Globally, certainly in Canada, not many NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) stories have two books written on them, so this story is worth looking into.
The back roads often take you to living history, and historic stories sometimes have multiple interpretations. The story of Adam's Mine, 10 km southeast of Kirkland Lake, is one of them.
Highway #650 ends about six kilometres from the last house and the Ontario Northland Railway tracks.
Here, there are sturdy but rusting yellow gate posts surrounded by huge granitic rocks, presenting a formidable barrier to entering.
On the north side of the road remains the discoloured white background and much faded light green trim, but it’s the original sign which reads "ADAM’S MINE – NOTRE DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION – PROPOSED REECYCLING & SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT SITE". There’s also a phone number, but it is out of service. I wondered when the name’s possessive apostrophe was dropped for what was to evolve.
It most likely is the biggest NIMBY case study in northern Ontario and one of the same in Canada. At the same time, there have been two books authored on this environmental matter.
The Not In My Back Yard is a colloquialism signifying one's opposition to the locating of something considered undesirable in one's locale. It seems to have appeared first in the mid-1970s when the organized environmental movement first appeared, along with the evolution of Earth Day, the Canadian Environmental Law Association and Greenpeace.
The Adams Mine is a NIMBY example. It started with an environmental concept, linked to a landfill need, that ignited community opposition, through to government intervention. It’s a story that has yet to end, though.
Adams Mine background
It will be 27 years since Notre Development Corporation received a permit, after assessment, to landfill the South Pit of the mine.
The site is located approximately 10 km southeast of Kirkland Lake, in the northwest quadrant of the Unorganized Township of Boston, District of Timiskaming. It was proposed that the site receive a maximum of 20 million tonnes of non-hazardous solid waste from Toronto over 20 years. The project was approved on August 13, 1998.
The iron ore deposit was originally discovered in 1906, however, there was little interest in iron ore as a result of the discovery of gold in the Timmins and Kirkland Lake mining camps. The site saw renewed interest in the second half of the 1950s as steel production increased.
It was sold to Dofasco Steel of Hamilton in 1971. The mine was operated in tandem with the Sherman Mine in Temagami. It closed in 1990 when the ore reserves that could be feasibly recovered were exhausted.
Before the mine had shut down production in the early 1990s, waste management planners were examining its potential for a massive landfill, with waste to be shipped north in sealed intermodal shipping containers by CN and Ontario Northland on a 700 km (430 mi) route. It would be a municipal solid waste (MSW) facility on fractured bedrock using hydraulic containment and no landfill liner.
Notre Development's 1996 proposal involved a consortium that was known as Rail Cycle North, which included the mine's owner, Notre Development, along with waste management companies Canadian Waste Services and Miller Waste Services, Ontario Northland Railway and CN.
There were many environmental assessments and studies on the viability of the pit holding Toronto’s trash. It looked like a go.
Then in 2003, the Ontario Liberal Party, led by Dalton McGuinty, won the provincial election and on April 5, 2004, provincial Minister of Natural Resources David Ramsay and Minister of the Environment Leona Dombrowsky introduced legislation (Adams Mine Lake Act, 2004, S.O. 2004, c. 6 - Bill 49 - An Act to prevent the disposal of waste at the Adams Mine site and to amend the Environmental Protection Act in respect of the disposal of waste in lakes) which revoked all certificates and permits related to the Adams Mine proposal. This had the effect of permanently killing the 1996 plan. Although the south pit of The Adams Mine is full of water, it is not a lake.
Dan Larocque from North Country Aerial in Haileybury was contracted to shoot some video of the mine in 2015.
“At the time we were hired by a contractor that was looking at making unmanned underwater tech for the navy, and they were exploring the option of using the pits there and at Sherman mine,” Larocque said.
Nothing came out of this, but here is your tour of the site. You can see the south pit at the 30-second mark.
This is just a thumbnail sketch of a long story; chronologically, it is a bit of a David and Goliath storyline.
Goliath-Gord McGuinty
Trashed – How Political Garbage Made the Unites States Largest Dump (2010) by a former owner of the mine, Gord McGuinty, says the concept was an “environmentally sound and cost-effective solution to Ontario’s garbage crisis," and goes on to say "(that became a) botched billion-dollar contract, environmental terrorism, political cowardice.”
I reached out to him in North Bay.
