Stratford mayor, province accused of 'anti-democratic' tactics in glass factory proposal

A Stratford community group has accused the city's mayor and the Ontario Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing of using "anti-democratic" tactics to quash opposition to a proposal to build a controversial glass factory on Stratford's urban rim.

The one million square foot facility proposed by Chinese-owned Xinyi Canada would create anywhere from 200 to 400 jobs for the community, but tensions have arisen over not just potential pollution the facility would create, but the tactics used by city and provincial politicians to bring the factory to town. 

Documents obtained by CBC News show Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson wrote to Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark three times, starting in 2018. 

In the letters, Mathieson repeatedly asks Clark to issue what's known as a minister's zoning order, or MZO; a power that allows the minister issue a decree on a piece of land that can't be appealed by community groups or Ontario's Local Planning Appeal Tribunal.

'People are angered by not being able to have a voice'

4 years ago

Duration 0:44

Melissa Verspeeten, the spokeswoman for Get Concerned Stratford, said a provincial order was used to clear legal hurdles and quash opposition to a proposed Chinese-owned glass factory being built in the community.

The move unfairly circumvents the local decision-making process, said Melissa Verspeeten, spokeswoman for Get Concerned Stratford, the community group that opposes the factory.

"An MZO order is actually a way for difficult projects to be put in place without having to allow for public input or consultations, quite an anti-democratic process."

"People are angered by not being able to have a voice and not being able to have their concerns heard, but also what appears to be a lack of available information on questions that have been raised." 

That anger has been seen in the form of a protest earlier this week in the city, where dozens of demonstrators held signs and waved placards saying "say no to glass plant" and "our air is not for sale." 

Adam Wilson, the acting director of communications for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing wrote in an email to CBC News Wednesday that the MZO was issued at the request of local municipal and county authorities to "accelerate a $400 million investment in the community."

'Questions should be directed to the City of Stratford'

"Any questions regarding local public participation should be directed to the City of Stratford," he wrote. 

Stratford Mayor Dan Mathieson's office did not respond to a request for comment from CBC News Wednesday. 

Verspeeten is asking on behalf of Get Concerned Stratford that both the city and the province pour cold water on the project before the factory gets built. 

"Get Concerned Stratford is looking to have the city of Stratford not participate in any cost sharing or site plan agreements and to ask the minister to revoke the MZO that was issued on this property," she said. 

Verspeeten said residents are also concerned about the potential environmental implications such a facility would bring. 

The factory would manufacture what's known as float glass, the large, uniform sheets of glass often seen in modern buildings. The sheets are created when molten glass is poured on top of a bed of molten metal, such as tin or lead. 

Critics worry about the potential use of heavy metals, the amount of green house gases such a facility would generate and the amount of water used by such a facility. 

If opponents can generate enough political pressure to force politicians to reject the proposed facility, it wouldn't be the first time. The factory has already been rejected by Guelph-Eramosa, a community between Guelph and Cambridge, Ont. after the local council voted against the proposal based on their own environmental concerns two years ago. 

'Who refuses 400 jobs?'

In that case, Premier Doug Ford stood before the Ontario legislature and railed against the decision. 

"I'm sure there's jurisdictions all around Ontario that would love a glass company to come to their riding," he told the legislature in September of 2018. "Who refuses 400 jobs?"

Verspeeten believes the proposed factory would bring even more jobs to a community where businesses already have trouble filling openings.

"Stratford has low unemployment. We are actually bussing in labour to factories that are already here," she said.

"Having another factory with more jobs that we can't fill is a concern, not just for the city but the other businesses as well. Are they going to be poaching from the labour pool that's here now and taking people that are already working other places?"