development has been under review for over 7 years.
• Staff and elected officials in Hamilton, Burlington, Milton and the Region of Halton, as well as their Officers of Medical Health, objected to the proposed quarry, as did other public agencies such as Conservation Halton, the Niagara Escarpment Commission, the Hamilton Wentworth District School Board, MNR and MOE. Indeed, they have all recently reconfirmed their objections.
• More than 1200 area residents formally objected to the proposal.
• Opposition to the development crosses all political parties, including MPP Ted Chudleigh (PC - Halton), MPP Andrea Horwath (Hamilton Centre/Leader of the NDP), MPP Ted McMeekin (Liberal - Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale), and MP David Sweet (PC - Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale)
• The Province made a decision to freeze the zoning on the property that appears to, in part, reflect on those stakeholders’ positions.
• As the company pursued its interests before the Ontario Municipal Board, Hamilton, Milton and Halton made decisions to participate formally as parties in the hearing to represent their concerns. They requested that the Province declare a Provincial Interest in the proceedings. The Province made a decision to declare a Provincial Interest to the Board.

To make an accusation that the reasons for the provincial decisions was for other than the fact and science based concerns related to the project appears to be disrespectful to all the private and public professionals who have evaluated the project, to date, and have made a professional decision to recommend that the project should not proceed.

We do not believe that the company has exhausted its appeal rights before the OMB.

St Marys Cement has chosen, however, to adjourn the OMB hearing and to escalate the situation moving the matter to the courts and now to a NAFTA tribunal for consideration. This is not the first time that the company has not respected and listened to the positions and decisions of involved governments and stakeholders. St Marys Cement is continuing to act in its own self interests.

The clear message to our Communities is that it’s not over...yet.

Our legal team will review the recent filings and provide our Communities with their best advice.

We will not be bullied and intimidated from advocating to protect our communities. There is too much at stake: our drinking water, precious natural features, local farms and food production, road safety, schools, and our way of life.

We must stay engaged and continue to represent our communities’ interests until this proposed quarry is stopped!
Read the Full Toronto Star Article (75 KB)

Thursday, July 21, 2011 - Flamborough Review
Dates set on SMC's water permit appeal

As the Ontario government and St Marys Cement (SMC) prepare to square off on the aggregate company's court challenge to have the zoning freeze lifted from the proposed Flamborough quarry, SMC continues to proceed with other activities aimed at clearing the way to receiving an aggregate licence.

One such activity is the company's renewed attempt to obtain a Permit to Take Water (PTTW) from the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) to do pump tests on the site located on 11th Concession East and Milburough Line.
Read the Full Article (42 KB)

Thursday, June 2, 2011 - Flamborough Review
MPP's seat doesn't need to be 'saved'

RE: Quarry move a "seat saver": Hudak, Review, May 5

Why does PC leader Tim Hudak feel the need to indicate that the future of our elected M.P.P needs to be 'saved' by the provincial government?

Where has he been during the almost eight years that FORCE and this community have been fighting the giant, foreign-owned corporation, St Marys Cement?
Read the Full Article (40 KB)

Monday, May 30, 2011 - Flamborough Review
St Marys seeks judicial review of Ministerial Zoning Order

St Marys Cement has abandoned its appeal to the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB), deciding instead to take its quest for a quarry in Flamborough to court.

The aggregate company, which wants to establish a 150-hectare limestone quarry on 11 Concession Road East and Milburough Line, announced last Thursday that it will submit an application for a judicial review to the divisional court of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice in an effort to quash the Ontario government's ministerial zoning order of April 2010 and the government's recently announced provincial declaration of interest.
Read the Full Article (44 KB)

Monday, May 30, 2011 - Flamborough Review
Statement reveals true colours

Re: Quarry move a 'seat saver': Hudak, Review, May 5

Thank you Mr. Hudak, leader of the Ontario PC Party, for showing us your true colours.