His belief in the project stands as strong today as it did in 1989, when he and his business partner Maurice Lamarche stood at the crest of the pit that spanned 1,800 feet across and 600 feet deep, astounded by its potential to create economic development in the area.
He said this is the true story of the Adams Mine landfill project, the most environmentally sound and cost-effective solution to Ontario’s garbage disposal crisis, and a world-class rail transportation opportunity was killed by political mismanagement by the City of Toronto and the Government of Ontario.
“The Adams Mine landfill survived fourteen years of environmental assessments and contract tenders, four provincial governments, five municipal elections and an international cross-border trucking dispute, only to be trashed by the stroke of a political pen.”
He said, “The actions of environmentalists, media and senior politicians – Dalton McGuinty, Mike Harris, Bob Rae, Jack Layton, Mel Lastman- set against the efforts of ordinary citizens striving to do the right thing for Ontario, weave a disturbing tale of political garbage.
"Over 14 years, despite all opposition, we never lost the support of the three ‘host community’ councils in Kirkland Lake (KL), Englehart and Larder Lake.
“During one municipal election in KL the opposition got a question on the ballot – there was a referendum – we won 65 per cent of the vote to continue with the project and an environmental assessment. There was actually a FACTS Committee of residents that ‘supported a fair assessment of the project.'”
Looking back, he said, “I have used the term 'the silent majority' when it came to the project. We worked at providing ongoing and accurate information to counter the ‘fake news.’ People listened more than you thought. You have to fight for things on a day-to-day basis.
"The political courage of local leaders like Joe Mavernic – Mayor of KL, Bettyann Thib-Jelly, Mayor of Englehart and Joanne Thompson, Reeve of Larder Lake, to ‘stay the course’, deal with facts and not be intimidated by the environmental fringe (was remarkable).
As for the politics of the day.
“The lack of understanding in the public that some politicians use environmental projects to ‘kick start’ their political careers. Facts don’t matter, headlines are the objective. Charlie Angus NEVER once visited the site or attended an information session. David Ramsey supported the project for six years – then flipped during a provincial election,” McGuinty said.
The book is very factual, accompanied by the comments of one who lived through the years of the process.
David - Charlie Angus
Speaking of Charlie Angus, the long-standing MP of Timmins James Bay (now Kapuskasing—Timmins—Mushkegowuk, now Conservative) has just retired from the House after 21 years.
His Adams Mine book is entitled Unlikely Radicals (2013).
He said, “It traces the compelling history of the First Nations people and farmers, environmentalists and miners, retirees and volunteers, Anglophones and Francophones who stood side by side to defend their community with mass demonstrations, blockades, and non-violent resistance,” opposing the mega project.
“For twenty-two years, politicians and businessmen pushed for the Adams Mine landfill as a solution to Ontario’s garbage disposal crisis. This plan to dump millions of tonnes of waste into the fractured pits of the Adams Mine prompted five separate civil resistance campaigns by a rural region of 35,000 in northern Ontario.”
He has a career perspective. "I'm often asked the question, 'What got you into politics?'
“I always think back to a cold October night in 2000, when I stood on a makeshift barricade on the Adams Mine Road. Across the road, police were lining up for mass arrests. But the people who were holding the line weren't radicals, they were my neighbours - many of them senior citizens and farmers. Up until that moment, I had never considered a life in politics... as I stood on that barricade, I realized that the people who should have been there to protect the public interest had sold us out."
In essence, his narrative describes the challenges northern and rural communities face in organizing to challenge mega-projects. In last week’s story about Matachewan, we found out citizens on a different scale do not have access to the mainstream media.
Many rural places are located far from the centres of power, and with limited financial resources, they cannot easily compete with those promoting multi-million-dollar developments.
Despite all of this Unlikely Radicals tells the NIMBY side of the story of how local socio-ecological knowledge mobilized a successful campaign in opposing the Adam’s Mine waste management project. It is touted as a definitive resource for being an activist.
John Vantof has been the MPP for Temiskaming-Cochrane since 2010. He also entered politics because of the Adams Mine.
"They launched a lawsuit against the Temiskaming Federation of Agriculture when I was the President, and against me personally. I ran in 2007 to get the provincial government to nudge the company to drop the suit, which they ultimately did. I have not been in contact with them since," he recalled.
Gated and maintained by a custodian
The Adams Mine is not really abandoned per se; it is gated, and there is a custodian.
