Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT):
Participant Response Form Template
First things, First: You should only apply to be a participant IF you emailed an official objection letter to the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNRF), 'ARA Approvals' in Nov/Dec of 2020. If you are accepted as a participant in the OLT process you are NOT permitted to speak at the hearing. You will, however, be able to participant through writing at various points in the process.
Second. Here's the link to the form
Third. Here's the Tribunal case number: OLT-22-004372, 4888, 4886
Fourth. Here's the Case Management Date: 2023/06/29
Fifth: After you fill in the form you must SAVE it, so you can email it. It will download as a PDF that you can attach to your email. You CANNOT submit your statement directly from the form. Here are the addresses you need to send the completed form to (all in one email).
Hanh.Dang@ontario.ca
zachary.d'onofrio@ontario.ca
TIP: Select all the email addresses and then copy using command-C. Do NOT use "copy email" since you'll only be able to copy one email at a time. Command-C should allow you to copy ALL the emails at once, and then paste them all at once into your email (command-V). Please persevere! Mt.Nemo needs you.
Sixth. You MUST email the form to ALL the above addresses, no later than: June 19/2023
After you fill in your contact details, you'll be asked to provide a participant statement.
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You can submit the same statement that you sent in your objection email to the Aggregate Resources Act Approvals (ARA) in November or December of 2020. To find that email in your inbox search for these two addresses: araapprovals@ontario.ca, tecia@white-water.ca sometime between the dates Nov.01.2020 to Dec.14.2020.
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If you can't find your original letter, then please compose a new statement OR cut-and-paste from the template (below) any sections that make sense to you. It's helpful if you can tweak your statement so that it sounds less cut-and-pasted...but that is not essential.
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The decision about Nelson's application will ultimately be made at a tribunal made up of one or two individuals, who are appointees. We expect this hearing is 6-24 months away. Applying for 'participant status' is your ONLY chance to make an impression on these officials: it's critical they understand that people are deeply opposed to Nelson's plans to blast a mega-quarry on Burlington's Escarpment. You may not be granted this status, but we feel that the more people who apply, the clearer the message will be to the Tribunal officials: the people do NOT want this quarry expansion.
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Only persons granted 'participant status' by the Tribunal at the case management conference on June 29, will be permitted to participate in any further hearing events. You will not HAVE to participate, however.
Very Important! In order to validate your participation you MUST tune in to the online case management conference on June 29/23 @ 10am.
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​This meeting is held via the 'Go To Meeting' app. Here's the link
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Here's the meeting I.D: 660-145-013
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The meeting is expected to be less than 2 hours.
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Be sure to type your name in so that the tribunal marks you as present.
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I am strongly opposed to the application from Nelson Aggregate to increase its open-pit mine on Burlington’s escarpment (OR in Burlington's greenbelt; OR on Mt. Nemo, part of the Niagara Escarpment, UNESCO World biosphere Reserve
(Then say something personal [but NON-identifying] about yourself: for example - I’ve been a resident of Burlington for x-many years; I live in the GTHA area and value the natural ecosystems that thrive on Burlington's escarpment; I feel strongly about the importance of being a good steward of our natural environment. etc).
I am opposed to this application because I am deeply concerned about the negative impact that the continued quarrying of Burlington’s Mount Nemo will have on...
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our natural environment in north Burlington, including wildlife, streams and woodlands.
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the quantity and quality of our well water
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on the streams and wetlands served by the headwaters of Mount Nemo.
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I am alarmed by the increasing heavy gravel truck traffic on our rural roads and irritated by the dust associated with these trucks.
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I am worried about the dangers of flyrock caused by blasting.
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I am worried about the health effects of the dust released into my community by blasting.
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I am worried about the possibility of potentially contaminated fill being added to Nelson Aggregate’s current quarry site and the threatening impact this could have on the future safety of well water.
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I am profoundly opposed to the permanent destruction of 124 additional acres of prime farmland and green space in our increasingly urban GTHA. I believe the need for close-to-market green-space trumps the need for close-to-market aggregate.
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I do not believe that the promise of a distant, future park in the current quarry site offsets the destruction of these precious open lands in Burlington’s backyard.
The decisions made now by OLT officials will impact the citizens of the GTHA for generations to come. Please decide in favour of our living escarpment.
Thank you for your time and consideration of our concerns.
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Here's the template: