WHAT DO YOU EXPECT WITH A CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT?

Canadians have the unique ability to throw out the very bad in exchange for worse. Of course the idiot provincial Liberals had long outstayed their welcome. But replacing them with the likes of Doug Ford and that now local idiot Mike Harris. Really? Full disclosure: I'm not a Conservative. However I actually liked and respected the real Michael Harris who represented us in the Ontario legislature for years. I spoke with him and appreciated his skills.

Today's Waterloo Region Record carries the following story titled "Residents worry about gravel pit changes". Yes North Dumfries is loaded with gravel pits. So are we in Woolwich Township. They do not follow the rules. They do not rehabilitate worth beans. They do not restore farmland back to its original quality of farmable soils. They stay open for decades by simply reducing the number of loads they remove per year in order not to have to close the pits. They opened a pit outside Winterbourne on the basis of an above water table pit only to now go back to achieve a below water table gravel pit. They locate along the Grand River and it is death by a thousand cuts with all the pits along the river. Groundwater quality is reduced as the filters of sand and gravel are systematically removed. People living nearby are subjected to noise, dust and heavier truck traffic. Scenic viewscapes are replaced with moonscapes.

Don't fool yourselves for one second. We do not need all the gravel from all the pits here in southern Ontario. Economic considerations and demand are not even a remote part of the decision making process in regards to pit siting and approvals. It's all about making more money for a few individuals and their ongoing donations to Liberal and Conservative party coffers. As always the people be damned.