SAME OLD GOVERNMENT & BUREAUCRATIC RESPONSES TO THE PUBLIC

Last Saturday I posted an update here on my looking into an alleged storm water pond being constructed on the property of Floradale Feed Mill that discharges into the Woolwich Reservoir. Excuse me all to hell if I believe that the Woolwich Dam (& reservoir) are public property as in bought and paid for by taxpayers' money. Yes of course there is a private benefit involved namely to Lanxess Canada and possibly their predecessor Uniroyal Chemical donated some money towards this alleged flood control and recreational project back in the very early 1970s. If Uniroyal did so (?) it was because they would have been the immediate beneficiaries of a steady supply of water in the dry summer months to flush their toxic wastes downstream in the Canagagigue Creek towards the Grand River.

In my post of last Saturday I mentioned that I had requested a copy of the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) permit given to the Floradale Feed Mill allowing their construction of a storm water pond and discharge outlet to the Woolwich reservoir. In a timely manner I received a response from Beth Brown of the GRCA advising that she was unable to provide a copy of that permit and that I would need to submit a Freedom of Information (FOI) request. I responded immediately as follows:

"Ms. Brown: Thank you for the information that you were able to provide. As an aside I have wondered over the years if FOI legislation has been somehow reversed such that it has become simply one more hurdle to be overcome by citizens rather than an actual assist to greater openness and transparency resulting in greater cooperation and trust between government agencies and the public. I do hope to see the outlet installation completed before we receive any more heavy rainfalls."

Sincerely Alan Marshall


As an aside there was yet another rainfall last evening. The water in the storm water pond will gravity flow right towards the Lions Trail, across the surface of it and then fall directly ten feet down the dirt and ground embankment into the reservoir. It would seem obvious to me that a steel or concrete outlet should have been installed first not last in order to avoid erosion of both the Trail and of the embankment above the reservoir.