MORE ON YESTERDAY'S "SOME OF THE BIGGEST COVERUPS & LIES..." BY THE MECP & UNIROYAL/LANXESS

Fifth one on the list is "Off-Site Pumping of Elmira Aquifers (3X more). This was the promise to CPAC in November 2012 that Chemtura would need to TRIPLE their off-site pumping rates in order to achieve drinking water standards by 2028. This promise came after Woolwich Council passed a Motion/Resolution supporting CPAC's advice that the Elmira Aquifers were not on track to be cleaned up by 2028 which the Ministry of Environment and Chemtura denied until from June 2012 until November 2012 when they suddenly announced that they needed to TRIPLE their pumping rates. History indicates that the lying buggers couldn't even Double it mucj less TRIPLE it.

The Stroh Drain! Oh my God! The filthy, lying buggers have denied, delayed and deflected everything in order to squirm, wiggle and lie their way out of that shameful embarrassment. Overflowing liquid wastes from the company's east side pits (RPE 1-5, BAE-1, RB-1, 2)  gravity flowed both directly east and south-east onto the Stroh farm as well as south into the low lying area just north of the diagonal ridge (NW to SE) of high ground  separating GP-1 & 2 from the low lying area and from the Stroh property. From the low lying area on the Uniroyal property they then gravity flowed eastwards into the even lower elevation lands on the Stroh property.

Public Consultation is beyond even being a sham. It started going south when Woolwich councillor Pat McLean with support from Susan Bryant dragged UPAC (Uniroyal Public Advisory Committee) into being a committee of Woolwich Council. All downhill, intentionally from there. Then mayor Sandy Shantz and Mark Bauman invented a "crisis" in 2015 in order to get rid of the excellent CPAC members and allow her to bring her curling buddies and other decent, but lacking in knowledge, patsies onto CPAC (Chemtura Public Advisory Committee). Later That committee called TAG was bolstered by young environmental professionals beholden to both the MECP and even possibly Lanxess and consultants GHD.

The sampling bias in the Canagagigue Creek is all about doing 92% of the sampling at the three bridges crossing the Creek downstream. This was done partially for convenience in bringing equipment and personnel into the Creek at convenient points i.e. roads . The MDLs are Method Detection Limits and by simply doing lab analyses at high detection limits, above the federal and or provincial criteria for that specific chemical, you van generate hundreds of Non-Detects. Simply more bogus bullsh*t.

The actual Risk Assessment of the Creek is based upon phony data with high MDLs. It is also nothing more than a subjective, partially mathematical construct with a predetermined outcome. Sketchy "professionals" know what results they are being paid to find and in order to guarantee further work, reports, sampling etc. down the road they had better deliver. This Risk Assessment like others (including on-site Uniroyal years ago) is simply expensive, complicated "GREENWASHING".  

SOME OF THE BIGGEST COVERUPS, LIES, DECEPTIONS & MANIPULATIONS BY UNIROYAL/LANXESS & THE MINISTRY (MECP)

 

Containment in all aquifers - utter bullsh*t

DNAPLS

Optimization'

GP1 & 2

Off-Site Pumping of Elmira Aquifers (3X more)

Stroh Drain

Public Consultation

Canagagigue Creek Sampling Bias & MDLs

Canagagigue Creek Risk Assessment

O.K. I've just said to myself ...enough. Oh hell I'm going to add one more namely the seventh one down being Public Consultation. I'm not going to describe each one today in detail as it would take far too long. I might add that there are others but this is a good start.

I am gobsmacked at the brass, the nerve and the contemptible disrespect of the public by both the company and by the Ontario Ministry of Environment (MECP). The first one was in scoping the hydraulic containment of the Upper Aquifer to just the south-west corner of their site and allowing the other three quadrants to discharge unchecked into the Canagagigue Creek.  

The second item DNAPLS is about the gross, decades long phony investigations of Dense Non Aqueous Phase Liquids (chlorobenzene, chlorphenols, TCE etc.) in the sub-surface.

The third item  refers to reducing on-site Municipal Aquifer hydraulic containment by intentionally allowing contamination to flow off-site where allegedly later on it was picked up by off-site pumping wells. The theory was that more contamination was captured for less cost. In reality contamination merely spread further into aquifers and aquitards (clay/silt) under Elmira plus those off-site pumping costs were shared with the public versus 100% being the company's on-site costs.

GP1 & 2 were incredible scams. Yes there was high DDT and dioxin concentrations but we may never know how high they were just across the border with the Stroh farm because this project was done cheaper on-site to avoid ever having to do it on the east side Stroh property where much of Uniroyal's toxic liquid wastes flowed.

So much more... I'll do more later this week.  

MORE RECENT ELMIRA RESIDENTS NEED TO KNOW THE TOWN'S HISTORY

 Of course that means different things to different people. Almost everybody are well acquainted with the Elmira Maple Syrup Festival as they should be. Similar say with the Elmira Sugar Kings hockey team. Maybe the old timers remember the very well known McKee Harvestor but not so many others. Then there are a number of famous local hockey players as well as political figures such as Ken Seiling and others. Maybe some even remember various industrial enterprises way back including Borg Textiles, Silverwoods, Scavenger Recycling, Elmira Furniture, Rothsay Concentrates, various clothing and textile manufacturers. 

Then of course there is the likes of  Varnicolor Chemical and Uniroyal Chemical. Sulco have a long history here albeit a much better one environmentally than the other two. Resurfice I believe are very well known for their ice making machines and certainly Sanyo and Nutrite (Yara) have made a name for themselves. 