The mine is currently owned by an American investor named Vito Gallo (V.G. Gallo, a national of the United States and the legal and beneficial owner of 100% of the shares of 1532382 Ontario Inc.) and was the subject of a NAFTA Chapter 11 arbitration between Gallo, on behalf of the numbered company, and the Government of Canada. See a few paragraphs below about Mr. Gallo and ownership of the mine.
The claim (March 30, 2007) was that the Government of Ontario failed to pay proper compensation when it passed legislation that revoked the permits that it had previously granted for the site to be operated as a landfill.
See the final judgement.
On September 16, 2011, the Tribunal issued its Award on Jurisdiction.
“The Tribunal found 'without hesitation' that there was insufficient evidence to show that the Claimant owned the Enterprise prior to the enactment of the AMLA and dismissed his claim. In doing so, the Tribunal questioned the lack of contemporaneous documents and found that a number of the corporate documents were backdated. It also questioned the Claimant’s minimal involvement in the acquisition and management of the Enterprise.”
Damages claimed $105 million CAD – the tribunal dismissed the claim and awarded $450 thousand USD in costs to Canada.
One of the investors of the numbered company is Mario Cortellucci (pg. 384, “Trashed’). He is mentioned many times in the book’s Index. You can Google him; he is a real estate developer (Cortel Group) affiliated with Premier Doug Ford’s government. See this NDP story and Minister’s Zoning Orders.
On ‘X’ (Twitter), Charlie Angus @CharlieAngusNDP posted:
“Ask Mario Cortellucci about his involvement in 1532382 Ontario Inc. and the attempt to sue Canada for $355 million."
The front was Vito Gallo - a cousin of Mario's business partner. He claimed to be a secret owner of the Adams Mine.
Seriously.
From Mike Harris through to Doug Ford.
It was followed by a raina douris@RahRahRaina Jan. 21, 2021 post.
“Fascinated by this man, Mario Cortellucci, and his outsized influence on Ontario and GTA politics. Cortellucci, who lives in Vaughan and ran as a far-right candidate for the Italian Senate back in 2018 - is a major Ford donor…”
Raina Douris is the host & writer of World Cafe is hosted and produced by Raina Douris in Philadelphia at WXPN presents interviews and performances with today's essential and emerging artists on National Public Radio.
In the Angus book on page 201.
“The mysterious Mr. Gallo wanted the entire hearing kept from the public…the only connection to the deal was that he was a cousin of Cortellucci’s partner, Saverio Montenmarano.” And, “The tribunal marvelled that Gallo was unable to produce a single piece of paper to establish his claim that he was the owner of the mine site prior to the passage of the Adams Mine Act.”
Charlie Angus went on to say, “There you have it - the last attempt to squeeze a buck out of the Adams Mine ended in a humiliating spanking before a NAFTA tribunal.”
Mr. Cortellucci ran in an election in Italy in 2018. Italian citizens, representing the diaspora, living in the North and Central America region, elect two members of the Chamber of Deputies (the lower house) and one for the Senate positions reserved for Italian citizens living abroad. He was aligned with an 'Anti-immigration' policy ticket. He was not successful.
From a media story, campaign finance records published by Elections Ontario reveal nearly a dozen members of the wealthy Cortellucci family donated close to the maximum amount allowable under Ontario law in February to the Premier of Ontario’s leadership 2018 campaign – the family’s combined contributions add up to $11,100.
The Lieutenant Governor of Ontario appointed Mr. Cortellucci to the York Region Police Services Board for a three-year term on October 22, 2022. You can see more of his bio at this link.
In this October 30, 2023, story on CBC by Mike Crawley, Developer guests at Doug Ford family wedding got fast-track zoning approvals from government, Mr. Cortellucci is identified.
Garbage Crisis imminent?
As of 2011, Toronto's garbage is now primarily disposed of at the city-owned Green Lane landfill.
The Green Lane landfill is in Southwold, Ontario, Canada, southwest of London. It is owned and operated by the City of Toronto as Toronto's main landfill, located 200 kilometres (120 mi) west of the city, so trucks continue to roll down Highway 401 West from transfer stations in the city.
Ontario has a garbage crisis, we don’t entirely know what to do with our refuse. It is rapidly running out of landfill space, and the province doesn’t have a strategy to address this.
