Illegal Dumping Uncovered at Quarry Situated On Mohawk Land

For Immediate Release:

Thursday, April 5th, 2007: Evidence of extensive illegal dumping- including large amounts of asphalt - has been found by the Mohawks of Tyendinaga. This discovery was made at the Thurlow Aggregates quarry site, occupied by the Mohawks for the past two weeks. The quarry is situated within the Culbertson Tract, land that is currently under Claim and that the Government has acknowledged rightfully belongs to the Mohawk community of Tyendinaga.

Three days ago, Band Council environment officials were alerted to the situation, documented the disturbing findings, and advised the Province of Ontario's Ministry of Natural Resources. This Ministry is also responsible for quarry and aggregate licensing, and has until now refused to comment on the demand that Thurlow Aggregates have its licence revoked pending the ongoing land claim negotiations between the Mohawk community and the Canadian government.

The District Manager of the Ministry of Natural Resources, Jane Ireland, of the Peterborough MNR, is expected at the quarry at 12:00 noon today. The Mohawks have said that she will be granted access to the site to view and document the dumping.

"The minister's office cannot claim it didn't know. It would be obvious to any inspector what was going on here, including open burning of hazardous materials like industrial batteries, construction waste and oil filters," said Mohawk Jay Maracle.

"It is now becoming clear why (Minister of Natural Resources) David Ramsay didn't want to revoke the quarry licence. The Province was using it to dump large amounts of Provincial Highway pavement instead of properly disposing of it," said spokesman Shawn Brant. "Now, they are responsible for a local environmental catastrophe."

For more information, contact: Shawn Brant, Tyendinaga, 613. 391.4055

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April 2007 Reports

Last updated on April 5, 2007