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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. |