The Earthroots Campaign to Protect the Oak Ridges Moraine

Tuesday, January 16, 2001, 9:30am
Richmond Hill Municipal Offices front doors
225 East Beaver Creek Road, Richmond Hill

On Tuesday January 16, the Ontario Municipal Board (OMB) will reconvene to continue hearings, which will decide if proposed housing developments will be allowed to alter the face of the Oak Ridges Moraine in Richmond Hill.

Earthroots will square off against "Developers for Development" in a guerilla theatre event. The theatre group comprised of Earthroots' volunteers and the mock "Developers for Development" will clash in a battle for the Moraine. Photo opportunities will be available

Earthroots is demanding that the OMB listen to the people of Richmond Hill, whose council voted against all five environmentally destructive proposals put forward by the developers. According to a survey conducted by Oracle Research in April 2000, 89% of residents on the Oak Ridges Moraine support Moraine preservation.

The Moraine is the source of many of the rivers in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). It is also the last major greenbelt in southern Ontario and acts as a corridor for wildlife. Further development on the Moraine will lead to increased traffic congestion throughout the region and will put at risk the source of drinking water for more than a quarter of a million people.

"The time to protect the Oak Ridges Moraine is now," said Josh Matlow, Earthroots Campaigner. "A
potential crisis is in the making if we do not move now to protect the source of Toronto's drinking water."

The OMB's process of making decisions on a piecemeal basis will not protect the moraine across all jurisdictions. "Earthroots is demanding that the provincial government enact "green planning" controls on the moraine," said Matlow. "With these, clean water and wilderness will remain a part of the Oak Ridges Moraine".

For more information, please contact:
Josh Matlow
Campaigner/Outreach Coordinator
Earthroots
phone: (416) 599-0152