We now know, beyond all shadow of a doubt, that it is your party's intention to support the interests of a Brazilian multi-billion dollar conglomerate (St Marys Cement is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Votorantim Cimentos) which seeks to exploit precious Canadian natural resources for profit and to bleed this community dry (both financially and hydrogeologically) through a protracted and unnecessary legal battle.
Read the Full Article (27 KB)

Friday, May 13, 2011 - Flamborough Review
Quarry is not a partisan issue

Regarding the article published on May 5 by Kevin Werner on the topic of the proposed Flamborough Quarry by St. Marys Cement, the decision by the Ontario government to declare a provincial interest in the matter is justified.

Three municipalities (City of Hamilton, Region of Halton and Town of Milton) all requested that the province declare a provincial interest. The requests came after seven years of fact-based opposition to the proposed quarry. The medical officers of health for Hamilton and Halton have both expressed concerns with the proposed quarry. The local conservation authority, school board, Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Natural Resources have all objected to the proposed quarry.
Read the Full Article (27 KB)

Friday, May 13, 2011 - Flamborough Review
OMB not the answer

Mr. Tim Hudak implies that the OMB is a better forum for area planning than elected officials. That should raise some questions as to whose best interest the provincial Conservatives are looking out for.
Read the Full Article (25 KB)

Friday, May 6, 2011 - Flamborough Reviewr
Quarry move a ‘seat saver’: Hudak

Ontario Progressive Conservative leader Tim Hudak accused the Liberals of trying to save Ancaster-Dundas-Flamborough-Westdale Liberal MPP Ted McMeekin’s political future by intervening in the Mountsberg quarry controversy.

“This looks like a seat saver,” said Hudak. “It’s important we respect the process that is under way through the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board).”
Read the Full Article (28 KB)

Thursday, April 21, 2011 - Hamilton Spectator
Province steps in to Carlisle quarry fight

The Ontario government has invoked a rarely used procedural tool to prevent a controversial quarry project from going ahead in Carlisle.

Rick Bartolucci, the provincial Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, has sent the Ontario Municipal Board a letter stating the government has declared a "provincial interest" in the Flamborough quarry proposed by St. Marys Cement.
Read the Full Article (112 KB)

Thursday, April 21, 2011 - Flamborough Review
Province declares interest in quarry land

One year after the provincial government issued a zoning freeze on a proposed quarry site in north Flamborough, Ontario's Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing declared a provincial interest in the matter, posing another potential challenge for St Marys Cement and its plans to build a 150-hectare quarry.
Read the Full Article (43 KB)

Thursday, March 24, 2011 - Flamborough Review
St Marys proceeds with quarry application

As a prehearing conference about an OMB appeal on the zoning freeze of the proposed Flamborough Quarry site approaches, St Marys Cement (SMC) continues to move forward with is quarry application.

On Friday, April 1, representatives of the aggregate company will meet with parties opposed to the application and in favour of the retention of a zoning freeze on the quarry lands to try to resolve issues before the matter goes to a full OMB hearing.
Read the Full Article (45 KB)

Friday, February 4, 2011 - Flamborough Review
City to back quarry fight at OMB

Pending council approval, the City of Hamilton will seek party status in opposition to the proposed Flamborough Quarry at the upcoming Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) hearing and pre-hearings. Hamilton's planning committee, chaired by Ward 14 councillor Robert Pasuta, endorsed the move during an in camera session last Tuesday.
Read the Full Article (42 KB)

Wednesday, January 19, 2011 - Hamilton Spectator - News Brief
City committee decides to fight quarry appeal

The city's planning committee has agreed to jump into a fight over a proposed quarry in Flamborough at the Ontario Municipal Board.
Read the Full Article (17 KB)
MZO OMB First Pre-hearing Notice - April 1st 2011 (196 KB)
Hamilton Planning Committee Jan18th 2011 - Council Report (116 KB)

Monday, November 8, 2010 - Flamborough Review
Quarry issue goes to OMB

The provincial government averted being the subject of legal action when it referred the St Marys Cement (SMC) appeal of its Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) to the OMB last week.

The aggregate company had prepared and issued a press release on Friday threatening to force the government's hand by seeking a judicial review of the matter unless the province immediately processed its appeal launched six months ago.
Read the Full Article (29 KB)

Thursday, October 28, 2010 - Flamborough Review
SMC re-evaluates permit position

A spokesperson for St. Marys Cement (SMC) has explained the aggregate company's reason for withdrawing its appeal of the Ministry of Environment's (MOE's) decision on its permit to take water (PTTW) application for the proposed quarry in northeast Flamborough.

