POLITICAL ACCOUNTABILITY: PERHAPS LINK JAIL TIME WITH LENGTH OF TIME TOXIC CHEMICALS HAVE BEEN IN CANAGAGIGUE CREEK

I think on a basis of one year in jail for every ten years that the creek has been contaminated with toxic substances from Uniroyal Chemical in Elmira would be very generous and compassionate. Not of course for the victims of incompetence, negligence and self-serving behaviours but for the perpetrators that is. The real debate should be not so much how long in jail as much as who gets to go and experience our judicial/correctional systems first hand. Certainly provincial politicians who have been part of the governing party should be eligible unless you believe that just Cabinet ministers have any power and authority. O.K. then, each and every Ontario Cabinet minister since say the late 1950s would be good. Then of course how about the mandarins leading the Ontario Ministry of Environemnet and its predecessor, the Ontario Water Resources Commission. So lets say the Regional Directors for the West central region again since say the late 1950s. Finally of course I think that each and every corporate ownership involved since the 1940s should join the jail procession. I mean all the successor com[panies from Crompton, Chemtura and Lanxess have purchased the site with full knowledge of what they bought and how serious the contamination is and to date none of them have done much cleanup while talking up a storm. They've talked and had reports written while those living along the creek have continued to suffer. ............................................................................................................................... Now of course we would certainly see what kind of "independent" judiciary we have for this to happen. Afterall what government in power is going to pass new legislation criminalizing their past colleagues? Nope the judical system is going to have to go after these criminals using the currently available laws that prohibit criminal negligence causing bodily harm as well as other laws prohibitng intentional physical harm of human beings. Pat Potter would have referred to the exercise as the "Uniroyal Trials".