GRAVEL PITS & SCHOOL BOARDS (WRDSB)

Not a whole lot in common one would think in regards the title above. Well yes and no. Both show a remarkable contempt and disdain for the public.  The behaviour of our Ontario government, Ministry of Natural Resources and some local councils regarding gravel pits mirrors the behaviour of many of our Trustees at the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB). Gad what a pack of shits. Oh and you can certainly add the Ontario Land Tribunal to the list above although I suppose if the province gives them their marching orders ahead of time to approve as many new gravel pits as possible then we can expect what we are getting.

The WRDSB  have yet again over many decades been getting the press they deserve which most recently includes the Caroline Burjowski issue as well as the Trustees' wish to subvert the wishes of the voting public in order to bolster their own minority wishes. Shutting down parents and educators alike is all in a days work for the Borad of Trustees. Failing to take immediate, strong action against past criminal behaviour by a very few (Thank God) rotten apple teachers should have tarred the Board (WRDSB) and maybe the Trustees forever. It has not. 

Regarding the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT) they just like their predecessor the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) are simply a cudgel used to beat down citizen and taxpayers opposition to the proliferation of unnecessary new gravel pits sometimes with several grouped together all on a single road or in close proximity. That the Conservative provincial government have changed the rules even more dramatically in favour of gravel pit proponents is shocking and contemptible. Advising citizen groups in advance that if (actually when) they lose the hearing they will be on the hook for their opponents legal costs is disgusting. It is a blatant and successful attempt to deter any serious opposition to new gravel pits and has changed decisions by both Woolwich Township (the Maryhill Pit) and Wilmot Township (the Hallman Pit).

This is precisely why citizens have and are losing confidence in their governments who less and less even pretend to be governing in the public interest.