Municipalities are faced with this pending challenge of existing capacity (southern Ontario) projected to be exhausted within the next few years. This is due to increased waste generation, limited new landfill development, and the provincial government's change to the Environmental Assessment Act, giving municipalities veto power over new landfill sites.
It is not new news.
In September 2018, the Ontario Ministry of Environment received a report from two consultants, GHD and Policy Integrity, examining Ontario’s landfill capacity needs. That report concluded Southeastern Ontario would run out of currently approved landfill capacity as early as 2030, and Southwestern Ontario by 2035. The consultants recommended that officials begin planning for the new capacity immediately.
A recent good example is the controversial proposal for a landfill near Ingersoll (London-Woodstock). The town announced in November 2021 that Walker Industries, the company behind the plan, would no longer pursue the project due to ongoing public and municipal opposition, and the Canadian Environmental Law Association. The landfill proposal had faced significant resistance from residents and local councils, citing concerns about potential environmental and health impacts. A NIMBY example.
So, the province is relying heavily on a small number of large landfills and exporting waste to the United States, making it vulnerable to capacity shortages and potential border closures. This, according to the Ontario Waste Management Association.
From this 2024 article written by an engineer: “Ontario sends a significant amount of waste to Michigan each year. According to some estimates, approximately 3.3 million tonnes of Ontario’s waste is exported to the United States, and about 87 per cent of that ends up in Michigan landfills. This means Michigan receives around 2.9 million tonnes of waste from Ontario annually.”
Because of the current tariff war with Mr. Trump, the United States could prohibit Ontario waste from crossing the border, and capacity could be exhausted even sooner. And on top of tariffs, Michigan is set to increase surcharges (“a $5 (USD) ton surcharge on all out-of-state waste. For waste coming from Canada, that’s a surcharge of $7.86 Cdn per tonne.”). It will become cost-prohibitive.
A good northern Ontario example is in the Soo. To extend the life of the current landfill, the city exports an unknown quantity of solid waste to Northern Michigan. See page 47, 4.1.4 of Export of Waste Outside of Service Area in this 2024 report. All municipalities are faced with extending the life of their landfills by investigating, implementing and supporting programs to increase waste diversion through 3Rs initiatives. The impact is not enough, though.
Time to ‘fess up. Full disclosure.
I am identified in the ‘Trashed’ book on page 266 and the ‘Unlikely Radicals’ on page 57. At the time, there was a concept presented to the Toronto City Council proposing that a Canadian Environmental Solutions Centre be created in tandem with the operation of the landfill site. The thinking was to educate people (“edutourism”), especially youth, about reducing consumptive lifestyles (choices) – the 3 R’s. Through school trips and curricula, the mega project operation would be used as a lifelong learning opportunity.
I recall presenting this at City Hall-Nathan Phillips Square.
I became the recipient of the political skills of then-Councillor Jack Layton.
As a shrewd orator, my well-intended thoughts were torn to shreds by Mr. Layton, and I was “hung and left out to dry,” walking out of the meeting room onto the plaza, wondering what just happened. I learned what a real politician was like in the public arena. There was a feeling that the tide was about to rise, and it eventually did. The Adams Mine project was defeated.
The end of the story?
See the map showing where the Michigan (Detroit crossing) landfill sites are located, the Green Lane Landfill (and how close people live to this site near London), Dafter Sanitary Landfill in Brimley, Michigan, where Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, waste is transported and the Adams Mine.
NIMBY is a pejorative term.
We will eventually put waste into the ground near Ignace. Site selection has been approved. The Township of Ignace and the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation have been selected as the host communities for Canada's deep geological repository for used nuclear fuel.
In the second-to-last paragraph of his book, Charlie Angus referenced a letter from a constituent: “You can be proud of the people of Timiskaming. Never underestimate the power of a people backed into a corner on their home ground.” He concurred.
Twenty years ago, Gordon McGuinty ended his book like this. “The Adams mine and the South Pit landfill sit just south of Kirkland Lake, Ontario. They aren’t going anywhere. The landfill capacity keeps getting smaller, and the US border keeps getting tighter. The Adams mine and rail-haul remain a world-class waste management opportunity for Ontario and Canada. I will never feel we lost. The United States of America does not have to be Canada’s largest garbage dump.”
'May' and 'can' are modal or auxiliary verbs; they show possibility. History can or may repeat itself on the back roads.