Plans to expand Colt weapons plant in Kitchener condemned by public, approved by council

Plans to almost double the size of a Colt Canada weapons plant in Kitchener were condemned by several members of the public at a city council meeting on Monday night.

Councillors approved a zoning bylaw amendment and an amendment to the official plan after hearing concerns from the public.

The plant, located at 1036 Wilson Ave., is looking to expand by almost double by adding an extension to the building, demolishing two reportedly unoccupied homes adjacent to the lot to expand parking, as well as, installing a pedestrian bridge.

The public had concerns about how the expansion would impact the environment located near the plant, how it would affect transportation, and the ethics of allowing a weapons plant to increase production.

Sheikh Mohammed, a labor organizer in Kitchener, noted that council would be “setting dangerous and unethical priorities by approving this expansion.”

“While we have a housing crisis in KW, people living hand to mouth on the streets, they’re starving, they don’t have any shelter during high winter, they freeze to death, it is unconscionable to set land aside for a weapons factory,” he said.

Another speaker, Andrew Reeves, added that the decision undermines the safety of the local population and has implications overseas. Reeves said this expansion could in part make Kitchener complicit in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

Mridhulaa Suresh added that the decision goes against the City of Kitchener’s objectives to foster a caring city, specifically when it comes to enhancing Truth and Reconciliation.

She added that Colt Canada is a major supplier of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, an organization that she says “enacts violence on Indigenous communities.”

“How can we justify working towards reconciliation while actively supporting violations of the UN declaration of rights of Indigenous peoples?” said Suresh. “The RCMP constantly enacts violence upon Indigenous communities armed with Colt weapons.”

Other concerns involved adding significant traffic to Wilson Avenue where the plant is located, a narrow road with no sidewalk, and asking the city why a full environmental assessment of the area wasn’t completed to ensure the adjacent riparian area would not be negatively impacted.

“The demolition of two homes to rezone the area from residential to industrial during a housing crisis, the environmental impact and the creation of a parking lot goes against the city’s active transportation strategy.,” Ward 9 Councillor Debbie Chapman, who voted against the proposal, told CityNews.

Council voted in favour of the amendment, though councillors Debbie Chapman, Christine Michaud, Margaret Johnson, and Stephanie Stretch voted that they were opposed.

City staff advised council that what is manufactured at the plant is not for them to consider when deciding whether or not to approve the amendment. Staff told the public that they will need to take their concerns of weapon violence in Canada and abroad to the federal government.

Staff will take the concerns for the environment and traffic impacts into consideration when moving forward with the planning process.