January 8, 2010
Report for Presentation at public CPAC meeting of January 18, 2010 by Al Marshall
Elmira Environmental Hazards Team


On April 17, 1991 in the K-W Record, the Chairman of the Environmental Appeal Board “accused government officials… “of not being frank” about all the potential sources of groundwater contamination” in Elmira. The Chairman, John Swaigen, pressed M.O.E. hydrogeologist Bob Hillier whom later conceded “ I’m going to be hard pressed to say with 100% certainty that Varnicolor hasn’t contaminated (the municipal water) “. “Board vice chairman Knox Henry also challenged Hillier’s dismissal of Varnicolor as a potential polluter of the drinking water.”. “I’m still having difficulty with your conclusion” he told Hillier. “In all fairness , I just can’t accept it.”.

On Monday December 2, 1991, Bob Verdun of the Elmira Independent wrote an Editorial which earned him the respect of many, the hatred of his targets and the shock of the uninformed. Bob stated that “ The M.O.E. was created by the Ontario Conservatives two decades ago solely for public relations purposes.” Bob went on to suggest “ Ontario’s new NDP government has inherited a disgusting mess, but it has so far done little to correct it. Tragically the new government has continued to tolerate the fundamentally- corrupt practices of it’s predecessors, by allowing the M.O.E. to be an apologist for major polluters, instead of an effective police force against irresponsible industries.” The title of Bob’s Editorial was “ Varnicolor case reveals the fundamental corruption in the environment ministry “. For the record Bob also included the comment that some sincere people have been on the M.O.E. payroll from time to time and I think it would be polite of me in light of the usual presence of M.O.E. personnel at this public meeting to endorse Bob’s last comment.
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John Jackson of both Kitchener and Great Lakes United had the following comments in the Kitchener-Waterloo Record , May 26, 1990: “Complaining about private deals and meetings between the ministry officials and industry, … nothing has changed “. Further he added “ Industries are still allowed to get away with murder.”
Janine Feretti, Pollution Probe director , in the same Record article while acknowledging significant improvements in the Ministry of the Environment in the late 80’s under Jim Bradley’s direction suggested that prior to him the M.O.E. should have been called the Ministry of Polluter Protection.
Tim Flannery, a lawyer for APTE in an early Environmental Appeal Board hearing had this to say about the M.O.E., in the Record”s article : “There is a terrible tension and dichotomy in that ministry. There is the old guard who have their friends who used to make deals and that was the way business was done. There was nothing improper about it. After all the government told them to do that “
Along those same lines, Rich Clausi, at that time an APTE member and currently a member and co- founder of the Elmira Environmental Hazards Team stated in a July 2, 1990 Globe and Mail story “ We have very great faith in the people at the top. But we find the people lower down the rungs are not carrying out the minister’s wishes.”.
Further suggestions as to more accurate names for the M.O.E. included the Ministry of Lumps and Colours. This apparently was in reference to the early days in which the appearance of waterways was the only criterion. One of my personal favourites came about after the M.O.E. lengthened their name to the Ministry of Energy and Environment or M.O.E.E. . They then affectionately became known to some of us as the Ministry of Errors and Excuses
So where am I going with this history? A famous person once said that those who do not pay attention to history are doomed to repeat it. I strongly believe this. This history therefore is both for the benefit of the old guard at CPAC as well as for the benefit of the new CPAC members.
My last quote is another of my favourites. Severin Argenton, a couple of years prior to being sent to jail for environmental offences ; in the July 2, 1990 Globe and Mail story said the following “ We have been cleared (by the Ministry of the Environment ) . But this idiot group, these terrorists, it’s not good enough for them. They’re just a bunch of cranks who have never done a thing for the environment. I’m the only one who cares about the environment.”. The “terrorists “ and “cranks “ which Severin Argenton of Varnicolor infamy was referring to was of course APT Environment and more specifically to myself, Rich Clausi, Ted Oldfield and Susan Rupert.

Based on this brief history lesson I sincerely hope that CPAC, both old and new , will better understand something. The M.O.E., like all other provincial ministries, is extremely politicized. Their mandate , first and foremost, is NOT TO EMBARASS THE GOVERNMENT OF THE DAY. I believe that this has long led to the policies of denial, minimize all crises, and coverup wherever possible. Thus when I or others accuse the M.O.E. of being fundamentally corrupt, perhaps what we are really saying is that both the M.O.E. and the government of the day are in constant coverup mode. They don’t want the public to know how bad our air truly is or how badly polluted our surface and groundwater really is and hence the direct health effects resulting from it.

I can honestly tell CPAC that there are a number of M.O.E. personnel , past and present, whom I genuinely like and respect. I do not however like or respect MOST of the decisions and actions taken by their employer, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment.