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September
2003
Newsletter
Missing
Permits
The
City is still far from obtaining the permits and approvals
that it requires to build the expressway. For example, they
have not made any progress on obtaining an authorization
from the federal department of Fisheries and Oceans for
permission to relocate 7.6 kilometres of Red Hill Creek.
No major construction on the floor of the valley can begin
without this authorization. The City has also not obtained
any approvals related to their plans to plough the expressway
through the toxic Rennie Street dump, excavating 70,000
tonnes of waste in the process. Elsewhere in this newsletter,
we have described the outstanding issues related to the
Niagara Escarpment.
The scheme to relocate portions of the oil pipeline in the
valley has become considerably more complicated for the
City over the summer. The National Energy Board has initiated
a federal environmental assessment of the proposal, including
a written public hearing. In response, on August 18 the
City launched court action against this decision. David
Estrin, the City's lawyer, received a blank cheque for this
gambit from City Council in early August. The last time
Council authorized a judicial review by this lawyer, the
bill came to $4.5 million.
Most importantly, the City has not obtained any permissions
from the Aboriginal peoples. The rights of the Haundenosaunee
and other aboriginal peoples extend throughout Red Hill
Valley and affect all the expressway plans of the City.
One of the biggest concerns of the Haudenosaunee are the
ancient burial sites located in the Red Hill Valley, and
they want to prevent the City from digging up or paving
over the burial sites of their ancestors.
The Haudenosaunee also want to protect the trees, plants,
wildlife, fish, and the creek itself from destruction, in
what is the one of the largest urban parks in Canada, and
certainly the largest green-space in Hamilton. Most importantly,
the Haudenosaunee are making a stand so that their inherent
Aboriginal rights to their traditional territory is recognized.
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