We need your help now to advocate to the Province about the new policies!

Whereas we had 2 years to advocate to the Town for policy changes, we only have a few weeks to advocate to the Province to sign off on these policies.

The aggregate industry is already aggressively lobbying against these policies so we need to make sure our voices are heard too.

The comments below can be copied and pasted into your own email. 
........

Email to:

MPP Sylvia Jones
[email protected]

(please also cc [email protected])

SUBJECT LINE: Please support the new Town of Caledon Aggregate By-Laws

Dear Minister Jones,

I am writing about the courageous and forward-looking aggregate policies the Town of Caledon recently passed - unanimously - to ensure the health and wellbeing of its residents. 

We want both: aggregate to build and maintain our roads, hospitals and homes, and healthy communities in which to live. We already have the aggregate supplies. I ask that the Province support these updated policies for a healthy community.

Please protect our water. Do not allow water to be exported from an aggregate site.

Caledon residents, especially rural residents relying on private wells, want their drinking water protected. Protecting drinking water also protects our rivers and tributaries which feed into Lake Ontario and which supply many municipalities such as Toronto with their drinking water. Wetlands also need to be protected, as outlined in the Town of Caledon policies, as they are part of the overall water supply process.

Caledon residents deserve to have their health protected. The World Health Organization (WHO) standard for fine particulate matter PM2.5 and PM10 (“dust”) must be adopted. PM2.5 and PM10 are known carcinogens as well as causing many other health issues and adding to the burden on our medical system.  An aggregate application must also include air quality assessments that use the most up to date study methodology.

Protection of people's health and well being in a time of changing climate requires that woodlands be protected, as they are critical for carbon sequestration and to support biodiversity as a habitat for wildlife. The Town of Caledon policies clearly outline the types of woodlands that must be protected and not be subject to aggregate extraction.

The Caledon community has invested in the scientific examination of these policies by experts in each field before asking that they be adopted by the Town. Caledon's community leaders would like to meet and review these findings with you.

As I said earlier, we want both: aggregate to build and maintain our roads, hospitals and homes, and healthy communities in which to live. We have the aggregate.

I ask that you support these updated policies for a healthy community and meet with the community leaders to be fully updated. 

Thank you,