Dear Editor,
Xinyi Canada Glass has placed full-page advertisements in The Wellington Advertiser for weeks now and each time I see these ads, printed under the name Xinyi Canada Glass & Guelph Eramosa, read Tommy Wong’s letters to Guelph-Eramosa Township (GET) residents, or scan the information included in the ads, I am struck by the fact that the President of Xinyi Canada Glass writes as if the proposed float glass plant has received all necessary Municipal and Provincial approvals and therefore can write that “Xinyi Canada Glass is building…”
Given that nothing has been approved by Guelph-Eramosa Township to-date, the statement is premature, disrespectful to GET residents who have clearly indicated they do not support the building of a float glass plant in the location that Xinyi would like to purchase, and demonstrates Xinyi’s blatant disregard for Municipal by-laws, procedures and process.
Ultimately, however, it’s what is not being said or addressed by Mr. Wong, and what information is frequently changing in these ads, that is most critical and deserves careful consideration. The July 5 ad, for example, indicates that the corporation will create “400 Careers for the Community”. Wasn’t it just two weeks ago that the Xinyi ad indicated the corporation would create 380 jobs “in the next 5 years”? Moreover, which Universities and Colleges has Xinyi partnered with to create “University Partnerships” in Guelph or Guelph-Eramosa Township? The fog of advertising is everywhere seen in the Xinyi full-page advertisements.
At the end of the day, however, the Rural-Industrial M1 ‘dry use’ GET zoning bylaw makes clear that only industry that does not use significant water or have significant effluent may be considered under the M1 zoning by-law. The proposed float glass plant development application, which will extract millions and millions of litres of potable groundwater every year for plant use should never have been accepted by Guelph-Eramosa Township in April 2018.
In a Township location where source groundwater is already labelled at significant risk and the Queensdale wellhead’s ability to provide water for Guelph is described as unsustainable, how could GET’s elected representatives and administrative staff even consider a heavy industrial development that would mine water, putting residents’ wells at risk, while allowing Xinyi to build Corporate profits? (Is it surprising that Xinyi’s hydrologist ran pump tests at the height of Spring when water levels are at their highest?) The location where Xinyi wants to build is entirely unsuited for a float glass plant. The impact on water supply alone would be considerable. In a May 9 letter to GET CAO, Ian Roger, City of Guelph CAO, Derrick Thomson, wrote, “Any new water takings within this area would be considered a Significant Drinking Water Threat…”
Drinking water is not a commodity. Not an investment. Not a matter for trade agreements. Water must never be misappropriated for privatized benefit. It’s a fundamental human right.
It’s time the Mayor and Council of Guelph-Eramosa Township represent the wishes of GET residents and act to ensure our health and well being by upholding the existing zoning by-law that was created to protect citizens living in the Township. To that end, on July 16, at a GET Council Meeting, our Council will be asked to vote on a motion asking them to uphold the existing zoning by-law. By voting in favour of the motion, any further consideration of the Xinyi development application must stop.
Please plan on attending the July 16 GET Council Meeting at Parkwood Gardens Community Church, 501 Whitelaw Road, Guelph. The meeting starts at 7 p.m.
Sincerely
Susan McSherry
GETconcerned Inc.
www.GETconcerned.org
Susan McSherry
