Burlington to give musician Sarah Harmer key to the city as her fight against quarry expansion continues
CBC
As singer-songwriter Sarah Harmer prepares to receive the symbolic key to the City of Burlington – in large part for her leadership in a fight against quarry expansion on Mount Nemo – the fate of that quarry is currently in the hands of the Ontario Land Tribunal (OLT).
Harmer will be honoured by her hometown at a ceremony at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre on April 16 at 7 p.m. The honour follows her Humanitarian Award, which she received at the 2025 Juno Awards in March.
The award "recognizes an outstanding Canadian artist or industry leader whose humanitarian contributions have positively enhanced the social fabric of Canada and/or whose impact can be felt worldwide."
"In 2005, Harmer co-founded Protecting Escarpment Rural Land (PERL), to stop a massive crushed rock quarry on Mount Nemo, part of the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve," states the Junos' website.
"In 2012, PERL played a key role at the Ontario Joint Board hearing, stopping Lafarge/Nelson Aggregates from destroying endangered species habitats, significant headwater wetlands, and safe and abundant drinking water."
Harmer's parents own land in the vicinity of the quarry, which is adjacent to the Mount Nemo Conservation Area, and she grew up there.
The quarry, owned by Nelson Aggregates, is located on the Niagara Escarpment in rural north Burlington, on 2 Sideroad between Cedar Springs Road and Guelph Line.
The proposal currently before the OLT is the company's second attempt in the last 20 years to expand its footprint.
The OLT hearing started March 4 and is scheduled for 60 hearing days.
On Thursday, day 22 of the hearing, Harmer was one of dozens of observers watching the proceedings. The hearing will present testimony from experts supporting both Nelson Aggregates, the company looking to expand, local municipalities and the local advocates fighting against the expansion.
Harmer, who wrote the song Escarpment Blues based on this situation, says she got involved in the issue through her mom, and is passionate about protecting the natural world.
"We put a meeting together in 2005 and have been focused for many years on protecting the well water, endangered species, clean air, and all the things we need to survive," she told CBC Radio's Here and Now in late March.
The company first applied to expand in 2004 and was eventually denied by Ontario's Consolidated Hearings Board (Joint Board) in 2012 on the basis that "Nelson had not made sufficient provision for the protection of these unique ecologic and environmentally sensitive areas" and would encroach on habitat for the Jefferson salamander, an endangered species that resides in the area.
In May 2020, it submitted a new application to expand. The new proposal would expand the quarry into a field south of the existing site and into the Burlington Springs Golf and Country Club to the west.
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