Ontario Construction News staff writer
In the face of continued angry opposition, Stratford’s mayor says he regrets council’s decision to ask the province for a Ministerial Zoning Order (MZO) to speed up a proposed glass factory.
Opposition to the controversial Chinese-owned facility proposed for the edge of the city continued with a fourth public rally on Monday.
David Crombie, a former Toronto mayor, Conservative cabinet minister and the recently-resigned chair of the provincial Greenbelt Council spoke at the event.
The rally was scheduled to happen in advance of a “Special Council Meeting” which will take place virtually at 5 p.m. that same day. However, the public meeting was cancelled along with a second special council meeting scheduled for Dec. 16 to consider the draft cost sharing agreement with Xinyi Canada Glass Limited.
As angry protests continue attracting attention, Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson has said he regrets council’s decision to ask the province for a MZO to speed up approval for the proposed Chinese-owned glass factory planned to be built on Stratford’s border.
“Absolutely. Seeing the challenge it has brought to the community, there’s some concern around it,” Mathieson told CBC News recently. “I think it’s safe to say we would probably love to rewind and work at this again.”
“I’m not at liberty to disclose them because they’re covered under a confidentiality agreement, but I can say that council, we’re looking at this,” he said. “I’m sure everyone would have like to have this done differently.”
This plot of land on Perth Line 29 west of Highway 7 where a 1 million sq. ft. glass plant has been proposed is privately owned and would be sold to Xinyi Canada if the deal for the proposed factory is approved by Stratford city council. Opponents say the factory could quadruple carbon emissions.
Opposition groups including Get Concerned Stratford say the process is “anti- democratic” because MZOs shut the public out.
Get Concerned Stratford has retained the services of David Donnelly, a Toronto environmental lawyer who helped a similar group stop Xinyi Canada from bringing a similar proposal to the township of Guelph-Eramosa.
The city asked for an MZO on all the annexed lands for industrial development, including Xinyi.
On Nov. 20, 2018, the city together with Perth County and the Township of Perth South sought assistance in obtaining a MZO to accommodate the construction of a float glass facility. The request was sought to meet key construction deadlines, and also referred to the other lands annexed as an extension of an existing industrial area in the city.
On March 11, 2020, the city, working in partnership with the County and Township, reiterated its request for an MZO to meet construction deadlines associated with the float glass facility. The intent was for the MZO to apply to all of the lands annexed for industrial purposes.
This block of land includes more than the land that Xinyi is proposing to use for its proposed development.
In a Dec. 3 letter to Stratford Council, Donnelly said: “It is our unequivocal opinion that Stratford Council has the complete authority without legal liability to deny Xinyi’s proposal for a $6 million cost sharing agreement.
“The City of Stratford must request that the Minister of Municipal Affairs revoke the Minister’s Zoning Order (MZO) permitting the Xinyi facility while the MZO’s integrity is in question, and reject Xinyi’s demand for an extraordinary taxpayers’ subsidy of $6 million at a time when residents are losing their jobs. what really vexes people is the lack of clear information about the factory, not only from public officials, but from Xinyi Canada itself.”
He calls the description of the Xinyi facility on the city’s website “misleading” with only positive attributes of the facility referenced and no mention of the risks and costs whatsoever. A similar Xinyi facility proposed in Guelph-Eromosa Township was rejected by in July 2018.
According to the Stradford website, the site subject to the MZO for the Xinyi facility is located on prime agricultural land, near a small industrial park.
The proposed facility will be approximately 1 sq. ft. feet in size. A significant number of Chinese technicians will be brought to Canada to live part-time in a dormitory associated with the facility because Canada does not offer training to respond to float glass plant operations, which must run continuously and are extremely dangerous.
“At the end of the day, whether or not Council should subsidize the Xinyi facility is strictly a political, financial, moral, ethical, planning, environmental and human rights decision. Funding Xinyi is not a legal decision. In other words, the citizens of Stratford are in charge of this decision, not lawyers,” he wrote in the letter.