Last Monday, residents of Stratford, Ontario, Canada, staged a protest outside city hall regarding the proposed building of Xinyi Glass Canada’s new float plant in the city, according to reporting in the Beacon Herald. The protest took place before the local council was due to discuss a cost-sharing agreement with the company.
Residents voiced concerns regarding new information regarding the provincial Minister’s Zoning Order, information of which was published the same day in the Beacon Herald; the MZO, approved by Steve Clark, Minister of Municipal Affairs, allows the representative to approve zoning “without public consultation or opportunities for appeal,” according to the Beacon Herald. Some residents feel that the normal public planning process has been bypassed by the council’s decision to request the MZO, according to the Herald's reporting.
Stratford citizens Loreena McKennitt and Paul Perlee have submitted a letter to Mayor Dan Mathieson and the city council regarding the perceived lack of transparency.
Previous to last week, Xinyi Glass had hosted two online public meetings with Stratford residents, as reported in the Herald. Debate regarding the city’s cost-sharing infrastructure agreement with Xinyi was deferred until an undetermined date by the city’s local council after a special meeting on Nov. 17. The mayor cited pending answers for residents’ question as the reason for the deferral.
