NAFTA’s Chapter 11
First Nations and other organizations have joined the NDACTF in opposing the mega-quarry, including the Citizens’ Alliance for a Sustainable Environment (CAUSE), the Sierra Club, the Lake Ontario Waterkeeper, and the Council of Canadians. Maude Barlow, Chair of the Council of Canadians, addressed some of the concerns in a recent letter to Craig Laing, Aggregate Resources Officer in the MNR. She wrote: “Because the construction company [Highland] is backed by the Baupost Group, a Boston-based multi-billion-dollar hedge fund, it likely has NAFTA rights to sue the Canadian government if, at any time after the contract has been signed, any level of government changes its mind on the project or attempts to limit damage to the land and water of the area by imposing new restrictions on the company’s operations. “As well, NAFTA’s Chapter 11 gives American corporations operating in Canada the right to claim the water sources they use in their operations. The Canadian government recently awarded the American pulp and paper company Bowater/ Abitibi $125 million in compensation for the water [and timber] it no longer uses after it voluntarily abandoned its operation in Newfoundland.
Full article here: http://www.robstrang.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/Mega-quarry-article-Monitor-Sept2011-1.pdf (Thanks Rob Strang, Green Party.)
So, here is my take on this.
IF this application goes through, part of getting a mining license under the Aggregate Resources Act (ARA) is a permit to take water.
When you get a permit to take water, you get to TAKE the water, it is YOUR water.
Why does that matter in this instance?
Highlands/aka Baupost/aka Seth Klarman's ARA application calls for the management of 600 million litres of water a day that has been exposed to contaminants, the air, pollution, blasting materials and probably bird shit-well maybe not they have chased those pesky birds away.
Their ever shifty, I mean shifting plan calls for the reinjection of this water into surface wells to be "reintroduced" into local drinking water.
MOE has already had a shitfit over this.
What else could they do with that dirty stinking water?
Well, well (get it, wells, water???) Highlands/aka Baupost/aka Seth Klarman are "negotiating" with Orangeville, I mean the County to purchase their abandoned rail BED. Not a rail line, a rail BED.
What would be way cheaper than reinstalling the rail line and operating it as a rail way?
A water pipe...to Owen Sound...to a slow boat to China, Dubai, any country that is short of water.
In my OPINION, I would bet that Highlands/aka Baupost/aka Seth Klarman will make more on water sales than they ever will on limestone.
Take a look at what the Baupost Group is trying to do in California-google the Bixby Ranch.
Go Maude go....
ReplyDeleteFinally, this is the heart of the matter. It's a travesty! Mulroney's legacy. To all the greedy politicians and corporate bastards out there, be aware, the worm is turning. Even the most virulent parasite has the good sense not to completely suck the life out of it's host.
ReplyDeleteMcGuinty (Lynda Jeffrey)......Highland.......Baupost......H&K.......Paul Curley.......MS&L .......Nestle & Coca Cola......Insatiable apppetite for water re bottling and beverages........obscene profiteering......nice one McGuinty, it's a slam dunk! and no surprise that Hudak is mute on the subject. The only parties who will do the right thing by their voting public on this issue are Green and NDP.
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