Last week I wrote an editorial contrasting the different approaches in Ontario and Nevada toward using abandoned pits as landfill sites. My thoughts drew a response from Bill McIntyre, president of Fairforce Communications in 100 Mile House, B.C.
"As someone who supported that project [in Ontario] I can tell you the failure had nothing to do with environmental risks. It had everything to do with ludicrous claims by radical environmental groups who raised millions of dollars to fight the project in spite of all the science and technology that proved the site was safe for use as a landfill. There never was a threat to the local watershed," he wrote.
"The sheer volume of lies, accusations and distortions throughout the campaign was something to behold. Also something to behold was how a weak provincial government would not stand up to the radicals who were threatening to blow up railway bridges into Northern Ontario if the landfill was approved. Meanwhile, the Ontario Provincial Police did nothing while the media generally cheered them [protesters] on.
"To demonstrate how ludicrous the event became, the provincial government declared the pit to be a 'sacred lake' in order to appease an Indian band 100 miles away. In fact, the legislation rushed through on this project also declared than any open pit mine, of a certain size, would be deemed to be a lake in Ontario. I can only assume that certain potholes in the roads would also qualify.
"As Ms. Scales so aptly pointed out, the people of Nevada are realistic about their municipal waste and want to deal with it themselves rather than dumping it in the backyards of the people of Michigan. American manufacturers and developers should see from this that Ontario is a hostile environment for business," concluded McIntyre.
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