I am a resident of Uxbridge…

I am a resident of Uxbridge and while I respect the construction industry’s role in our community, oppose this proposal. As you are aware, aggregate extraction operations are temporary uses of land and on completion of extraction, the zoning is required to be removed and returned to agricultural zoning. This proposal enables the company to extract itself from rehabilitation requirements under the ARA site license and convert the site into a permanent industrial centre.

The MNRF has the power to impose significant financial penalties and ultimately remove an aggregate extraction license if the holder does not comply with the license. Miller has been told to remove their industrial site a number of time—basically at five year intervals—and now proposes to skirt their behaviour by attempting to make themselves exempt? MNRF should reject the site plan amendment outright and impose such penalties if Miller does not comply.

A major financial benefit to Miller of this proposal is that it will have a place to dump its construction waste from sites around the GTA by back-filling the pit. Should a precedent like this be set, it could be expected that other aggregate resource operators will similarly try to extract their land from MNRF control and place these under Township control to enable back-filling of pits, something that is normally not permitted under MNRF site plans.

In times such as these, when we are so consumed with daily infections and vaccinations, it is easy to forget that good policy should always be keeping long term goals front of mine. The profit and environmental disregard of Miller is not in keeping with maintaining an Ontario that is yours to discover, unless we want our kids discovering the greed and waste allowed to be dumped in my community.