INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT - MY ASS

Citizens of Elmira and Woolwich you have been fed a tasty dish called public consultation. It is an invention, a facade and a sham of politicans worldwide. Its' purpose is to give the veneer of legitimacy, transparency and honesty where none truly exist. Our new Mayor was elected in large part on a platform of increased environmemntal action. To date the jury is still out on the Bio-En proposal (maybe), the numerous local gravel pit applications and on the Chemtura cesspool here in town. The jury is not out on the psuedo "cleanup" of the Elmira aquifer by 2028. The "jury", namely the new CPAC, have done what the old CPAC refused to do and that is to state emphatically that the cleanup will not and can not happen by 2028. This failure by the old is to their everlasting shame and this pronouncement by the new is to their everlasting credit.

There is no independent oversight whatsoever of the Chemtura and Elmira cleanup. It is run and controlled by the Mayor and his advisers. It is control based upon determining the CPAC Agenda, the location (Township building) of all public and private meetings, the Mayor having made himself Chair of CPAC, the precedent of two different Councils having dismissed in midterm a CPAC member for disagreeing with the actions of the Chair, firstly Pat McLean and secondly Julie-Ann Herteis. In both cases these Chairs are long gone and appropriately so. In both cases the Chair's positions were wide open for concern and criticism and in fact in the second case there was unanimity amongst the CPAC members that the Chair's position was ridiculous.

Let us assume for the moment that I and the current CPAC members still have faith in the overall environmental concern expressed by Mayor Cowan. This is not enough. Besides putting the credibility and reputations of local citizens at risk of damage if and when the Mayor chooses to pull the plug on them; then there are the two environmental professionals on the CPAC team. Can you imagine both the personal, financial and career implications for them if they were let go by the Mayor or Council because their professional opinions were in conflict with his political opinion/position? This is untenable and totally unacceptable. The Mayor and Council MUST publicly state that THEIR appointments to CPAC will last for the four year term of Council. The only exception should be resignation by the individual's choice for health or personal reasons.