changes to the Mining Act.
Motion for Presentation to City of Peterborough Council June
2, 2008
WHEREAS the City of Peterborough is situated on the banks of the
Otonabee River and is comprised of a landmass of just over 58 square
kilometers which supports a high quality of life to a growing
population of approximately 75,000 citizens through the benefits of a
multitude of green spaces, parks, recreational trails and waterways;
AND WHEREAS the City of Peterborough is located within the Otonabee
River watershed which is comprised of about 7000 square kilometres of
land, lakes, rivers and wetlands that are situated directly upstream
from Peterborough, and drain through the Otonabee River;
AND WHEREAS the City of Peterborough derives all of its drinking water
from the Otonabee River;
AND WHEREAS the City of Peterborough is known as the gateway to the
"cottage country" of the Kawartha Lakes region, highlighting the
significance of Peterborough as a tourism support centre for
surrounding areas;
AND WHEREAS the Otonabee River constitutes an integral part of the
Trent-Severn Waterway, which is a National Historic Site of Canada
administered by Parks Canada, and is routed directly through the City
of Peterborough;
AND WHEREAS the waterways of Peterborough and the Kawarthas are central
to overnight visitors' activities in the region which includes close to
300,000 overnight visitors claiming to have been boating during their
trip to Peterborough and the Kawarthas.
AND WHEREAS Peterborough and the Kawarthas generate 1,951,000 person
visits annually (2001), and an annual tourism-related revenue of $320
million for the City of Peterborough and Peterborough County combined.
AND WHEREAS tourism in Peterborough and the Kawarthas generates 3,520
jobs and almost $192.3 million in industry output (sales) for the local
economy (2001).
AND WHEREAS there are currently seven known uranium exploration
projects underway within the Otonabee River watershed in Haliburton
County, directly upstream from the City of Peterborough;
AND WHEREAS potential uranium mining and milling projects pose health,
environmental and financial risks for residents of the City of
Peterborough caused by the introduction of recognized radioactive
toxins into the water, air and land;
AND WHEREAS applicable examples of watershed contamination due to
uranium mining operations include the Serpent River near Elliot Lake,
Ontario which is considered contaminated for a distance of over 100
kilometres downstream from abandoned uranium mining operations, and
people are cautioned not to drink the water or consume fish from this
segment of the river;
AND WHEREAS tailings from a uranium mining operation within the
Otonabee River watershed will unavoidably contaminate surface and
ground waters, and potentially have a direct detrimental effect on the
health of Peterborough citizens and a negative economic impact on the
City of Peterborough;
AND WHEREAS no amount of radiation exposure has been found to be safe,
exposure is cumulative, uranium and its decay products remain
radioactive for tens of thousands to millions of years, and radioactive
contamination of water in present times will jeopardize the health of
local populations for generations;
AND WHEREAS children are especially prone to negative health effects
caused by exposure to ionizing radiation;
AND WHEREAS in Eastern Ontario, where there are significant numbers of
surface-rights only (SRO) properties, wherein the private landowner
owns only the surface of their properties;
AND WHEREAS the Crown holds all sub-surface mineral rights on SRO
property and on Crown lands;
AND WHEREAS under the Mining Act, 1990, licensed prospectors have a
statutory right to stake mining claims and conduct assessment work on
these properties, even if the surface rights are privately held;
AND WHEREAS under section 78 of the Mining Act, the holder of the
mining claim needs only to inform the surface-rights owner regarding
future mining assessment activities once, just prior to the
commencement of the assessment work;
AND WHEREAS this activity proceeds without authorization from the
municipality, conservation authority or having to undergo an
environmental review;
AND WHEREAS 19 Ontario municipal councils have, for reasons of similar
concern, already passed resolutions calling on the Province of Ontario
to place a moratorium on all uranium mining and exploration in Eastern
Ontario, to make substantive changes to the Mining Act and to begin
settlement plans for related native land claims, including the Cities
of Kingston and Ottawa, the Municipalities and Townships of Haliburton
County, Frontenac County, Lanark County, Dysart et al, Algonquin
Highlands, Highlands East, Minden Hills, Perth, Carleton Place, Lanark
Highlands, North Frontenac, Central Frontenac, South Frontenac, Tay
Valley, Beckwith, Mississippi Mills, and Drummond/North Elmsley;
AND WHEREAS concerned local citizens' groups are asking the City of
Peterborough to support and assist in protecting the local environment,
recreational tourism, health, the furtherance of our local economy and
the overall well-being of residents;
NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT Council for the City of Peterborough:
1. Petition the Province of Ontario and Premier Dalton McGuinty to
initiate an immediate moratorium on uranium mineral exploration, mining
and related processing in the Otonabee River watershed until such time
as all environmental and health issues related to uranium mining are
resolved;
2. Petition the Province of Ontario to undertake an immediate,
comprehensive, public review of the Mining Act, 1990, with a view to
curtailing the present system whereby the sub-surface rights of mineral
claims dominate the surface rights of private landowners, and whereby
Provincial land-use policies for Crown land gives overriding priority
to mining and mineral resource development.
AND FURTHER THAT a copy of this resolution be forwarded to the Premier
of Ontario, to the Ontario Minister of Northern Development and Mines,
to the Ontario Minister Natural Resources, to Barry Devolin - MP
Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, to Laurie Scott - MPP
Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock, to Dean Del Mastro - MP Peterborough,
and to Jeff Leal - MPP Peterborough, seeking their support.
