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<DIV>Is this an election year?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Randy</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=ante712-gren@yahoo.ca href="mailto:ante712-gren@yahoo.ca">Theo
Negoita</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=all@gren.ca
href="mailto:all@gren.ca">all@gren.ca</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, April 07, 2010 9:37
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [All] Fw: Standing up to sprawl
with land defenders from the HanlonCreek</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
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<TD vAlign=top>FYI<BR><BR>--- On <B>Wed, 4/7/10, hcbp occupation
<I><<A
href="mailto:hcbpoccupation@gmail.com">hcbpoccupation@gmail.com</A>></I></B>
wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: rgb(16,16,255) 2px solid"><BR>From:
hcbp occupation <<A
href="mailto:hcbpoccupation@gmail.com">hcbpoccupation@gmail.com</A>><BR>Subject:
Standing up to sprawl with land defenders from the Hanlon Creek<BR>To:
<A href="mailto:info@gren.ca">info@gren.ca</A>, <A
href="mailto:info@stopthequarry.ca">info@stopthequarry.ca</A><BR>Date:
Wednesday, April 7, 2010, 6:52 PM<BR><BR>
<DIV class=plainMail>Please forward far and wide<BR><BR>In the summer
of 2009 construction at the proposed Hanlon Creek<BR>Business Park was
shut down and occupied by dozens of people and<BR>supported by
hundreds more through the city and the province. Long<BR>standing
concerns had been ignored for too long - an Old Growth<BR>forest,
endangered species, drinking water, ongoing Colonialism, and<BR>the
general direction the world is headed. This action built on
the<BR>work of hundreds of people who have been defending the hanlon
creek<BR>for more than a decade.<BR><BR>At 7:00 PM On April 29 2010,
in Ed Video (40 Baker street)<BR>participants in last summers action
will be discussing what happened,<BR>why it was significant and most
importantly where to go from here<BR>because the battle to protect the
Hanlon Creek is just beginning. Come<BR>out to share your ideas and
develop an action plan so as to ensure<BR>that the Hanlon Creek stay
exactly the way it is, wild and<BR>undeveloped.<BR><BR><BR>For more
information read below:<BR><BR>The Hanlon Creek Watershed flows
through southern Guelph, and is a<BR>survivor of many decades of
industrial growth. It’s seven tributaries<BR>flow into the Speed
River, which in turn flows into the Grand River,<BR>one of the most
vital watershed regions in Southern Ontario. One of<BR>these
seven tributaries was the subject of intense attention this<BR>year,
as the City of Guelph sought to begin construction of a
business<BR>park with a long history of opposition.<BR><BR>Since its
inception more than a decade ago, the Hanlon Creek Business<BR>Park
(HCBP) has been one of the most contentious and
challenged<BR>developments in the City of Guelph. In 2005, residents
of the<BR>Kortright Hills Neighbourhood Association fought the City of
Guelph in<BR>the Ontario Municipal Board, and won some tweaks to the
overall plan<BR>that delayed it for several years. In 2008, a
diverse group of people<BR>organized together to prevent the HCBP once
and for all. Land Is More<BR>Important Than Sprawl (LIMITS) formed
then, and organized in many ways<BR>in the community. Numerous
other groups have raised serious problems<BR>with it, like the Sierra
Club of Canada, the Guelph Civic League,<BR>Wellington Water Watchers,
the Council of Canadians, Guelph Urban<BR>Forest Friends, and
more.<BR><BR>But the more well-researched arguments people brought to
the City, the<BR>more the City of Guelph shut down to dialogue from
community<BR>members.Eventually every possible legal option had been
exhausted.<BR>Ignoring concerns from the Ministry of Natural Resources
(MNR), the<BR>City tried to begin construction of Phase 1 of the
HCBP. People who<BR>were not associated with LIMITS had been
watching all along,<BR>suspecting that the City was not interested in
re-considering this<BR>industrial project.<BR><BR>At dawn on Monday
July 26, a coldwater creek of the Hanlon Creek<BR>watershed became a
flashpoint of resistance. 60 people converged and<BR>occupied the
site, right where a 4-lane culvert was supposed to be put<BR>across a
tributary of the Hanlon Creek. Autonomous from
any<BR>organization, a broad coalition of Land Defenders attracted
hundreds<BR>of supporters from all over Guelph, Southern Ontario, and
other parts<BR>of this continent. Lasting for 18 days, this
action succeeded in<BR>stopping construction for 2009, and has created
a huge legal and<BR>political battle that continues
today.<BR><BR>Within four days of being on the land, the City of
Guelph delivered an<BR>injunction to try and force people off the
land, which would have the<BR>threat of police and imprisonment to
back it up. Seven people’s names<BR>were on the injunction, including
a claim for $5 million in damages.<BR>With only a weekend to prepare,
a legal battle soon began, with<BR>courtrooms packed full of
supporters. In the end, the occupation<BR>lasted for 18 days,
eventually ending in injunctions forcing the City<BR>of Guelph to stop
work and the Land Defenders to vacate the site.<BR><BR>Since then, the
City of Guelph has maintained their lawsuit against<BR>the remaining
five individuals (two of the original people were<BR>dropped).
In August the City reduced their claim to $150,000, to<BR>“recover
costs associated with stolen equipment and damage to
the<BR>property.” Then on February 24 2010, the City changed it
back to $5<BR>million, “to ensure that the actual cost of damages
incurred to date<BR>and potential future damages resulting from
protestor activity can be<BR>recovered so the business park can move
forward without further cost<BR>to
taxpayers.”<BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
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<P></P>_______________________________________________<BR>All mailing
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