Currently and for the last thirty plus years groundwater remediation has been ongoing in Elmira due to Uniroyal, Varnicolor, Nutrite and others. The Canagagigue Creek has been studied to death and while still highly toxic the " suits" have worked hard and dishonestly to  convince us otherwise. This perhaps is the biggest and most important gap in the knowledge of newer Elmira residents.

GOOD NEWS & BAD NEWS

 The good news is that worldwide population growth is decreasing. Apparently by 2086 it will be at 1.8 babies per couple which obviously means that if two people are only producing statistically 1.8 folks to replace them then the population is definitely going down. That's the good news. The bad news is that appears to be too little too late even though it certainly and finally will be heading in a more sustainable direction. 

Currently the world's population of human beings is about eight billion and by 2086 is expected to be ten billion. Way too much for this little planet and especially as Global Warming is supposed to exceed the survivable temperature increase by around 2050. Every new human being will cause some increase in global warming/climate change whether by use of fossil fuel heating, cooling, transportation, food production etc. All very depressing. 

The future of planet earth will  be catastrophic  weather events including droughts, floods, tornadoes, rising sea levels and more causing climate refugees and famines.  The world is facing a difficult time and major steps are required. Certainly a dropping birth rate is a big one but more is required with little indication that world leaders are really prepared to take the necessary steps.

MORE CANADIAN JUSTICE SYSTEM CRITICISM

Today's Editorial by the Waterloo Region Record is a strong one titled "Racism in our justice system is real".  Now don't bail on me because it's about racism specifically. It's not! The end of the very first sentence clarifies when it says that "...the idea that justice  is blind, that it's delivered without regard to status." Now that's significantly different. Yes our justice system discriminates. How could it not when it's run by professionals, for professionals at extreme cost to we normal citizens. So called "court costs" don't even come close to paying the bills for our justice system. Also our judicial system as I've long stated is nothing but a playground for the rich. They get to legally harass others they don't like for almost every reason imaginable. Of course right now I'm talking about civil court.

Our Superior Court in Kitchener discriminates in favour of both the status quo and in favour of our local institutions such as schools, school boards, hospitals, police, and municipalities. Now of course if you are a black parent of relatively modest income the justice system will particularly chew you up and spit you out with the smoothest of words, phrases and unadulterated bullsh*t. Of course if you are a white person of similar means without some kind of special status you too will be treated just as shabbily with lots of court costs thrown in for good measure to keep you from getting too "uppity" in the future. 

This Editorial by the Record quotes statistics about blacks, asians and indigenous Canadians that frankly are shocking. These include incarceration statistics as well as use of force statistics by police. Not mentioned in this Editorial but in past articles is the offence of  "driving while black".  That one has always gotten to me. Our justice system is but one more government run debacle that suits the privileged generally at the expense of the rest of us. 

THE DROUGHT IS BROKEN

The skies have just opened up here in Elmira. I expect that my second water barrel which I checked five minutes ago will be full in the next five or ten minutes. Yes it rained a little over night plus a little yesterday and we need every drop of it.  Climate Change/Global Warming  are here and they are here to stay. In Elmira oddly enough this summer to date has been cooler than usual with the Marshall family barely using air conditioning so far. It has however been much drier. Again as we had above normal rainfall in February, March, and early April the groundwater levels have been high enough to benefit trees and vegetation wth deep enough roots. Lawns, grass, gardens and crops have been suffering however and these rains are a lifesaver for them. 

Also local creeks and rivers have been feeling the effects of the drought. Around here Larch's Creek in particular has been looking very green and overall unappetizing. "Stuff" is growing on top of the water and it is generally gross. The Canagagigue Creek likely is getting daily discharges from the upstream Woolwich Dam both to dilute Uniroyal/Lanxess crap leaking as well as to maintain flow during the dry summers. 

There were crop losses last summer locally due to the dry summer and up until recently it was looking as if this year would be even worse. Fingers crossed for regular rain over the next few months.

EVEN MORE PATIENCE GRASSHOPPER!

 Why you ask? Well...because. Furthermore if you don't like it then "truck off". Oops that's not exactly how the dishonest and or corrupt Elmira suits speak. They'd be more likely to say "Please truck off". Oh all right there was just a hint of writers' license taken there. The suits around  here know how to put on a show. A show of professionalism. A show of omniscience. A show of omnipotence. But a show nevertheless. They really don't know squat most of the time due to lack of research, lack of professionalism, lack of simple hard work, lack of funding for proper sampling  and finally a lack of ethics which could be remedied simply by admitting all the other lacking. In other words just plain telling the public the truth would go a long ways. Instead they are so damn stupid they think they've succeeded when most of the citizen activists from thirty plus years ago are either dead, co-opted or they've dropped out of the perverted process and won't play the game anymore with the professional liars and lickspittles. So what exactly would they say to a citizen complaining that Minutes of public meetings (RAC/TAG) take between one and three months to get into the hands of the honest few? It would go like this:

"Dearest and deeply beloved citizens and stakeholders. Your concern is important to us. We do not want you dying on our watch whether from old age, mental abuse, environmental abuse, bureaucratic negligence, credentialism, obfuscation, exaggeration, misplaced hope, cancers, brain tumours, strokes, heart attacks, indigestion, slander or libel from on high or most importantly from excessive breath holding while waiting for promises to come to fruition. Your pain is our pain so if you can't stand the environmental heat (b/s) then stay the truck out of the kitchen and leave it to us, the anointed few, God's gift to the unwashed, we the perfectly appointed, perfectly in charge who will always look out for your interests until your very last breathe.

"Our motto is "If you push us we will push back!"

With no affection whatsoever" Helder, Lou, Stevie, Lubnya, Jason, Jaimie, Sandy, David and all the gang 

Oh dang! I can not tell a lie. I just remembered a conversation with a former Council Support Person whom I grew to admire (Lisa). She advised that the Minutes while not necessarily delivered to the public or RAC/TAG members might actually get posted on-line in a more reasonable time frame. Shoot, so please ignore any above criticism that you feel might hurt their wittle feelings!

 .       

SBE LIMITED PARTNERSHIP LOOKING TO EXPAND

 There was an article recently in the Woolwich Observer, I believe, describing our own Bio-En facility on Martin's Lane at the north end of Elmira. My understanding is that they wish to expand both with land acquisition and with approvals to increase the biomass they are allowed to bring to their facility by doubling it to 220,000 tonnes annually.  This of course may or may not affect odour generation but obviously must increase the number of truck movements on and off their site. Overall my impression over the years has been that they are a good neighbour in regards to odours and have not contributed to various north end odours such as from the nearby Pet Food plant. That said downtown Elmira is already plagued with truck traffic, noise and diesel fumes and this expansion can only exacerbate that ptoblem. Of course electricity production via methane fueling generators is considered a lot greener than producing electricity from burning fossil fuels. Pros and Cons.

PATIENCE GRASSHOPPER!

 Gee I don't know? It's only been thirty-four years since Uniroyal Chemical became infamous as the destroyers of the Elmira drinking water Aquifers. Shouldn't we give them a second chance? And that folks is the biased, never ending B.S. that Elmira residents have been hearing ever since. Truly remarkable. Kill one person unintentionally but stupidly and you can get five to ten years in jail. Kill one person intentionally (murder) and you're more likely to face ten to twenty years in jail. Go out and kill via poisoning the drinking water and the air and have dozens die over time and hundreds lose their health prematurely and what do you get? Awards from the local political authorities for charitable activities and believe it or not even environmental sustainability awards. Truly remarkable.

So I've posted here recently about tomorrow's TAG meeting and Agenda Items 4.1.1 and 4.1.2   which are two e-mails that I sent TAG giving them some information that I learned about fifteen years ago regarding unaccounted for chlorobenzene in the Elmira aquifers. Clearly none of the current crop of TAG members or Chair have any knowledge about that and at the time I was surprised by the lack of interest  from Susan Bryant and the rest of the CPAC members. I attributed that partly to possible embarrassment over APTE's past DNAPL position of which chlorobenzene is one of the components. 

Hence it would make immense sense for TAG to have some serious interest and questions for me at tomorrow's TAG meeting. I had wondered if the Chair Tiffany might advise me prior to the meeting that my muzzle might be lifted just for tomorrow's meeting. Also I've advised one friend and colleague attending the TAG meeting that I wasn't planning on attending although that could have changed if I'd received an invitation. That hasn't happened hence once again it looks as if TAG will be in the dark of their own making. Too bad but it does yet again clarify that those truly in charge at Woolwich Township to their shame are and have always only given lip service to proper cleanup. 

BIASED, STUPID OR INCOMPETENT JUDGES?

 Hopefully the description above is not everybody's experiences with Canadian Judges. Maybe it's not even most people's experiences. That's kind of hard to tell however as we the public, the unwashed masses, usually only see judges through rose coloured glasses. Other people's rose coloured glasses. Other judges, lawyers with ambition, politicians who appoint judges and other grossly biased individuals.  

Today's Waterloo Region Record has their Editorial titled "Investigation of judges demands more transparency". Duh... do you really think so? In my lifetime I've seen far too many obviously biased decisions otherwise known as "home cooking".  That occurs when the local establishment whether school board, municipality, local police or other local illuminaries are involved. It can include mayors, councillors,  school board senior staff, police boards and more.

The Record's Editorial is about Judge Russell Brown formerly of the Supreme Court of Canada who has resigned. Mr. Brown allegedly was drunk and obnoxious at a resort and involved in a physical altercation. If this kind of behaviour occurs from a Supreme Court Justice, who presumably has been vetted up the ying yang prior to his appointment, then what in hell kind of a..holes are getting appointed by politicians to lesser judicial roles? Seems clear to me.  A..holes who are either loyal Liberals or loyal Conservatives, first and foremost. Ethics, morals and good character sometimes appear to be far down the list of attributes.

Speaking of a..holes, is Justice Robert Reilly still soiling our local Kitchener courts? There is a written record of his improper, illegal and biased behaviour with my 1996 case in Kitchener's Superior Court. There is also evidence of later bias from him regarding a Jury Summons. Through and through a first rate a..hole who has abused his position and authority. I have never received a response or clarification regarding his pathetic judicial behaviour. Our courts continue to be a playground for the wealthy successfully excluding all the rest of us from justice in this country. Oh and mayor Sandy Shantz has made references both herself and through her lawyer to Judge Reilly's perverted decision. 

I'M BOYCOTTING THIS THURSDAY'S TAG MEETING

 Unlike Chemtura and the Min. of Environment (MECP) who boycotted public CPAC meetings late in 2014 and then through 3/4 of 2015 surrepticiously, I'm stating it ahead of time. Those other two simply quit attending without saying one word to CPAC although they had lots to say privately behind the scenes with Woolwich Council and Sandy. Professional liars do their very best work that way. Sandy and Woolwich could make up whatever narrative they chose and did so leaving CPAC without an alternative  response to Woolwich's lies.

Yes I have a very good family commitment this Thursday but over the decades have attended UPAC, CPAC and RAC & TAG bastardized public meetings faithfully, regardless. In fact many times over the decades I have chuckled at how the company, Ministry and Woolwich favourites have repeatedly failed to attend these meetings while I've even been there virtually or in person when I and the public have been prohibited from asking questions or offering comments.  WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP  =  PERVERTED PUBLIC CONSULTATION .

Agenda Items 4.1 deal with my two e-mails to TAG about excess chlorobenzene in the Elmira Municipal Aquifers. Funny how Chemtura and the MECP ran like bunnies from the chlorobenzene/DNAPL discovery 100 feet below ground surface near the water tower just west of Varnicolor Chemical approximately sixteen years ago.  The lie about 2028 cleanup was still in effect then and they didn't want the truth out prematurely. The truth is that there are multiple other sources than Uniroyal Chemical to the destruction of the Elmira Aquifers including Nutrite (Yara), Varnicolor Chemical and at least two or three others of varying sizes and responsibilities. 

As I publicly posted on the roof of my car late in the 1990s "The Cleanup is a Sham". Well time has certainly proven that and the latest sham is the non-cleanup of PCBs, mercury, Dioxins and DDT from the soils and sediments of the downstream Canagagigue Creek.  

TURNS OUT I'M ON THIS THURSDAY'S TAG AGENDA

 Weird to say the least. Well at least my two e-mails from last May (12th & 15th) are on the Agenda. They are Items 4.1.1 and 4.1.2  . Of course any TAG member or other exalted person can make derogatory comments if they like and I can't even respond. Nice set up that. Basically what you would expect when all the guilty parties are in charge of everything to do with cleanup including public consultation.

My two e-mails to TAG members are in regards to the excess chlorobenzene discovered in the Elmira Aquifers after decades of pump and treat. This "excess" chlorobenzene was discovered by Dr. Neil Thompson several years back allegedly. In fact any serious examination of the chlorobenzene plumes in the Municipal Upper and Municipal Lower Aquifers has always raised questions. Questions that the Ministry of Environment and Uniroyal/Crompton/Chemtura preferred to give dishonest answers to because bluntly stating that yes of course we knew that there were other industries besides Uniroyal and Nutrite (Yara) who contributed to the destruction of the Elmira Aquifers but we didn't want embarrassing questions as to why Uniroyal agreed to be the sole cause of the environmental destruction (i.e. sweetheart deal). 

Borg Textiles and Varnicolor Chemical are the likely culprits regarding excess chlorobenzene in the municipal aquifers. NDMA may also be from Varnicolor or even possibly McKee Harvestors or Sanyo Canada although the public evidence is very limited for either one. Most likely there is privately held , sampling data and or other evidence by our governments that they prefer not to share. Knowledge is power and the chief objective of government is to avoid being found out for each and every gross screwup that they make. Personable, professional liars are always in high demand by our governments.

$1.2 BILLION FOR A PIPELINE VERSUS $15 - 40 MILLION PLUS HARSH WORDS TO LANXESS FOR A BETTER CLEANUP?

 Ooh boy it looks like my Blog will be getting some more attention from Germany after this posting. My statcounter program used to indicate that Lanxess were following my Blog but of late it just comes up as a IP address in Germany. Funny thing though it's consistent with my strongest criticisms of the German company once ? part of Bayer Ltd. A few weeks back the K-W Record carried an article suggesting that a water pipeline to Lake Erie was still on the horizon. My recollection is the cost would be around $1.2 Billion but that is strictly from memory. Regarding the $15-40 Million estimate believe me that will not get much done at all and certainly not near enough. Still that additional money on top of the absolutely minimum cleanup currently proposed in and around the Creek on the Lanxess site and the zero further cleanup of lagoons, pits and ponds on site, could be helpful in delaying or even avoiding having to build a pipeline for Waterloo Region to Lake Erie.

Why does Waterloo Region allegedly require a pipeline in the future? Three reasons 1) mass immigration -  more people here require more water 2) gross groundwater contamination in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge, Breslau, Elmira, Heidelberg etc. etc. etc.   3) refusal to point fingers at industrial sources and demand full cleanup sometimes much less any cleanup. 

The Region of Waterloo have been "managing" groundwater contamination caused by industrial dumping, leaking and sloppy housekeeping for the last fifty years. Their "managing" has mostly meant playing musical chairs with drinking water wells by shutting them down as contaminant plumes arrive and then starting up other wells. This has been going on for decades. They also have learned to redrill contaminated wells deeper in order to intercept these deeper and less contaminated aquifers. Of course the Region minimize the extent of groundwater contamination and will continue to do so until the day they announce "Oh my God our aquifers are all contaminated hence we need a water pipeline to Lake Erie yesterday!" Welcome to drinking water from the shallowest, most contaminated and most algae filled of all the Great Lakes. Well done decades of municipal and regional politicians putting legacy projects (ION etc.) ahead of life saving projects (clean, inexpensive water & water treatment).

 

ARE YOU KIDDING ME LANXESS CANADA?

Excuses and explanations are just dandy. That is right up until they run into  past contradictory explanations. And into common sense. We were told by Uniroyal, Crompton and Chemtura that the pumping Target Rates were the minimum required on-site to maintain hydraulic containment and prevent migration of contaminated water off-site into the rest of the Elmira Aquifers. We were told that the off-site pumping Target Rates were the minimum required to successfully restore the Elmira Aquifers to drinking water standards. Now Lanxess are throwing decades of explanations out the window and replacing them with self-serving explanations such as Oh these are internal Target Rates only. They are not written in stone b/s.

Well that's for sure that they aren't written in stone. On-site pumping continues month after month well below the minimum pumping Target Rate for the Municipal aquifers of 4.7 litres per second. For last month (May) they managed to pump 3.8 l/sec. only on -site while pumping MORE than their historical average of 53 l/sec off-site.  They actually pumped off-site (all off-site wells) between 74 and 75 litres per second!  In other words they are pumping like mad off-site while NOT even pumping their minimum Target Rate on-site. 

Twenty-five to thirty years of pumping on and off site has resulted in NOT achieving their mandated goal of groundwater cleanup  by 2028 as admitted by themselves and all parties (MECP, Woolwich etc.). Now it looks to me as if they are intentionally trying to speed up the transfer of their on-site toxic contamination to the rest of Elmira's soils and groundwater. Lanxess you are a beacon for corporate control, power and public relations everywhere at the expense of both the public interest and the environment. 

THERE IS NO MANDATORY IMMEDIATE CLEANUP OF EVEN GROSS ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION IN WATERLOO REGION OR ONTARIO

 The examples are legion namely Uniroyal Chemical, Varnicolor Chemical (Lot 91), Grassy Narrows, Gaukel St. Kitchener Post Office/former Bus Depot, and the one written about a week ago Saturday in the Record namely Deilcraft/Electrohome. That story was titled "Construction set to begin at former Electrohome site in Kitchener". This site is at the corner of Duke and Shanley St. in Kitchener and the original factory was erected in 1898 and demolished in 2020. Most likely the gross soil and groundwater contamination has been there since the 1950s and 60s albeit it's probably only been public knowledge for barely the last twenty-five years or so. A quarter century that local residents have lived beside it not knowing the extent of the threat to their health and lives. Sounds to me more like a third world country than the Canada I was brought up in.

This article focuses on the new residential apartment building soon to arise and barely even mentions the sad, dangerous and pathetic environmental history of the site. Furniture makers use large quantities of paints and dangerous solvents. Those solvents were either spilled or dumped on site into the ground. I'm thinking of Sunar/Sunshine just off of Erb St. in Waterloo and stories of open lagoons for similar waste products from their production of metal furniture, lockers etc. This site was known to have trichloroethylene (TCE) in the subsurface which is higly toxic. It has been publicized in various movies such as "A Civil Action" (John Travolta) and others. TCE is toxic via direct inhalation, in drinking water and by vapour intrusion into basements of homes (also inhalation). It was most likely responsible for cancers, other sicknesses and deaths in the Bishop St. community in Cambridge as it entered hundreds of homes through their basements.

How good was the belated cleanup? How much money was saved by letting these toxins volatolize into the air as well as disperse and dilute in the groundwater? How many human beings paid the costs of improper and late cleanup with their health? Shame on our authorities.

LANXESS 2022 ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL REPORT

I've never gotten too excited over this particular report mandated by the Ontario Ministry of Environment.  Mostly what it does is show how much improvement in environmental emissions a dirty polluter can make when they are pressured and forced into it. It also shows exactly how disgusting and harmful to the health of Elmira residents the company was for a period measured in decades and indeed centuries (i.e. 1/2 century). Perhaps most of this company and their predecessors victims are now dead. Does that exonerate them now for human beings getting sick, losing their health and in some cases dying prematurely? I think not.

I do recall back in the early 1990s publicly haranguing both Uniroyal Chemical and the Min. of Environment (MECP) for the total weight of air emissions (250-350 thousand kilograms per year) released into the communal atmosphere. One third of a million kilograms of toxic emissions in a witch's brew going up their stacks each and every year. Under our laws none of the polluters went to jail but if a single citizen had entered that plant to exact revenge for a loved one who died of cancer whether a wife, mother or child; that individual would likely still be in jail. 

That's the kind of country we live in folks. Murder is O.K. as long as it's for commercial/economic reasons.   

NEXT TAG MEETING

 TAG or Technical Advisory Committee have been everything Lanxess, Min. of Environment and Woolwich Township had hoped it would be. This includes polite, courteous, respectful and oh so careful to avoid any language that might suggest even the slightest concern that any or all of the other parties are rude, ignorant, disrespectful and professional liars. The next meeting is scheduled for June 22, 2023 at 5:30pm. and ridiculously could even at this late date still be virtual. It is just so much easier to keep the riffraf (public) out and uninvolved with virtual meetings. By the way it has always been my position that lying to honest people is one of the highest forms of disrespect, right up there with negotiating/discussing with others absolutely not in good faith. Hence my long term contempt for Uniroyal Chemical in all its' corporate forms and the Ontario Min. of Environment. 

I suspect that there will be RAC meeting sometime in July although I need to doublecheck that they haven't already got a date and I've missed it.  The Canagagigue Creek will likely dominate discussion this year as lanxess are trying to wind up the Risk Assessment (HHERA) this year. The gross failure of both off and on site pumping seems to be receding into the background as the dishonest parties have hoped. At the rate the pumping is going I expect now that 2065 is more likely than 2050. It did not have to be that way except for letting Uniroyal and successors both run and ruin the "cleanup" from the beginning.  

LOCAL RUMOURS IN A VERY SMALL WORLD

 My sister's friend in Carleton Place (near Ottawa) personally knew one of the four Canadians who died in the airplane crash they were in delivering humanitarian aid to starving human beings around 1970. I personally know two of one of the victims' children who are now over fifty years old. A few days ago the Waterloo Region Record published a story about a local film maker, Angela Onuora, who has produced a Documentary about the Canadian efforts  to bring relief supplies (food) to starving Biafrans and Nigerians. I would have to reiterate the old adage about "no good deed goes unpunished" when I think of the anguish and hurt the families have suffered since that crash.

Rumour has it that Woolwich Township would sometime like to assist in a public meeting regarding the current status of the Elmira Aquifers as well as of the Canagagigue Creek. On the face of it that is a noble enterprise however I am tempted to coin a new adage namely "no good enterprise goes unmisrepresented". 

This of course simply is a reflection of my personal experience with Woolwich Township over the last 33 years. If I'm being objective, even the worst of the worst councils have stepped up on occasion and done some worthwhile things.  

Other rumours include Lanxess throwing a bone to TAG and agreeing reluctantly and sorrowfully to clean up one of the so called "hotspots" downstream in the Canagagigue Creek. Do keep in mind that these alleged "hotspots" most conveniently are located 1) where roads and bridges cross the Creek (New Jerusalem Rd., Northfield Dr., Jigs Hollow Rd.) and 2) where 90% of all the soil and sediment testing has been done thus ensuring that these three locations are way overrepresented in the years of sampling.  If you do 90% of the sampling in three small areas of a grossly polluted five mile stretch of creek where do you think both the most and the highest exceedances of criteria will be found?    

THE POLITICIZATION OF EDUCATION

How can that be you ask? How do you make education Conservative or Liberal or NDP? I mean there was a time when I actually thought that municipal politicians were also apolitical. Big mistake. Former Regional Chair Ken Seiling was Conservative. Current Regional Chair Karen Redman is Liberal. Up here in the wilds of Woolwich Township our current mayor Sandy Shantz is Conservative. Back in the day there were a number of NDP leaning trustees on the school board (WRDSB).

Still I am confused. Isn't mathematics, reading and writing non-political? I used to think so. Less now. Aren't all the trustees first and foremost interested in improving educational opportunity and outcomes? Eh not so much. Likely all of them want better results on the provincial math and English tests but there are lots of ways of doing that including getting rid of the provincial tests and letting the schools themselves decide how well their students are doing. This plan of course demands trust in the integrity, credibility and veracity of our entire local, educational regime.  Ha! LOL!  Just kidding folks!

In today's Waterloo Region Record is a Letter To The Editor from WRDSB trustee Cindy Watson. She is one of a small group who overall has been a dedicated and devoted trustee for a very long time. Like all of us she is not perfect but nevertheless she has acquitted herself admirably in a stressful and difficult environment for a very long time. Her Letter gently points out the hypocrisy (my words) of trustee Laurie Tremble. She also bluntly advises readers that a current trustee stated that appointed trustees "...should have the same ideology of the trustees they are replacing." Wow! Now that's politicization of education.

This is terrifying. Are all our public bodies politicized? Is everything looked at through the lens of politics? Are our hospitals politicized? Our libraries? Our police? How about our entire judicial system including judges appointed by the governments of the day? 

There are days when I suspect that the human race is definitely doomed. Maybe in the long run and maybe a whole lot sooner. Yes there are worse systems than Democracy but it too has badly failed us so far. 

VOCAL MINORITIES, SILENT MAJORITIES

 

I watched a Documentary on television last evening regarding Adam Goodes, the Australian footballer with an aboriginal background. His treatment at one point in time by some white Australian fans was truly rotten. It consisted of booing him each and every time he touched the football (rugby) apparently expressing some racist dislike/hatred. Now eventually the majority of fans who had cheered him on throughout much of his career responded by stepping up and publicly supporting him. While that was good to see nevertheless Mr. Goodes finished that season and retired prematurely. He expressed that he no longer felt like appearing in public matches and giving racists an outlet to spew their hatred towards a successful footballer of aboriginal ancestry.

Likely at least some of the animosity over the decades towards Mike Ramsay may be due to his skin colour (non-white). At the same time if Mr. Ramsay's behaviour was more to the liking of the educational establishment that too would have made for smoother sailing for him. Mr. Ramsay challenges the status quo sometimes and in the wee minds of some there is nothing worse than an opinionated person of colour. Maybe it's particularly galling when his minority opinion has considerable merit. 

Speaking from personal experience in the fields of education, environment and labour I can assure readers that a white name, white skin and being a multi generational Canadian means nothing to  those in positions of power and authority. They are haters generally of everyone who does not support the status quo which is designed to maintain those who have long held the reins of power and authority in Canada. 

Sometimes as described above a vocal minority can be a bad thing. Sometimes however it is only the vocal minority who stand up for what is right and helpful such as environmental activists generally. Silent majorities are usually an unfortunate thing as both the rulers (politicians/wealthy) and the rest of us need to know what the public are thinking. Often the public are on the right track, sometimes less so. My opinion right now is that the majority of Canadians are not inherently racist but do have legitimate concerns with the size of annual immigration to Canada as it is apparent that Canadian leaders and politicians are lagging way behind in upgrading roads, hospitals, housing etc. Similarly I believe that the majority of Canadians are not inherently hostile towards the LGBQT2S etc. community but again have legitimate concerns that some politicians have jumped onto a bandwagon and for self-serving reasons are pushing an educational revolution too far, too fast and without open minds to listen to legitimate concerns of some parents. 

ISN'T JUSTICE SUPPOSED TO BE BLIND?

The inference being that they must be unbiased and unmoved by a party's race, gender, appearance etc. I guess that it's a nice metaphor or pardon the pun, visual, to assist the masses in believing in the basic fairness, honesty and accuracy of their adjudication. Bias can be blatant or subtle. It can be intentional or unintentional. It can be heinous or it can be an appropriate expression of a human being's  right to discriminate in extremely personal relationships. I really don't think that anyone would seriously suggest that another person is a bigot if their preference in close friends are people of their own colour. At the same time if two close friends are of different skin colour then that is nobody else's business but theirs. Discrimination and bias can sometimes be tricky matters. 

