There were two files related to the Goulbourn Wetlands at City Council this week. The wetlands are west of Stittsville near the Trans Canada Trail.
First, City Council approved an expansion of the Tomlinson Stittsville Quarry. The item was carried unanimously. Here are my speaking notes.
Lots of interest from Stittsville in this quarry just west of us along the Trans Canada Trail. I want to build on an idea that Chair Brown raised at Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee last week.
In Ontario, one of the conditions the province requires for new landfill sites is that the operator establish a Public Liaison Committee – a PLC. There’s a PLC established for the Waste Management landfill facility on Carp Road, and it includes representatives from Waste Management, local councillors, and public members. The PLC provides a forum for public input on operations, monitoring, complaints, and environmental impacts. The committee reviews monitoring reports, and it facilitates communication between the operator, the Ministry, and the community.
There’s no formal requirement for quarries – even though they still have a major impact on the surrounding community and natural areas. So in the absence of a formal requirement for a committee, I would love to see some kind of group established with participation from Tomlinson, the Friends of Stittsville Wetlands, Indigenous representatives, and rural landowners.
This group could ensure that data and documents related to environmental performance, including surface water and ground water, are publicly accessible. There is a strong interest from local residents to collaborate on rehabilitation, that’s another area that this group could look at – and also be involved in efforts outside of the quarry area for wetland and forest rehabilitation.
To get started on this, Councillor Brown and I are going to extend an invitation to Tomlinson and these stakeholders to meet within the next few weeks to open up a dialogue and start developing a framework.
Provincial Policy has strong language that prioritizes designation of aggregate quarries, including that “as much of the mineral aggregate resources as is realistically possible be made available as close to markets as possible”.
But Provincial Policy also requires that aggregate extraction “must be undertaken in a manner that minimizes social, economic and environmental impacts”.
A strong and meaningful collaboration between Tomlinson and the community would go a long way to balance both of these requirements.
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Second, City Council approved a “Wetland Omnibus Official Plan Amendment and Zoning By-law Amendment”, which included removal of Provincially Significant Wetland designations in the Goulbourn Wetlands. Council is required to update our Official Plan maps to reflect any recent changes to provincial wetland designations. I’ve written previously about how new regulations from the Province are putting wetlands at risk. I dissented on the item, and outlined why in my speaking notes:
The Province passed Bill 23 in 2022, and with it they changed Ontario’s Wetland Evaluation System.
These changes make it easier for Provincially Significant Wetlands (PSWs) to be re-classified as “non-provincially significant”. And they remove layers of transparency and accountability in wetland evaluations.
During consultation with the province, our own city staff opposed the changes. They wrote (and I quote): “[They] contradict well understood wetland science. They would undermine decades of planning decisions, with adverse effects on natural heritage and municipal plans.”
The province moved forward anyways. And this is why again, we have a report in front of us that removes PSW’s.
I hate these reports – we just have to take whatever’s on the provincial map and update our municipal zoning boundaries. This isn’t really a “yes” or “no” decision for council – we are required to rubber stamp it.
So I’m dissenting on the whole process, and I’m dissenting in opposition to the provincial policy that is eroding protection for wetlands.
Wetlands mitigate flooding and climate change; they provide habitat for wildlife including species at risk; and they give us natural places to explore and enjoy. I can’t understand why the province is so keen to remove the protections.
My thanks to the Friends of Stittsville Wetlands for bringing attention to these files.
Slide from a presentation by Friends of Stittsville Wetlands showing the Tomlinson quarry expansion site
Slide from a presentation by Tomlinson with an overview of the Quarry expansion plans
Slide from a presentation by Tomlinson with an overview of wetland rehabilitation
Slide from a presentation by Tomlinson with an overview of wetland rehabilitation
Slide from a presentation by City staff showing the outlines of natural areas formerly designated as Provincially Significant Wetland.
Slide from a presentation by Friends of Stittsville Wetlands showing existing wetlands and changes to designations.