CREDIT GOES TO SANDY SHANTZ FOR ANNOUNCING HER STEPPING DOWN EARLY

 

Instead of delaying her announcement that she wasn't running and hence possibly being viewed as a "lame duck" mayor by both her Woolwich and regional colleagues; she has announced already that she is not running for Woolwich Mayor again this October. Hallelujah albeit the damage is done and the last ditch chance to reverse Woolwich Township's disgraceful "water crisis" legacy is now well past. The Township rolled over early and joined the Uniroyal Chemical fellow travellors' cheerleading group. After the new CPAC (2011-2015) changed the channel and set the new direction however it was Sandy Shantz who re-embraced Uniroyal/Chemtura, kicked out CPAC and went back to the status quo of much talk and little action or cleanup.  

Uniroyal and their corporate successors have made a laughing stock of local democracy and of the provincial Ministry of Environment (MECP). Clearly our provincial environmental laws are absolutely no match for multi billion dollar, multi national corporations with large legal budgets and tiny ethics and decency. No effort was ever spared by the polluters to minimize their cleanup costs and enhance their soiled reputations. And our local councils aided and abetted that over decades to their everlasting shame. 

To date I believe that councillor Eric Schwindt has thrown his hat into the ring.  I guess I'm not terribly surprised nor alarmed although I will admit my knowledge of him is limited. What I have seen over the last four years has been positive in a number of areas . I do not know if there will be other contenders or not although it seems likely. You know I can live with a mayor with a different background than myself but dear God at least let them have an open mind regarding our public water supply and they must put the public interest first in all matters. They must not be beholden to developers, builders, industrialists or our local big shots or for that matter any other self-serving groups especially including regional and provincial governments.   

GROWTH AT ANY COST MANTRA

 

All around the world economic growth continues to be the alleged panacea of all our ills. Which is complete nonsense even on the face of it. Yes it would be nice to have enough food, water, shelter, health care etc. for everyone on the planet but it is an impossible task getting worse everyday. Why is that you ask? Well there are more and more people on the same size planet everyday. There is however not an automatic and corresponding increase in those life sustaining items everyday as the population continues to grow.  Combined with that is the fact that economic growth at least partially depends on population growth. In other words it's a case of having an ever expanding market for your goods be they foodstuffs, clothing or automobiles.

Population growth leads to some awful environmental problems from basic dumping and overflows from sewage treatment plants into our lakes and rivers as well as forest removal in order to grow more food for more people. Then of course we have climate change which certainly is attributed to more petroleum uses whether for heating our homes or running cars and trucks delivering more products to more people. Climate change including rising ocean levels as ice caps melt is causing havoc with flooding of coastal towns and cities. Greater heat worldwide is causing massive increases in both the numbers and magnitude of violent weather events resulting in more hurricanes and tornados destroying property and lives. Both droughts and floods are increasing in numbers and both affect food production which is already under stress.

Water shortages used to be an issue in third world countries. Now countries are looking for water sources outside their own borders. Water, whether groundwater or surface water, is in greater demand even as our industries continue to ignore pollution laws with little or no public recourse against them. Here in Elmira the now responsible chemical company are bragging about their fine "cleanup" work even as the Ministry of Environment rewrites the Control Order (1991) that was supposed to restore our local aquifers destroyed by Uniroyal Chemical. The deadline is 2028 and it won't happen although desperation may cause attempts to reopen parts of the aquifer to drinking water pumping while pretending to isolate other more contaminated parts. 

This is all our futures unless growth is more seriously limited and supervised. 

ABUNDANT, ACCURATE & HONEST ADVICE WAS GIVEN TO UNIROYAL & SUCCESSORS : IT WAS ALL IGNORED AND DENIGRATED

 

Who gave them advice exactly? CEAC gave them good advice for years. The Region of Waterloo as well until they walked away unhappy with being ignored. Various bodies from the initially independent albeit stacked with Uniroyal supporters UPAC followed by CPAC (Crompton/Chemtura) followed by RAC/TAG and then TRAC all gave some good advice but other than the 2011-early 2015 CPAC none of the others ever stood up to the company and the Ministry (MOE/MECP) and demanded honest discussions, action and good faith from them. Chemtura were just like their predecessors incapable of doing any of that. 

Woolwich Township have always been far too sympathetic and deferential to the chemical company with the Oct. 2010 to Oct. 2014 council of Todd Cowan at least trying to support greater honesty at CPAC although even then Todd Cowan personally was a problem. Eventually as we all know he self destructed albeit with a little help. The GRCA can best be described as a joke which speaks volumes as to my lack of response to Doug Ford's clipping their wings. 

