The Highland Companies will be facing an uphill battle in its quest for a 2,400-acre quarry in Melancthon Township, a capacity crowd at the Honeywood Arena heard last Saturday.

The battle, the standing room-only crowd on the ice surface was told, would be mostly about water. Highland has said it can excavate limestone to a depth – according to charts – of about 200 feet without effect on water, and can rehabilitate the excavations progressively to agricultural use.

It has yet to file a formal application for such a quarry, and township council has hesitated to make any moves on an application it has yet to see.

Meantime, Highland has removed in whole or in part a number of woodlots of less than one hectare (2.5 acres) as well as having demolished as many as 14 farmsteads and said it has all been in the interests of enhancing farming operations.

The North Dufferin Agricultural and Community Taskforce (NDACT), who sponsored last Saturday’s gathering, believe otherwise. They say those developments have been in the interests of a future quarry.

Last Saturday’s gathering featured Stephen Ogden, who outlined the successful fight against Simcoe County’s proposed landfill site. His advice, along with that of Mark Calzavara of the Council of Canadians and of Dufferin resident and national broadcaster Dini Petty generally boiled down to one of encouragement to stay in course in opposition to the proposed quarry.

Carl Cosack, a prominent and vocal member of NDACT – but who said he was speaking personally and not as a representative of NDACT – delivered a speech in which he appeared to rally the members by, among other things, accusing Highland of using “divide and conquer” tactics by such activity as promoting a YMCA and other community activities.

Highland, on the other hand, has said in effect that it just wants to be a good corporate neighbour and generally further the economic interest of the area.

Mr. Cosack, however, said Highland’s entire “responsibility is to maximize their shareholders’ return, a goal that is not supportive of our Rural Values, our food production or our water security.”

He said he totally disagrees with the opinions of

experts, lawyers, municipal officials and alike, that science alone will dictate the outcome of this (quarry) application and that rural values and morals have no standing at all in this debate.”

He said it was rural values and morals that built “the best country to live in: the equal rights movement; equality under the law; equality of the sexes; freedom of religion; and even our administration of justice were born using a community’s morals and people’s non scientific values.”

In that vein, he said he would like to see the Charter of Rights and Freedoms become a charter of “rights and responsibilities.”

Mr. Cosack said in an interview he didn’t recognize many of the faces in the crowd although he knows almost all residents by sight. He said some of the audience were people from communities downstream from Melancthon along the Grand River.

“The people downstream are taking notice and are concerned about their water. It would be good if Shelburne got involved,” since the town is searching for a new well.