CPAC TERMS OF REFERENCE REQUIRE UPDATING

I have sent out feelers to various interested and possibly uninterested parties in regards to changing Woolwich Townships Terms of Reference for the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) specifically; with the proviso that maybe all their committees Terms of Reference may require updating. As currently written CPAC's Terms of Reference are illogical, inconsistent and essentially ignored anyways. This time round their update should include serious consultation and input from all of the current CPAC and SWAT membership.

The problem no longer is one of speculation or mere say so. Recently at a public meeting CPAC were treated to the spectacle of a former long time CPAC member admitting that they had been working with Conestoga Rovers, consultants to Chemtura, on the side. This work whether directly related to CPAC issues or not (it was) should have been made transparent to all CPAC members at the time because there was the possibilty of a conflict of interest between their private interests and their public duty as CPAC members.

This is not the first time a CPAC member, appointed by Woolwich Council, has been in a conflict of interest position. We've had two others who were members of the National Advisory Panel of the then CCPA and the now CIAC (Chemistry Institute Association of Canada). They were members at the exact same time as Chemtura were attempting to receive Verification from CIAC. This Chemtura Verification which was just denied again this week was done so with current CPAC members being consulted and advising against Verification. It would be totally inappropriate for any of those current members to be also members of the CIAC.

It is conceivable that a CPAC member could be a member of a related body or even collaborating on a project with another CPAC party such as Conestoga Rovers without a conflict of interest. The icing on the cake however is the blatant lack of transparency. This information was kept secret from the CPAC members at the time, including myself. It was relevant in the extreme and the individuals had a duty to advise both Woolwich Council and their fellow CPAC members of any possible or apparent conflict of interest. Clearly these requirements need to be enshrined in the Terms of Reference for upcoming CPAC members.