"DELAY, DENY, WATCH THEM DIE"

This is in particular reference to government behaviour in four different areas namely Benefits for injured veterans, negotiating with indigenous Canadians on land claims, Workman's Compensation Board (WCB) benefits and lastly environmental remediation including right here in Elmira. I'm sure that there are lots of other examples of how our alleged "democratic" governments treat their citizens. The quote in the title above is from a story (pg. A.8) in today's Waterloo Region Record describing the backlog in assessing veterans' applications for benefits based upon various injuries sustained while serving their countries. It is disgraceful and unconscionable and truly shows the hypocrisy of our federal government regarding veterans. There is a second story on page A.3 regarding land claims litigation/negotiations between the federal government and the Six Nations of the Grand River. Some of these legal actions are merely twenty-six years old and others go back to 1985 and are thirty-six years old and not completed. Also what exactly does that say about our judicial system? Hmm, how about incompetent, complacent, racist and biased in favour of the party (government) that is in absolutely no hurry to end anything on their watch. ........................................................................................................................................ After the award winning series in the Record about the failures of our local Workmans' Compensation Board (WCB) in assessing and awarding damages to victims of K-W's rubber industry, it is very clear that the quote in the title applies here as well. After all the longer the WCB delays, the fewer living victims are left looking for appropriate compensation after working in toxic environments that our provincial government's are supposed to regulating for health and safety issues. ................................................................................................................. Finally we have a toxic creek (Canagagigue) and groundwater in Elmira, Ontario courtesy of Uniroyal Chemical, the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MOE/MECP), and local and provincial politicians (i.e. "local" - Regional councils, municipal councils (Woolwich)). The first and most significant study by the Ontario Water Resources Commission was in 1966. Other major and minor studies have been conducted since (1995-96, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2017, 2020) all indicating toxic conditions in multiple media (soil, sediments, fish tissues etc.) by multiple toxic compounds including mercury, PCBs, DDT, DDD, DDE, dioxins/furans, lindane and other herbicides and pesticides. The good news is that by delaying for five or six decades not only has a significant amount of the contamination moved downstream well past the current Study Area but there are now a plethora of studies and results that the guilty parties who have always been in control of them and of so called "remediation" can pick and choose from. It's called Risk Assessment and I and other informed individuals find it to be mostly a form of professional "greenwashing". .......................................................................................................... The first rule for polluters in Ontario is: TOTALLY CONTROL THE PROCESS IN ORDER TO CONTROL THE TIMING, THE RESULTS, THE CLEANUP, THE COSTS AND THE PUBLIC ............................................................................................................................ P.S. Of course in Elmira just like the other examples the Delay and Deny has resulted in Watching Them Die whether from cancers, auto immune diseases, old age, or many other diseases exacerbated by toxic chemicals. Thank you Sandy, Ken, Lanxess, MECP and so many others deserving of negative recognition.