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Pa ge 4 T hu rs da y, A ug us t 2 7, 2 01 5 - T he IF P - H al to n H ill s - w w w .th ei fp .c a Halton Hills council has a message for the Province: it's time to implement a more stringent review process for the proposed Hidden Quarry and all other quarry applications in Ontario. Council's decision to unanimously pass a motion was met with applause Monday from an audience predomi- nately full of residents opposed to the quarry that James Dick Construction Ltd. (JDCL) wants to build on lands in nearby Rockwood. The motion urges the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry to re- quire applications for new or expanded aggregate extraction sites to adopt Hal- ton Region's Streamlined Mineral Ag- gregate Review Protocol, including the establishment of a Joint Agency Review Team (JART). The Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) has recognized the bene- fits of the locally-made protocol, which are said to include public clarity, im- proved decision making and a reduc- tion in duplication of efforts. The motion goes on to state that, if deemed appropriate by the minister, JDCL should be requested to volun- tarily participate in the aforementioned process to ensure best practices and the best possible outcome. "This is not about being anti-quarry. This is about being fair to the munici- palities," said Mayor Rick Bonnette. "Right now it's like a six-foot, six-inch, 350-pound wrestler getting in the ring with a five-foot 95-pounder. It's not a fair fight. The Province has to step in." He said the JART process used to review aggregate applications in Halton has proven to be very successful. "Halton Region has set the bench- mark. It's an in-depth process to be sure that all concerns are addressed and to mitigate risks. This is based on science, not based on 'I bought land, now I get to quarry it with no benefits to munici- palities,'" he said. The JDCL quarry is proposed for 97 acres at the northeast corner of Hwy. 7 and Sixth Line in Guelph-Eramosa Township, 2.5 km west of the Halton Hills boundary. JDCL is asking to ex- tract 700,000 tonnes of aggregate an- nually for 15-20 years, operating 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mon. to Sat. The application is heading to the OMB. NEWS Town to ask Province for more stringent review process on quarries By Melanie Hennessey Special to The IFP