Contaminated Soil Dumped in York Region not the only Stench

Elections in rear view

York Region, in Ontario, Canada is an unlikely place for a political hotbed of activity, but, like anyplace in our once thriving country, it too has faced some growing pains.

With the recent completion and opening of the long sought 404 highway extension to Georgina being completed, a whole new set of buzz phrases and such will likely begin to creep into play. Once you get by the usual standby's of "partnering, collaboration, sustainable growth, industrial beltway and the new kid on the block, broadband community" being tossed around like a messy salads, phrases like, "fracking", will become

Which way for wheel chairs?

commonplace, as the anticipated influx of residents, and to some degree, possibly businesses that are "expected" to infiltrate areas north of the Green Lane line in Newmarket and beyond, see fruition. Oh, not in the traditional sense, as this fracking is for water not oil, but it could affect your property's water flow by tapping into it underground. No one seems sure. Frack me!

Farmers' fields and nature spots, long used by local wildlife and game, were also quietly removed in Sharon over the summer, just outside Newmarket, with long time " iconic" trees and such removed with nary a whisper through the

recent election campaign, the land's caretakers too pre-occupied getting elected perhaps than to notice a few trees being removed, with the foreshadowing residential construction company fencing telling the tale. Until fairly recently, the property located at Leslie St and Green Lane and running north was a bustling farming property. A remaining house stood on the front also, housed for many years by residents who'd hold weekend lawn sales, with people coming for miles to see what neat stuff they had. Eventually they were pushed out and the house demolished.
I learned some of this sometime afterward, while helping resurrect a mansion, across Leslie, on the opposite side, to be used as permanent housing for people with mental health issues, from a guy who had rented a room at the farmhouse there and wanted work painting. I felt for him, but could only offer a few days work as the boss' son had just hired some friends. He understood but looked defeated, his late 50's something body sauntering off into the morning light. More recently, I helped the "house of hope" re-open again, again housing those who might otherwise be lost to the streets or worse.

Former resident of to be developed property works

Developing is inevitable some say, yet King Township has managed for many years to resist the lure of change for the sake of change, instead adopting a slower, "what's the rush to expand and destroy nature and build over it" attitude, for which they should really be commended. Such long term thinking. Should we compare Newmarket for example - they have recently started development on the very last parcel of land, also farmland, on the entire southeast corner of Davis ( highway 9) and Bathurst St's - literally, they can develop no more land, as that is the boundary line. While in contrast, across the street in King Township, a working Farm sits.

Former farm at Bathurst & Highway # 9, Newmarket

Maybe they expect we'll import all our food from China?..Produce and dairy in the future? But who wants that? Not me, that's for sure and so the disappearance of farming land and our ability to feed ourselves - which comes along with that lack of foresight - frankly scares me. This is some of the most fertile land in the world we're destroying and did I mention the unaccounted for dump truck loads of contaminated soil being unloaded on YR with no clear record of where?

Ahhh! Community gardens you say? Ah, No thanks. I prefer shopping...in private.

A Farmer recently came to me with big concerns, feeling pressured to leave the property he's farmed for over the past 12 years and now being threatened with eviction from, a process he's been through before when land farmed by him was expropriated by the Ontario government for Pickering's Airport that was never built. He says he sees the same sorts of signs again, including tactics. His deputation to Markham Council was seemingly ignored.

Locked block

He has raised issues regarding suspicions of contaminated soil dumping in the past as well to an adjacent property he suspects has been used for shady practices, also ignored, but now toxic dumping sites are being exposed by the media at those same Pickering farmlands, found to have been used as a dumping ground for contaminated soil. So maybe the old gentleman isn't so full of beans after all as people have tried to make the twice defeated Markham mayoral candidate, and now soon to be completely homeless Farmer, to be! Would it be a stretch to think the same dumpers of the contaminated soil be the same who burned Sam's two farm houses down in the past, with still another fire happening at the same Pickering property some years ago now? The farmer, Sam Orrico, certainly hasn't forgotten. Nor has he ever really recovered.


Development is coming, no doubt to all nether-regions of The Region, the key is controlling what kind, and who and where if at all possible. I think unethical companies should be excluded from the process when dealing with sensitive growth areas, such as those set up at arms length from developers which acquire properties just to change their use - for example as rental housing to condos, or store fronts to condos.

The recent attempt by Main St Clock Inc. on Newmarket's Main St,  which
originally acquired the property might fit the bill, claiming it wanted the tower for a seniors residence, but then, afterward when not getting what they wanted, moved them and all adjoining the businesses out, to create the appropriate atmosphere for developing what they really want and using municipalities' own bylaws to speed up their wishes by boarding up establishments until such time as they get what they desire. Not someone I would choose to do business with, so why do we have to?

Development now just west of farmed Markham property on 14th

Changes to ponder for a fairer York Region, include pondering a better deal for those with disabilities too, and those on O.D.S.P. with the Ontario Government. For some, they've lost all hope, and you're it. Every year, more Canadians kill themselves than die by car accidents, HIV, homicide, drowning, influenza and war combined. Something to think about....
To That end watch for STROLL & ROLL, coming to a provincial government outlet near you in spring 2015!



Here's a link to the award winning video one minute spot " One Paycheck Away "

Oh...by the way, experienced farmers can find and create ponds from ground water without fracking so....Frack Off!

Markham Farmer's Last Stand