The quote above is from the April 5, 2016 Waterloo Region Record Editorial titled "Council shouldn't gag the public". It is in my opinion one of the defining moments of both Sandy Shantz's mayoralty as well as in the battle for proper public consultation regarding the Elmira Water Crisis. It is also one of the defining moments personally for Dr. Dan Holt and myself regarding how Mayor Shantz and former councillor Mark Bauman disparaged and criticized CPAC (Chemtura Public Advisory Committee) back in 2015. They manufactured a crisis and then quietly backed both Chemtura (Uniroyal) and the Ontario Ministry of Environment's efforts to destroy CPAC as an effective, informed citizens' voice for a better cleanup of soils, ground and surface water in Elmira.
The above quote in the title of this Blog posting refers to Woolwich Council's egregious attempt to deny Woolwich citizens and residents the right to address their Council on a matter of local significance and of great importance. Now seven years later it is even more obvious that all the promises and commitments made by Uniroyal Chemical and the Ontario Ministry of Environment were nothing but wind and bluster. The 2028 mandated restoration of the Elmira Aquifers to drinking water standards will not happen according to all stakeholders. The goal (2028) was never impossible IF the guilty parties had listened with open minds to suggestions and comments from local, informed citizens. Instead with cover from both municipal and provincial politicians they ploughed ahead with the cheapest and least effective remediation possible. You get what you pay for.
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