The public interest is not always in the
interest of the public. The fundamental
issue that has not been addressed by any of the parties involved in the
Codrington Pit application is whether the pit is in the public interest.
It is clearly not in the interest of those
members of the public that live adjacent to the pit. It was overwhelmingly not in the interest of
the members of the public who attended three public meetings. It is obviously in the private interest of
CBM St Mary’s. Brighton Council has
conceded to the expression of this private interest.
What though is the Public Interest?
From Brighton township’s point of view, the
pit represents an operation equivalent in size to itself. Each is about $15 million in size. On the
face of it an operation of that size will make a significant contribution to
the township. But does it?
In terms of taxes and direct income to the
township, the pit makes a very small contribution. There is a provincial aggregate levy of 11
cents a tonne, some of which is refunded to Brighton. And there are commercial property taxes
levied on the operation. Mr Hurford has indicated that “this is a wash,”
meaning that the township garners about the same from CBM’s existing pits as it
would from a new pit in Codrington. This
is not a money-maker for the township.
Secondly, from the perspective of the
entire community in Brighton, about $10 million stays in the township by way of
wages and services purchased locally.
CBM’s contribution to our local economy is not insignificant. However, this contribution is likely to
continue whether Codrington Hill is excavated or not. It cannot be said that the pit is essential
to our public interest.
Thirdly, what is the impact of Codrington
on CBM? At no time, to my knowledge, has
CBM presented an economic argument for their operations in Brighton.
CBM is a private company and no public
figures exist. But, from their web site
we discover that they have some 40 cement plants and some 22 pits in the
province. If each of these operations
produces $5 million a year, then their gross is around $300 million. Revenue from a pit at Codrington at $15
million, would be about 5% of their annual gross.
But none of this would be new income. CBM already has an equivalent operation in
the township. While they have said that
their other pits would be closed, since exhausted or near to be exhausted, when
Codrington opens up, I doubt this would happen if Codrington were to be
denied. There is still value in their
pits, and the locations could be used for additional sand and gravel recycling
capacity.
Fourthly, with respect to the wider
community in which we live, that of our province, what level of provincial
public interest exists in Codrington pit?
Each year about 200 million tonnes of
aggregate are extracted in Ontario. Codrington
at 500,000 tonnes, represents a tiny fraction of this: about ¼ of 1%. If Codrington did not happen, the province
would not notice!
Further, the policy of MNR is that more
should be done to recycle. If that
happens the need for new pits will be reduced.
The development of a gravel pit in
Codrington, is thus, not in the provincial public interest.
Lastly, what about the public interest of
the citizens of Ontario? How should we
react to the idea of more extraction?
Public Interest in its widest sense is
probably summed up in the expression, “Peace, Order and Good Government.” We strive for a sustainable and satisfying
society.
But the environment is not on our side. Global Warming, Peak Oil, Peak Phosphorus, all
threaten our ability to manage a growing economy. We are running out of our available
resources. We already consume at a rate
equivalent to four earth’s worth of resources.
The time, in fact is now, to plan for a sustainable, and not a growing
economy.
The extraction of more non-renewable
resource is not in this broadest public interest. It is not sustainable, and counter to our
long-term aspirations.
In summary, the wider public interest is
not met by the Codrington Pit. It is
clearly not in the interest of the public who live around Ferguson’s hill. It is only in the parochial interests of CBM
and the Brighton Council that the pit can be seen as meeting any sense of
public interest.
But this interest is not in the interests
of the public. The public interest is
not met with the development of the Codrington pit.
