COLLINGWOOD – The Simcoe-Grey NDP Riding Association is hosting “Stop the Mega Quarry Walk” this Saturday afternoon.

The walk to protest the Highland Companies proposed 2,300-acre mine in Melancthon Township will start at MPP Jim Wilson’s Collingwood constituency office and head along Hume Street to finish at MP Kellie Leitch’s office. Other groups that have confirmed their participation are the Mohawk First Nation from Kanekota, The North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT), and the Green Party. NDACT chair Carl Cosack said he is delighted to have the opportunity to address the crowd.

“I hope to be able to say to the rally that they owe it to themselves to get informed and make a good decision about the largest open pit mine proposal in Canada, the second largest on this continent,” said Cosack.

Cosack raised issues that the quarry will bring in terms of traffic, water, and farming. The Highland’s proposal states that the quarry will require pumping 600 million litres of water a day, which is considered enough fresh water for 2.7 million Ontarians daily. The traffic to the quarry six days a week will include 3,600 tractor trailers in and out. Cosack said he is also concerned about the farming as it is an area rich with potatoes, brussels sprouts, peas, and rhubarb.

“You can use those fields forever to grow food, you can only use it once to take the ton of limestone that’s underneath it out.”

Cosack said he wanted to stress that though NDACT are grateful for the support from the NDP that this is not a political issue.

“We have consistently maintained that this is a non political party partisan issue because it affects whoever is in government with both the rewrite of the aggregate resource act and the decision of what to do with this mega quarry proposal.

“People in decision making powers need to make a good decisions and that involves people in Collingwood so that this thing doesn’t sneak up on them. If they are for it, then so be it, but you need to inform yourself as to what the scope of this proposal really is, because it will have an absolute impact on how Collingwood and Blue Mountain will exist from here on forward,” said Cosack.

The walk will start at noon and the suggested arrival time is11:30 a.m.