SAME OLD SAME OLD

There is zero satisfaction in having your bad news opinion substantiated. Last night I spoke at the televised (Rogers Cable #20) Woolwich Council meeting. I spoke in detail concerning the carcinogenic, teratogenic and probable mutagenic health effects of Dioxins. I also briefly covered some world wide Dioxin disasters. Most interesting were the two questions asked by Councillor Bauman at the end of my talk as well as the questions not asked.

Councillor Bauman is good . He paraphrased my comments as to saying that the Ontario M.O.E. "had the hammer" in regards to Dioxin cleanup at Chemtura here in Elmira. My response was no they did not. The M.O.E. had been followers not leaders in Elmira the last two decades. They would follow the direction and the wishes of Woolwich Council and the citizens of Woolwich. What the M.O.E. require is leadership from the community. I further stated that Woolwich Council has more authority and power in regards to a cleanup at Chemtura than they realize if they would please use it. Councillor Bauman's second question was whether it was Council or the community who should be lobbying the candidates in the upcoming provincial election. Again I responded in the negative and suggested that whether Liberals or Conservatives provincially, they would be wise to get behind the local efforts here to clean up Chemtura's Dioxins. There could be good press or bad depending on provincial support led by our community and Council. In my opinion Councillor Bauman on both these questions was simply trying to redirect and refocus my talk away from Municipal responsibility and point it towards provincial responsibility.

Amazing to me was that nobody on Council brought their committee of Council, namely CPAC, into the conversation. Councillors did not suggest that CPAC was the answer or was the vehicle for Council's action. I interpret this as almost embarassment at the mess they've made of CPAC. Even Council have no confidence in their own creation right now.

The last point I found surprising was that at Agenda Item #3 "Resolutuions to come forward from Closed Meeting" , there were none. I expected Mayor Cowan to be appointed by Council as the new CPAC member and Chair. This was the logical agenda item for this to happen. Unless it happened later, which is unlikely, then despite his Chairing private CPAC meetings and probably the first public one on June 8/11, he is NOT a duly appointed CPAC member. Well!