The advice given was based upon various reports and experts advising what needed to be done including the MOE from time to time, in between polishing Uniroyal's apple and kissing their feet . Advice included Source Removal including DNAPLS, pumping to both the on-site and off-site Target Rates determined by their own consultants,  removing dioxins, DDT and more in the downstream Canagagigue Creek and so much more. Off-site there were poorly managed DNAPLS (chlorobenzene) whether from Uniroyal or a now decades later admission to a second (unnamed) industrial source. There was also advice given to clean up their air emissions which literally took them years to get around to meanwhile harming local residents' (adults & children) health. 

The company's and the Ministry's (MOE) early on sweetheart deal (Oct. & Nov. 1991) set the tone for the company's continuing to be in charge of the "cleanup" from start to finish. The "cleanup" unsurprisingly has failed just like the company and Ministry have failed Elmira, Woolwich and downstream residents. 

HOW MANY WOOLWICH COUNCILLORS WANT TO HANG AROUND FOR THE WATER BLAME ?

 

Well the chief architect of the Elmira cleanup failure over the last twelve years by the time the October elections roll around is running for the hills. She also bears some responsibility at the regional level for the water crisis throughout all of Waterloo Region. How many other regional as well as local councillors do you think will join the exodus? I would expect the mayors with more than one term as mayors and regional councillors might be thinking that this is a good time to hit the road. Is that only Barry Vrbanovic or is one of the other big city mayors a repeat culprit?

I expect that up here in Dogpatch (Woolwich) that there might be some small exodus of councillors although actually other than Bonnie Bryant, the others are all first term councillors. Hard to fault them horribly from one term's experience in which a quadruple term Sandy Shantz was leading the pack. She also spent a term as a councillor before her three terms as mayor. A small peccadillo derailed her for one term between her term as councillor and her three terms as mayor.  

I have spent years trying to figure out if she basically is a naive fool, easily swayed and manipulated by the likes of Dave Brenneman, Mark Bauman, Chemtura/Lanxess and other local big shot companies and individuals. Or has she with full knowledge ploughed ahead wrecking havoc on our environment and health by prioritizing growth and business at all costs?  Uniroyal and successors is not the only industrial dump  in Woolwich Township. Breslube, prior to Safety-Kleen, damaged our environments's air and water for extensive distances throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s. Safety-Kleen were always welcomed with open arms and glad handing by earlier Woolwich mayors including Bill Strauss who personally owned multiple contaminated sites related to the fuel industry. 

Perhaps we the citizens deserve both the environment and the mayors that we've had. Sebastian (TRAC) has very lately sent an excellent treatise on to some local environmentalists and unfortunately to a couple of wanna bees that may bite him. That could be unfortunate or it could turn out to be a blessing in disguise as he spends less time with those he refers to as deferential.  

MAYOR SHANTZ"S LEGACY IS LIKELY PROBLEMATIC

 

I suggest that her legacy is problematic mostly based upon her efforts regarding Elmira's water situation. Yes I am aware that the Woolwich Observer and others have been warning taxpayers here in Woolwich Township for decades about profligate municipal spending. Those folks have also likely suggested either empire building or at least unnecessary municipal hires which further add to the Township's financial burden when wages, benefits and long term cost of living increases are all included.

It is also possible that there are other issues such as local development both in Breslau and Elmira that may have offended many citizens. I do not however pretend to be either an expert on the intricacies of development nor on waste water infrastructure. I do have considerable knowledge however on water supply including both municipal, regional and even individual wells on private residences.

For myself there is one other major area of recent dispute that Mayor Shantz possibly cleverly avoided at all costs and that is the Region of Waterloo's mishandling of  Wilmot's water supplies. Keep in mind that Mayor Shantz has also been a regional councillor for the past twelve years and should have stepped up and provided some leadership within regional council. Absolutely none was heard or reported upon at regional council meetings that multiple media have been attending vigorously for at least the last six months. 

I have a colleague here in Elmira who has resoundingly been repeating the following mantra namely that Ms. Shantz's actions and decisions over the last eleven years have guaranteed the now universally accepted failure to clean up the Elmira Aquifers by 2028. While the "cleanup" has been irregular, inconsistent and inadequate for decades, the last chance to turn things around was in 2015 after the previous year's election which made Ms. Shantz mayor. Unfortunately, likely with bad advice (Brenneman & Bauman), she did absolutely everything wrong to restore the public's aquifers and everything right to minimize the polluter's environmental expenses and to polish Chemtura's and Lanxess's public images. 