Read the Full Article (26 KB)

Friday, October 15, 2010 - Hamilton Spectator
St. Marys Cement drops water-permit appeal

A multinational company fighting to build a limestone quarry in Flamborough has dropped its appeal of the provincial environment ministry's refusal to issue a permit to take water.

Read the Full Article (22 KB)

Thursday, October 14, 2010 - Flamborough Review
FORCE drives home message: 'It's not over yet'

It's not over yet.

That's the message the anti-quarry group FORCE is hoping to drive home to residents of northeast Flamborough who may believe the battle against the proposed St Marys Quarry is finished.

Read the Full Article (33 KB)

Thursday, October 14, 2010
Muncipal Election 2010 – Inform Yourself and Vote Smart

What happens at our city and town councils directly impacts our air and water quality and determines the liveability of our communities. Environmental Defence, our case sponsor, and the Ontario Greenbelt Alliance, of which FORCE is a member, surveyed candidates throughout the Greater Toronto Area, including Hamilton and Halton Region, to ask for input on some key quality of life issues.

You can find their unedited answers to help you vote smart in the 2010 municipal election.

FORCE does not support or endorse individual candidates running for office. We are providing this information as a resource to our Communities to assist voters as they gather information from a range of sources to make their important electoral choices.

To explore go to VoteSmart2010.ca.

To view a sampling of area candidates' responses from our Communities, click on their name below:
(note: All sample responses are in PDF format with an approximate file size of 100KB)

• Bob Bratina
• Larry DiIanni
• Fred Eisenberger

• Neil Bos
• Brian Gaspar
• Judi Partridge

• Gord Krantz
• Gerry Marsh
• Al Volpe

• Colin Best
• Reid Frank
• Jan Mowbray

• Cindy Lunau

• Carol D'Amelio
• Rick Goldring
• Cam Jackson

• Lisa Cooper
• Anthony Hutchison
• Cory Judson
• John Taylor

Wednesday, October 13, 2010
St Marys Cement Withdraws PTTW Appeal to Environmental Review Tribunal
FORCE Motion Delivers Results for our Communities

St Marys Cement (SMC) has withdrawn its appeal to the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT). SMC had appealed the decision by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) to refuse to issue a Permit to Take Water (PTTW) to the company in June 2010. MOE refused the permit on the basis that a Ministerial Zoning Order is in place on the proposed quarry site, freezing the zoning as Agricultural and Conservation Management, effectively stopping a quarry. The PTTW permit application was in support of a establishing a quarry. So what happened? Here’s what we know:

On August 26, 2010, the ERT held a preliminary hearing in Waterdown. The tribunal member identified some of the issues in the appeal, decided which groups and individuals would have party, participant and presenter status, and established that the main hearing would be held during the week of December 6, 2010. Lawyers for FORCE indicated to the other lawyers and to the tribunal member that our Communities intended to bring forward a motion that the appeal was premature.

On September 28, 2010, FORCE presented a 714 page submission to the ERT, on behalf of our Communities. It was also delivered to the lawyers for the other parties, including SMC, the MOE, and the City of Hamilton. The FORCE submission included a motion for adjournment sine die (an adjournment without prejudice), an affidavit signed by FORCE Chair and Spokesperson, Graham Flint, and many supporting documents. The FORCE submission made the argument that SMC’s appeal to the ERT was premature. Lawyers for FORCE wrote that the appeal should be adjourned, until the OMB considers SMC’s request that the Ministerial Zoning Order be revoked or cancelled. Read the final FORCE motion (148 KB) and affidavit (677 KB).

Lawyers for the other parties were scheduled to respond to FORCE’s motion, in writing, by October 13, 2010. The FORCE motion was to be argued by lawyers for all parties at a hearing before the ERT on October 20, 2010. On October 12, just one day before response materials were due, lawyers for SMC wrote to the ERT and withdrew the company’s appeal. Read the SMC letter (33 KB).

