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Feist Opposes Mega QuarryBy Karen Bliss | www.samaritanmag.com

Posted on September 27, 2012Dustin Rabin

Feist doesnt know how she will use the $30,000 she just received as winnerof the 2012 Polaris Music Prize, declaring Metals the years best Canadianalbum, but she is contemplating donating part or all of it.

For the last five years, all the merch from my tours goes to differentcharities and currently it goes to support the legal defence fund of the megaquarry [Citizens All United for a Sustainable Environment ak.a. CAUSE],Feist said, referring to the group opposing the building of a limestone quarryin the Melancthon Township of Ontario by Highland Companies, whichwould destroy agricultural land and threaten the water supply.

In addition to CAUSE, her management says North Dufferin Agriculture andCommunity Taskforce (NDACT); Conserve Our Rural Environment (CORE);and MC2 are also beneficiaries.

Past recipients of her generosity from tour merchandise sales have includedWar Child, CARE Canada, the Salvation Army and Doctors Without Borders.In 2008 alone, that amounted to $200,000. The charities for merch salesare picked at the end of the year, says management.

I dont know if thats where it will go, but I found the money comes fromother places, the merchandise gets sold, everyone that buys a t-shirtdefinitely donates to charity, Feist said.

I think thats a lovely thing. Im the invisible middleman to that exchangehappening. People get to donate and support charities and maybe become alittle bit engaged and understand that its pretty easy to do. And this moneywill likely go to a similar type of thing.

The proposed 2,316 acres quarry would become the largest in Canada.

It would be deeper than Niagara Falls and as big as the city centre ofToronto, Feist noted.

Its a terrible thing and Im not going to speak about it eloquently. There arepeople who could speak much better on it. But since I cant talk about it, I domy best to donate what I can to support people who do know how to talkabout it.

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On the web site, whose url is nomegaquarry.ca, it explains more about itsmission:

To prevent the destruction of 2,316 acres of prime agricultural land inDufferin County, Ontario and to encourage government reform around

aggregate policy.

The mega-quarry proposed by the Highland Companies would be one of thelargest open-pit mines in the North America and as such would be highlydisruptive not only to prime agriculture, and aquifers, but also local flora,fauna and quality of life for all residents of this area as well as upstream anddownstream communities. By drilling more than 200 feet below thegrounds surface this proposed quarry would affect a number of pristinewatersheds, including the Nottawasaga and Grand Rivers. Furthermore itwould result in the diversion of approximately 600,000,000 litres of freshwater per day (every day in perpetuity) to meet operational needs.

We also aim to encourage our government(s) to listen to the collective voiceof Southern Ontarios concerned population and eliminate the extraction ofaggregate resources from the precious remaining rural landscapes ofSouthern Ontario. These operations compromise the integrity of our naturalhabitats, sensitive wildlife populations, water supply and hinder our abilityto provide any measure of agricultural security for future generations.

Last July, theCouncil of the Township of Melancthon met and passed aresolution to request that the Ministry of the Environment conduct a fullenvironmental assessment of the Highland Companies quarry application.

On September 1, 2011, a statement on the Government of Ontariosweb site,read:

After careful consideration, the Minister of Natural Resources and I haveagreed to bring forward a regulation making Highland Companies subject tothe requirements of the Environmental Assessment Act. As a result thecompany will be required to undertake a comprehensive EnvironmentalAssessment for the proposed quarry in Melancthon Township.

Ministry of the Environment officials have thoroughly examined the

technical reports which were submitted by the quarry proponents. Based ona review of those reports, and because of the unique nature of theMelancthon quarry proposal, I believe a full Environmental Assessment isnecessary.

The McGuinty government is committed to protecting our water and ourenvironment. Todays decision ensures that a transparent and independent

http://nomegaquarry.ca/http://nomegaquarry.ca/our-mission/http://melancthontownship.ca/aggregateupdate.htmhttp://melancthontownship.ca/aggregateupdate.htmhttp://news.ontario.ca/ene/en/2011/09/statement-from-minister-of-the-environment-john-wilkinson-regarding-highland-companies-proposed-quar.htmlhttp://nomegaquarry.ca/http://nomegaquarry.ca/our-mission/http://melancthontownship.ca/aggregateupdate.htmhttp://news.ontario.ca/ene/en/2011/09/statement-from-minister-of-the-environment-john-wilkinson-regarding-highland-companies-proposed-quar.html

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assessment of the environmental impacts of Melancthon quarry proposalwill be conducted.