She has announced that she won't run in this fall's election. While that is a long overdue blessing I am not sure that local powers that be will not have multiple replacements waiting in the wings to solidify their influence generally at the expense of the public interest.  

IS JUSTICE CRAIG PARRY ANOTHER JUSTICE ROBERT REILLY ONLY 2.0 ?

 

I have noticed both the similarities and the differences. Both judges are local (Waterloo Region). Both are arrogant know it alls beyond belief. Both are stupid enough to think that either everybody in the world will believe their horseshit or that those who don't, do not matter.

The Dishonourable Robert Reilly dismissed the testimony of seven parent witnesses who supported me and my wife at trial. He blamed me alone for allegedly holding them under my spell and inducing them to falsely testify against the Plaintiff who sued both myself and my wife. Justice Craig Parry on the other hand dismissed the evidence of 48 female witnesses against Dr. Jeffrey Sloka. Justice Parry claimed that ALL the witnesses were unreliable however he blamed Waterloo Regional Police, the media and the prosecuters for having misled them in a variety of ways. I guess if you don't like multiple witnesses testimony than you need to scapegoat somebody.

Oh and my case was a civil case not a criminal case plus the co-accused (my wife) was found NOT liable as there was absolutely not one single shred of evidence presented against her.  When I refused to put her on the stand in my defence both the Plaintiff's lawyer and the asshat Judge went ballistic.  My in hindsight conclusion was that they were hoping to get her to say something on the stand to implicate herself because they had absolutely no evidence against her.

I had hoped and thought that Justice Reilly was the only local piece of crap Judge we had. I was mistaken apparently. I wonder if anybody at trial asked the police whether or not there were any male patients of Dr. Sloka (neurologist-brain, nerves etc.) who had complained about inappropriate and or intimate body examinations.  If not that kind of looks bad on the doctor don't you think? I also wonder how Justice Parry satisfied himself that Dr. Sloka's intimate bodily examinations were appropriate?  The Crown Prosecuter's witness a Neurologist said it was not appropriate. No other independent and certified witness said otherwise yet our Justice Craig Parry seems confident enough to substitute his judgement for that of a well known, certified professional Neurologist PLUS the opinions of the College of Physicians and Surgeons who permanently stripped Dr. Sloka of his medical license for his behaviour with female patients.

If if looks like a duck ....if it waddles like a duck ....and if it quacks like a duck ...it probably is a duck or in this case he probably is two letters past d....  and rhymes with duck.  

JUSTICE CRAIG PARRY JOINS THE ELITE JUDICIAL GIANTS WHO ACQUITTED JIAN GOMESHI, FIVE HOCKEY CANADA PLAYERS & OUR OWN ROBERT REILLY

 

Now I must add something critical here. Surely to goodness based upon the judicial precedents set over decades (centuries?) combined with the clearly vastly superior mental, emotional and psychological attributes of  male judges, there is no need to continue the trial of the unfortunate Frank Stronach who is being dragged through the mud by a plethora of obviously jealous and petty women. These women recall had dinner with him in a public restaurant and then despite his advanced age compared to themselves, they allowed him to convince them to go and look at his etchings... oops I mean his view of the Toronto (Hamilton?) harbour from his condominium.  There the inevitable happened and their disappointment afterwards was manifested via rape allegations by many of them.  Surely the Judge currently involved can see that (if he is male as the organ involved self centres and points due south) hence grounding and stabilizing male opinions and attitudes. This is very important in matters of jurisprudence and wise male judges while denying reliance on their little head versus their big head nevertheless are far more capable of understanding the intricacies of biology versus neurology. 

Speaking of neurology I can hear the critics now hammering Justice Craig Parry simply because he was experienced enough to be able to overcome the aura of competence and intellect professed by many doctors, particularly female ones. The neurologist who testified against Dr. Jeffrey Sloka was female and clearly the good Judge with his decades of legal experience was eminently qualified in all spheres of human knowledge to overrule her medical training, knowledge and certifications as an accredited neurologist in order to discredit her competence on the stand. We are indeed blessed to have such courage and steadfastness in the face of  so many undeveloped brains and emotions compared to those of our various judicial giants. Justice Parry I expect that some day statues will be raised to yourself and your male peers on the stand.