THE "UNIROYAL TRIALS"

The above remark I believe was made by Pat Potter in 1995 regarding Uniroyal Chemical and the Elmira Water Crisis. If my memory serves correctly this occurred at a public meeting in the old arena complex on Snyder Avenue in Elmira, Ontario. At this meeting many experts as well as laypersons spoke in regards to Uniroyal Chemical's (once again) mickey mouse plans to hydraulically contain the shallow aquifer on only one quarter of their site (i.e. south-west corner).

As of this date the "Uniroyal trials" are not imminent. Based upon my hard earned knowledge and experience of the last thirty years, it would be easy to conclude that either the original corporate body or the current one are home free. Except. Uniroyal and their successors have shown over the decades an uncanny ability to seize defeat from the very jaws of victory. They have done this via fires, explosions, air releases, and more at the most inopportune times for them. Similarly just as environmental activists begin to give up on the majority of citizens ever rising up and demanding environmental improvements, they surprise us. A routine fugitive release of BLE-25 in September 2010 was enough to get all of Woolwich Council ejected in the next month's municipal election with the exception of councillor Mark Bauman from St. Jacobs. Almost a perfect election despite some of the less than stellar replacements in hindsight.

Time is both the weapon of choice of corporate polluters and their regulators as well as their greatest worry. What is coming down the pike to expose their coverups and failures in honesty and forthrightness? Dr. Richard Jackson was one such surprise for them. His criticisms from September 2015 until December 2016 of the MOE, CRA, and Uniroyal/Chemtura were incomparable and highly damaging to them. The failure of the local media to capture Dr. Jackson's public comments was unfortunate however his comments were indeed captured and published nevertheless. There is a record of them. I expect that more is coming. Every local person who has passed on prematurely from diseases that are not inevitable but exacerbated by bad air, food, and or water have left family members behind with long memories. They will not forget Uniroyal Chemical nor their fellow travellors.