TERMS OF REFERENCE CHANGED DUE TO CHEMTURA'S COMPLAINING

But here's the irony in all of this. 1) Chemtura and their supporters (known & secret) are always bitching about a lack of confidentiality. They want every meeting and every discussion deemed "confidential". My response is fine. If you want a confidential meeting to discuss your personal prostate surgery or your vasectomy then so be it. However if you want to have a confidential meeting with Council or CPAC dealing with any aspect of cleaning up the publicly owned groundwater in Elmira, then you are SOL (.... out of luck). Chemtura opened this can of worms with their ignorant, public attack upon the CPAC Chair at a Council meeting last December, falsely accusing him of breeching a confidentiality that did not exist.

2) Chemtura have indicated that they believe that CPAC are not a committee of council according to the Municipal Act. A Woolwich Councillor plus Staff say otherwise. Chemtura's purpose in their claim was to "free" CPAC from the requirement that they not attend private meetings. Chemtura wanted CPAC to update/amend their Terms of Reference (paragraph #13) which states private meetings are a no-no. Therefore upon Chemtura's request that CPAC examine and potentially amend their Terms of Reference; CPAC in the spirit of cooperation agreed to so re-examine them. This they have done and have made numerous changes dealing with voting groups and voting rights. In regards to private CPAC or CPAC technical meetings with anybody including Chemtura/CRA/M.O.E., they (CPAC) have upheld the principle of no private meetings other than those allowed under the Municipal Act. They changed paragraph #13 and it is now paragraph #15.

3) I believe and 100% support both CPAC's and Woolwich Township's position regarding private meetings between volunteers representing the interests of Woolwich residents and major polluters and their partners in pollution (eg. M.O.E.). This term has been grossly violated in the past. Does it include teleconferences as well as private meetings of CPAC members at Chemtura in Elmira, Conestoga Rovers in Waterloo, Ministry of the Environment in Hamilton and even CPAC members taking corporate (Chemtura) jets south of the border? If it does then no wonder Chemtura are so upset. They've had it to their liking despite written Terms of Reference to the contrary for a very long time. The past Council kicked me off CPAC when I appealed a certificate of Approval (ammonia treatment) privately negotiated between former councillor McLean and Susan Bryant with the Ministry of the Environment. Former Chair of CPAC, Mclean then shut down CPAC for six months to avoid debate on the ammonia certificate of approval as well as to get Woolwich Council to eject me.

I do give credit to the new Council elected in October 2010 for their firm position against any further private discussions/negotiations between CPAC and or individual members and Chemtura/M.O.E./CRA.