Monday I saw and heard three justices ask questions and make comments during the judicial review of the Caroline Burjowski affair. Maybe I'm biased because I picked up on visual and auditory "clues" apparently as did Scott Piatkoski when he was watching and listening to Caroline Burjowski about seventeen months ago. My concerns have been multiplied when I learned today that the Mike Ramsay (trustee) judicial review is being tried by the very same three judges. What the hell is that all about??? The Board (WRDSB) are having the same two lawyers whereas Mr. Ramsay has a different lawyer representing him than Ms. Burjowski has.

Today's Waterloo Region Record has the writeup by Robert Williams of  yesterday's judicial review of the Mike Ramsay situation. His lawyer has suggested that the Trustee Chair, Mr. Piatkoski, was biased when it came to dealing with Mr. Ramsay. He suggested that Mr. Piatkoski had made up his mind regarding Mr. Ramsay long before the Integrity Commissioner's decision was released. It was claimed by the Board's lawyer that the integrity commissioner acknowledged that the conduct alleged in the complaint against Mr. Ramsay was due to the Board's decision to cut Ms. Burjowski's presentation short. The Board's lawyers also told the hearing panel (3 judges) proper process was followed and that Mr. Piatkowski was not biased.

Personally I have no problem with Mr. Ramsay or any other Trustee speaking against Board decisions outside the confines of the Education Centre or the Trustees' meeting room. Whether or not the Board have passed Motions or other confining rules and regulations in order to prevent dissenting Trustees opinions from being disseminated outside "normal" channels I do not know. In other words I support Mr. Ramsay on this matter whether or not he may have violated, quite frankly, probably self-serving and not in the public interest, rules and regulations passed by the Board or Trustees designed to limit dissent or public discussion.

Again I suggest that it should not be Mr. Ramsay "on trial" but both the school board (WRDSB) and our judges and courts similar to the Caroline Burjowski case..

BOTH WRDSB & COURTS ARE ON TRIAL AT CAROLINE BURJOSKI HEARING

 When it suits them courts can be sticklers for process, appearances and technicalities. When it doesn't they have no problem advising the unwashed masses that this particular case is different and that facts and objectivity are required. I have personally seen courts do back flips and contortions and raise subjectivity to an art form all the while quoting case law to back up their latest travesty of justice. It is amazing to be able to quote a past bad decision in order to repeat the "mistake". Quoting another friend (Graham) it is the "just us" system not the justice system. Hoo boy can you tell that with age my filters are eroding?

Yesterday's three hour hearing is reported in today's Waterloo Region Record by reporter Robert Williams and is titled "Three judge panel reserves decision at Burjoski hearing". Also I might add that the hearing was virtual and that yours truly among others attended the entire hearing. In my opinion the reporter has gotten to the gist of the hearing. All parties agree that Ms. Burjoski was polite and professional in her presentation seventeen months ago and conducted herself well for the four minutes she had before being given the boot by Board (Trustees) Chair Scott Piatkoski. Her lawyer advised the court members, of which oddly not all three had seen the video of her Delegation, that at no point had she violated the Ontario Human Rights Code. Indeed I have seen the transcript of her Delegation and would only disagree if the Ontario Human Rights Code is so brazen and stupid as to somewhere have a sentence conferring magical powers to school boards allowing them to read minds and predetermine what Delegates are about to say ahead of time. 

The school board's lawyer however suggested that while Mr. Piatkowski may not have the qualifications or training to make on the spot judgements regarding violations of the Human Rights Code that he certainly has the duty and obligation to use his authority to stop what he believes to be a violation of the Code as it is his duty apparently to keep schools and school functions safe spaces for minority groups such as the LGBTQ2s etc. community. 

Under this presupposed and premature jumping of the gun I guess that soon we can see police officers pulling guns and shooting senior citizens whose canes and walkers they believe might be lethal weapons that the seniors are planning to attack with. And a hundred other examples of the stupidity of this logic. Perhaps expressing a harsh opinion that LGBTQ2s etc. communities are either unworthy or even more extreme (unworthy of protection) should be halted or resisted, but doing it in advance simply by guessing what a Delegate is going to say or in Mr. Piatkowski's case hearing code words and phrases that nobody else has heard is outrageous, ridiculous and plain asinine. 

Let's see if this court hearing consisting of three judges can get it right. If they can't then shame on them as well as on the Trustees.    

BOARDS WEAPONIZING CODES OF CONDUCT.

 It's all about power and control. It's all about stifling dissent. It's all about legal harassment allegedly. It's petty little people getting a small taste of authority and control that goes to their heads. They can't get enough of it and hence "mission creep" kicks in. They try to expand their authority and heaven help anybody who accuses them of abusing that authority. The fact is that most people in any kind of authority usually end up abusing it until somebody stands up and says NO ! It even happens with lowly, parking lot attendants if you can believe it. Sometimes they are improperly tasked with tack ons to their job of collecting parking fees from the public. Sometimes they are advised that they are psuedo security guards. Sometimes they are even advised that they are a weird kind of collection agency. That has happened recently at a downtown Kitchener, Saturday only parking lot. The parking Nazi berated and confronted one of the monthly parking clients, who is a vendor at the Kitchener Market, from this private lot. It turns out that the Vendor had paid his monthly parking a full week earlier but the organization had failed to properly update their records and again "mission creep" kicked in as the parking lot attendant somehow felt that it was her duty to confront, berate and insult the alleged only, late paying Market Vender.

