SPEAKING THE TRUTH

The following is a Letter To The Editor (Elmira Independent) published on October 11, 2012 titled "Speaking the truth".


To THE Editor:

We are on the cusp of a political crisis originating here in Elmira. For 21 years , our authorities-municipal, regional and provincial -have closed ranks and colluded to deceive the public. Our new Woolwich Council made the decision that restoring Elmira's drinking water aquifers was more important than maintaining the status quo and fiction that the aquifers were "resting" and the ongoing non-cleanup was working.

It is not and never will because our Ontario Ministry of the Environment for the low, low price of saving their reputation and credibility, sold the farm to Uniroyal Chemical back in October 1991. The MOE permitted the company to save hundreds of millions of dollars in cleanup costs by giving them an indemnity (free pass) for known contamination.

This is the moral equivalent of giving Paul Bernardo a free pass for his known past murders while self-righteously proclaiming that the full weight of the law will descend upon him if the authorities learn of other murders down the road. Last Thursday, we saw a further crack in the ranks. The Region of Waterloo have stepped off the sinking ship of deception and reversed themselves regarding the hopes of the Elmira aquifers being restored. They have unequivocally stated that they have no present or future plans for the use of the Elmira Aquifers for drinking water.

What's left is our provincial Ministry of the Environment continuing to prop up the sweetheart deal they gave Uniroyal in 1991. It's all unraveling and there should be political and bureaucratic careers hanging in the balance. Whether the aquifers are ever restored or not, both the young Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) and new Woolwich Council deserve credit for stepping up and speaking the truth.

Alan Marshall
Elmira Environmental Hazards Team, SWAT member (sub-committee of CPAC)