An old two-storey house between Moncton and Sackville may soon become the site of a rock quarry.
But area residents want the provincial government to overturn a decision that paves the way for the quarry project, which they believe could destroy the rural village of Calhoun. Several quarries are already concentrated in the area near the community.
Listen to the audio report that aired on CHMA on May 30, 2022:
“Of course we need aggregate for roads, for buildings,” said Pierre Doucet, an outspoken opponent of the project. “But there are four quarries currently operating, and they’re not on the verge of running out of material.”
Doucet lives on the other side of the Trans-Canada Highway, in Memramcook, but grew up in Calhoun.
His father fought against quarry projects for more than 30 years before he died; his 80-year-old mother still lives in the small rural community.
People in the community learned about the plans last May, according to Doucet.
A public notice stated that the provincial government was considering a rezoning application to allow for “intensive resource development.”
A petition opposing the project garnered more than 200 names, and close to 30 people attended a public hearing via Zoom to voice their objections, he said.
“People [spoke] about the environment, the increased truck traffic, the dynamite blasting and detrimental effects on our wells,” he said.
A month earlier, a staff report signed by planners from the Southeast Regional Services Commission also recommended against the rezoning.
Members of a planning committee then unanimously recommended the provincial government deny the application.
When the rezoning went ahead, another petition called for the decision to be overturned.
Memramcook-Tantramar Green Party MLA Megan Mitton presented that petition at the New Brunswick legislature earlier this month. She spoke to CHMA about the project last week.
“Minister Allain has approved a quarry in Calhoun even though even the planners and all the residents spoke out against it,” she said. “That’s not great for democracy [or] local representation.”
CHMA requested an interview with Daniel Allain, Minister of Local Government and Local Governance Reform, but didn’t receive a response by publication time.
However, the Minister responded to the latest petition in a letter addressed to the Green Party’s Megan Mitton.
Response to Petition – Rock Quarry – May 19 2022 by David Gordon Koch on Scribd
“As part of the rezoning process, feedback was gathered from the public, provincial departments, First Nations, and the Regional Service Commission in which they articulated their thoughts on potential impacts to the community and the natural environment,” the letter states.
All of that feedback was taken into consideration, according to Allain.
He added that “terms and conditions were added to reduce the potential impact of the quarry and its operations on the community and the environment, where possible.”
It’s not a done deal.
“The quarry operator will be required to obtain further approvals,” according to Allain, including an approval to operate from the Department of Environment and Climate Change, before any development begins.
Multinational buys Northern Construction
The company behind the proposed quarry is Northern Construction and Suppliers. CHMA reached out to their office in Grand Falls, but didn’t receive a response by publication time.
That company’s story has an international twist.
In November, VINCI Construction, a French multinational, announced that it had “signed an agreement to acquire the construction companies of the family-run Northern Group of Companies.”
A media release said the deal was subject to approval from Canadian competition authorities.
VINCI Construction includes “more than 1,300 companies in over 100 companies,” according to its website.
But the property in Calhoun wasn’t part of that deal, according to a representative of Eurovia, a subsidiary of VINCI.
“It was excluded from the acquisition,” said Benoit Pouliot, in response to a query from CHMA.
Grand Falls-based Northern Construction has “access to over 35 quarries throughout Atlantic Canada,” according to its website. Photo: northernconstruction.ca.
For Doucet, the timing of the announcement, one month after Minister Allain approved the rezoning in Calhoun, raises more questions.
“There’s no information that we can find. So when was this [deal] known? Was it known at the time of the planning commission meeting?”
He added that the Calhoun area won’t be amalgamated with any other communities as part of the local governance reform process which is currently underway under the oversight of Minister Allain.
That means it will remain as a rural service district under the Minister’s control.
Mitton also raised concerns about the outcome of the reform process in her interview with CHMA.
“Local people still won’t have a say in a lot of parts of the province when it comes to, you know, basically industrial activities being in their backyard,” she said.
UPDATE: This story was updated on June 20, 2022, at approximately 6:45 p.m. to include information from VINCI Construction.