Outside of Toronto

• There’s a farming town a little outside of Toronto called Melancthon.

• This is where potatoes are grown, mostly sold in Toronto.

• One day……….

• 1 company from the USA started buying all the small potato farms in the area.

• One day……….

• 1 company from the USA started buying all the small potato farms in the area.

• They claimed that they wanted to keep growing potatoes. (just have 1 potato company)

• This company had lots of money and paid a high price for the potato farms.

• This company was able to buy almost all of the land from the small farmers.

• So this 1 company now owned almost all of the land.

• However……….

• However……….

• Once this company owned the land they then “changed their mind”.

• They “found out” that they could make more money by mining the land for construction materials.

Said they were going to do this

But actually wanted to do this

• As the new land owners they felt they had the FREEDOM to do what they wanted with THEIR land.

• This would be great for the company. They could make lots of money.

• It was not so great for the people who lived in the area.

• It was not so great for the people who lived in the area.

• -this destroyed food production the people needed.

• It was not so great for the people who lived in the area.

• -this destroyed food production the people needed.

• -the mining process would have contaminated a river running through the are. About 1 million people use the water that would be downstream.

• For the people who lived there:

• Lost food production

• Dirty water

• The company’s perspective (shareholder)

• It’s our land

• We are free to do what we want with it.

• The company’s perspective (shareholder)

• It’s our land• We are free to do what we want with it.

• We are providing jobs for you• We are helping your economy grow.• If we don’t put a mine here we will put a mine

somewhere else instead, and you won’t like that either.

• Freedom

• Economic Growth

• Protecting the environment (somewhere else)

• The perspective of the people (stakeholders)

• -The company’s actions put the local food security at risk

• -The company would pollute the water others depended on.

• The perspective of the people (stakeholders)

• -The company’s actions put the local food security at risk

• -The company would pollute the water others depended on.

They should not be allowed to do this.

• What happened?

• The company started to prepare to work on the mine.

• The company started to prepare to work on the mine.

• The people got very angry.

• The company started to prepare to work on the mine.

• The people got very angry.

• What could the people do?

• Raise awareness,

• Educate people about what was happening.

• People worked with others who also cared about what was happening

• http://ndact.com/

• Got media coverage. (news reports)• http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/articl

e/734969--limestone-quarry-threatens-prime-farm-land

• Wrote to the government.

• Wrote to the Minister of the Environment to let them know what people thought.

• Signed a petition.

• http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/megaquarry/

• About 160000 people quickly signed.

• Before the mine got started the Ontario government made the company stop.

• Before the mine got started the Ontario government made the company stop.

• Understand….

• Governments in Canada like having good relationships with money.

• They also must listen to the people.

• Before the mine got started the Ontario government made the company stop. (temporarily)

• Thousands of people told the government that this wasn’t fair and there needed to be time to study the environmental effects.

• It was a very interesting reason why the government was able to get the company to stop….

• It was a very interesting reason why the government was able to get the company to stop….

• -it wasn’t about the food security.

• -it wasn’t about the water contamination

• It was because of this guy

• The bobolink

• The bobolink is a threatened species.

• The bobolink is a threatened species.

• The bobolink sometimes lives in the trees near the potato farms.

• The bobolink is a threatened species.

• The bobolink sometimes lives in the trees near the potato farms.

• Canada has the Species at Risk Act.

This means Canada must protect the habitat of all species at risk.

• The Species at Risk Act exists because Canada signed the International Convention on Biological Diversity

• The Species at Risk Act exists because Canada signed the International Convention on Biological Diversity

• Because Canada was a part of the International convention on Biological Diversity, the people were able to prevent (temporarily) the company from destroying the farmland and ruining the water supply.

• It is a very powerful law that people can use to protect their local environment.

• It is a very powerful law that people can use to protect their local environment.

• It is also a law that can make things difficult for businesses that cause pollution.

• Why didn’t the USA sign the International convention on Biological Diversity?

• Why didn’t the USA sign the International convention on Biological Diversity?

• They wanted to protect the FREEDOM for the landowner to use the land how they wanted.

• The rights of the individual are more important than the rights of the group.

• Shareholders are more important than stakeholders.

• Shareholders are more important than stakeholders.

• In some cases, Americans are a very misinformed about issues.

• who owns the media in the US? • what message do they want Americans to

get?)

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Species_at_Risk_Act

• http://www.davidsuzuki.org/blogs/panther-lounge/2011/09/more-melancthon-mega-quarry-mysteries/

• http://melancthonquarry.ca/

• http://sovereignty.net/p/land/biotreatystop.htm

• http://www.wild.org/blog/when-it-comes-to-the-convention-on-biological-diversity-the-us-stands-with%E2%80%A6somalia-and-andorra-maybe-it%E2%80%99s-time-we-join-the-192-other-countries/