Dear Editor,
Thank you for the article that you presented on the BFI proposal. It can sometimes be hard to know where to turn for support when in a rural municipality, a hamlet of 350 people is not in the best position to have its voice heard when dealing with large corporations. The proposal from BFI is completely out of keeping with the area. Blackie has some light industry in the hamlet which fits well within the small community but immediately outside the hamlet it is agricultural farm land. A part of the idyllic nature of living within a community like Blackie is the simple pleasure of watching the fields grow and change colour with different crops being rotated in the field year on year. It is not industrial and it appears that BFI has at times been disingenuous with their reassurances, even the project title "Prairie Skies" leans towards the use of smoke and mirrors to persuade people to accept a blight on the prairie landscape and the potential for serious problems with groundwater and debris. In addition, the proposal for the two entrance/exits on Highway 23 is of concern because winter conditions can be a cause of serious accidents most years even without the increase in heavy traffic using the site.
My hope is that there will be a strong turnout, regardless of whether for or against, at the next meeting in Blackie School on June 28, including some political interest as this has been low key until now.
John Hogan
Blackie
