I don’t know about you, but after a solid bike ride with friends in the Bancroft area, there is nothing I love more than being able to drop into The Granite or the Bancroft Brewery. I know my bike will fit on their patio and my sweaty self will be warmly welcomed with a pint of some delicious craft brew & tasty pub snacks.  (I like to think my bike ride earned me a few bad choices, don’t you?)

Of course, those patios can sometimes be noisy. We’ve all had conversations eclipsed by the rumbling of a lumber or transport truck as it slugs through Bancroft’s two busiest intersections while sitting on these patios.

So how do you feel about 20 trucks an hour more coming through? Think that might affect tourism?

Of course, we’re all wondering the same thing. Did you realize what other tourism treasures we have, like that the World Travel Awards ranked Grail Springs Retreat Centre for Wellbeing the #1 Wellness Retreat asset in ALL OF CANADA 3 years in a row? And Grail Springs’ reputation is all about the sanctuary it provides its international guests in pristine wilderness.

But you know the crazy thing is Faraday Council in their infinite, albeit undocumented – try to find their political platforms online, I dare you – wisdom didn’t even require an economic impact study to be done. (That meant we have had to fund our own economic impact study as No Place For a Quarry – yes, absolutely, check out our GoFundMe page and  Small Change Fund …. you can help!)

I think the council didn’t ask many questions – in fact, I don’t think they really understand economic impact. But I do – you see my Bancroft company, Tangible Words, specializes in Economic Development & Tourism. I live and breathe economic developments – I help municipalities do the kinds of things to create jobs! But Faraday has been sadly negligent.

I’m concerned about the economic impact this proposed quarry will have. Not because I am against quarries – not at all, I drive on roads just like you – we need aggregate. But we need safe rules for how to get aggregate and not hurt our environment. Heck, you don’t have to be a Millennial to realize how important it is to protect our fresh water.

I am worried about the lack of research and data completed to even find out: how will the proposed Freymond-Fowler quarry off Bay Lake road affect the fellow businesses – the ones I love to visit and proudly tell people that my cottage is near.

I mean, anyone who has a kid who plays on a Bancroft sports team is probably supportive for Freymond Lumber. But seriously, an aggregate quarry in a highly sensitive ecological and highly populated area is just a bad idea.

So even if you don’t have a business and even if you don’t love the businesses I love – don’t you want our slice of beautiful cottage country to have its best chance of success? Don’t you know to know the data and the facts about what success for our community looks like – whether with a quarry or without one – before we let a quarry come into the community for the next 50 years? I do.

    • Expedia Travel just voted Bancroft as “One of the Top Places to Visit over Canada Day” weekend and equally popular Cottage Life named it “One of Ten Cottage Country Regions on the Rise”.
    • The area is gaining momentum as a tourist hub, but with a quarry within close proximity to the town, cottages and at least one of Ontario’s most unique lakes (a Limestone Lake, Bay Lake – which is also classified as one of Ontario’s Cleanest Lakes), it is unlikely to continue to move in that positive direction.
  • There should be an explanation as to how The Applicant’s quarry will add to tourism and the health of local lakes.

Help us protect your slice of perfection in Bancroft.

Help! We only have until June 18, 2019 to fundraise all the expert opinions we need to show Hastings County that they have to demand more information to protect our freshwater supply, the environment, existing tourism businesses, and the many many year-round and seasonal residents safe from the next 50 years – the proposed lifetime of the Freymond/Fowler quarry. Donate to our GoFundMe page to help. If you require a tax receipt we’ve also set up NoSmallChange donation site just for you.

Will your Favourite Bancroft Businesses Get Hurt by the Freymond/Fowler Quarry?