While we may never know all the reasons behind SMC’s withdrawal of its appeal, our Communities’ intervention before the ERT was solid and substantive.

This is a key example of why our Communities need to stay engaged, until St Marys Cement has exhausted all of its appeals. Decisions to intervene before tribunals, like the ERT, cost a significant amount of money. Legal costs alone for the ERT preliminary hearing and preparations for the motion for adjournment approached almost $40,000. Our proactive motion has, however, helped to save many more tens of thousands of dollars that we would have had to spend had the entire appeal hearing proceeded. Sometimes, a strategic investment can help save a large investment, like the one we all have in our communities!

We need to keep doing what we have shown works – pooling our resources, bringing our Communities’ unique perspectives and strong case arguments to the table, and ensuring we are represented by the best legal and technical expert teams.

Together We Will Succeed!

Read the FORCE Motion (148 KB)
Read the FORCE Affidavit without Exhibits- Graham Flint (677 KB)

Thursday, October 14, 2010 - Flamborough Review
SMC withdraws permit appeal

St Marys Cement (SMC) has dropped its appeal of the Ministry of Environment’s refusal four months ago to approve its permit to take water (PTTW) application.

Read the Full Article (31 KB)

Wednesday, October 13, 2010
St Marys Cement Withdraws PTTW Appeal to Environmental Review Tribunal
FORCE Motion Delivers Results for our Communities

St Marys Cement (SMC) has withdrawn its appeal to the Environmental Review Tribunal (ERT). SMC had appealed the decision by the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) to refuse to issue a Permit to Take Water (PTTW) to the company in June 2010. MOE refused the permit on the basis that a Ministerial Zoning Order is in place on the proposed quarry site, freezing the zoning as Agricultural and Conservation Management, effectively stopping a quarry. The PTTW permit application was in support of a establishing a quarry. So what happened? Here’s what we know:

On August 26, 2010, the ERT held a preliminary hearing in Waterdown. The tribunal member identified some of the issues in the appeal, decided which groups and individuals would have party, participant and presenter status, and established that the main hearing would be held during the week of December 6, 2010. Lawyers for FORCE indicated to the other lawyers and to the tribunal member that our Communities intended to bring forward a motion that the appeal was premature.

On September 28, 2010, FORCE presented a 714 page submission to the ERT, on behalf of our Communities. It was also delivered to the lawyers for the other parties, including SMC, the MOE, and the City of Hamilton. The FORCE submission included a motion for adjournment sine die (an adjournment without prejudice), an affidavit signed by FORCE Chair and Spokesperson, Graham Flint, and many supporting documents. The FORCE submission made the argument that SMC’s appeal to the ERT was premature. Lawyers for FORCE wrote that the appeal should be adjourned, until the OMB considers SMC’s request that the Ministerial Zoning Order be revoked or cancelled. Read the final FORCE motion (148 KB) and affidavit (677 KB).

Lawyers for the other parties were scheduled to respond to FORCE’s motion, in writing, by October 13, 2010. The FORCE motion was to be argued by lawyers for all parties at a hearing before the ERT on October 20, 2010. On October 12, just one day before response materials were due, lawyers for SMC wrote to the ERT and withdrew the company’s appeal. Read the SMC letter (33 KB).

While we may never know all the reasons behind SMC’s withdrawal of its appeal, our Communities’ intervention before the ERT was solid and substantive.

This is a key example of why our Communities need to stay engaged, until St Marys Cement has exhausted all of its appeals. Decisions to intervene before tribunals, like the ERT, cost a significant amount of money. Legal costs alone for the ERT preliminary hearing and preparations for the motion for adjournment approached almost $40,000. Our proactive motion has, however, helped to save many more tens of thousands of dollars that we would have had to spend had the entire appeal hearing proceeded. Sometimes, a strategic investment can help save a large investment, like the one we all have in our communities!

We need to keep doing what we have shown works – pooling our resources, bringing our Communities’ unique perspectives and strong case arguments to the table, and ensuring we are represented by the best legal and technical expert teams.

Together We Will Succeed!

Read the FORCE Motion (148 KB)
Read the FORCE Affidavit without Exhibits- Graham Flint (677 KB)