My focus has wandered here. Today's Waterloo Region Record, on the front page, has two interesting stories regarding weaponized Codes of Conduct as well as the School Board's (WRDSB) overreaching and attempting to stifle what they view as neither politically correct nor Woke behaviour. All allegedly in the name of supporting the LGBTQ2S etc. community, the Waterloo Region District School Board are aggressively attacking, impugning and harassing anybody who dares to contradict their (sent from heaven?)  opinions. The Board's favourite weapon seems to be their Code of Conduct which interpreted by the Board's like minded majority basically says any debate or polite disagreement is verboten. That is any sincere opinion different from theirs is to be met not with discussion and debate but with retaliation, suspension, dismissal etc. The full force, authority, power and money of the Board is to be used to squelch honest disagreement.

The Trustees (Board of?) suspended one of their own members for his challenging their decision publicly on social media. Boo hoo he may have hurt their wittle feelings. The same Trustees shut down and ejected a teacher/parent who as a registered Delegate dared to suggest that there were some specific books dealing with sexuality in local public schools available for very young children to read which she felt were a little too graphic and premature for these very young children. This very experienced teacher was speaking calmly, politely and respectfully to a group of allegedly, mature and experienced trustees about a matter that she felt required attention and possibly correction. They shut her down and ejected her from the meeting or at least from her own, proper presentation to them.

I suspect that there are other, more involved Agendas at work in both these cases. These other agendas may well be private agendas that various Boards do not want to share with their members, clients etc. but which they feel could be threatened by reasoned debate or discussion of related matters. Therefore if you will the Code of Conduct violations are merely red herrings to distract both the individuals and onlookers from what's really going on behind the scenes.. 

     

BOARDS & COMMITTEES

 Quoting an old friend (Clausi) the purpose of a committee is for those in power and authority to be able to pretend that they are addressing a problem as well as to share the blame when the problem doesn't get fixed. All the better if you can have some well known but co-opted individuals on the committee that the public have confidence in.

Kudos to Uniroyal Chemical in Elmira for playing the long game. They've never stopped lying and they've never stopped playing the game. They have professionally lied and manipulated facts, untruths, honest and dishonest persons for over thirty years since even before they destroyed Elmira's drinking water aquifers. This has most certainly included UPAC, CPAC, RAC & TAG, the so called "citizens'" committee. What a joke.

 Boards are yet another manmade manipulation. Talking to another friend yesterday (Schmidt) I was advised as to his opinion of Boards in general. I was surprised as his career involved considerable discussion and debate with various Boards of governance in the corporate sector. I guess that I had wrongly assumed that corporations were less likely to appoint figureheads and "name" Board members than say charities, hospitals, clubs, school boards etc. My bad. It turns out that sometimes the organization demands say eight Board members despite really only having supervisory work if you will for three or four. So what happens especially if the organization  isn't attracting quality candidates to the Board? Well the three or four people running the organization hand pick four or five easy to handle individuals to run for the Board generally against little opposition. Then they pat them on the back, puff up their ego and basically advise them to sit back and support the President of the Board.

Dictatorships in countries often start with apathetic citizens and perverted democracies. The same thing in organizations of all kinds. Did Conrad Black have good governance from his Board of Directors prior to his criminal conviction for fraud (?). Obviously not. He was accused of using that company as his personal bank account. My, my. Has the Board of Trustees for the Waterloo Region District School Board covered themselves in glory and pride. Obviously not despite having a few excellent trustees but not a majority. Is a local sporting club being well run? Hell even Hockey Canada has recently had a house cleaning of their Board due to malfeasance/misfeasance (?) regarding mistreatment of both male and female players. 

Why is it so many very poor choices end up leading organizations from small to huge?

MAKING EXCUSES FOR TAG

 First of all I've been reading the monthly Uniroyal/Crompton/Chemtura/Lanxess Progress Reports for let's see, maybe thirty some years now. Some of the longer term TAG members have been reading them for maybe 7 1/2 years. I'm not including Susan Bryant here because there is no excuse for her. Other TAG members have been allegedly reading them for one, two or three years. There is a ton of history that most of them do not know. There are a ton of promises from the Min. of Environment (MOE/MECP) and Uniroyal/Crompton/Chemtura/Lanxess that they are unaware of. 

The other problem for TAG is that a few years back the TAG Chair, Tiffany Svensson, appointed TAG member Linda Dickson to present the highlights of each  month's Progress Reports to her TAG colleagues. Of course this is almost inviting the others not to bother reading it because they know Linda will and report to them. 

Finally let me be clear. Linda is in the similar boat i.e. lack of decades of background and history as the rest of the TAG members. I have no reason to doubt Linda's honesty or integrity but yes I do doubt that she is fully aware of all the ramifications of various failures, highlighted or not, within the Progress Reports.  This has always been the plan of the polluter, their "regulator" and some of the corrupt politicians along the way.  

DO TAG EITHER KNOW OR CARE THAT THE UNIROYAL/LANXESS SITE IS LEAKING BADLY?

Last Monday and Tuesday I posted here about how on-site pumping of both the shallow (Upper Aquifer) and the deep (Municipal Aquifers) aquifers have been slipping badly. Today I'm going to give the big picture as exemplified by figure A.2 and A.3a in the April 2023 Lanxess Progress Report. 

Figure A2 is the On-Site Extraction Well Average VS. Target Pumping Rates for the past year. It stinks! On-Site Pumping Well PW5 has not achieved its' Target Rate even once in the last twelve months with the gap between actual pumping rate and Target Rate expanding over the last four months. Pumping Well PW4 has failed to make its' Target Rate for eight of the last twelve months. The purpose of these two wells is to lower the Municipal Aquifer (MU) sub-surface water level such that on-site MU groundwater does not migrate/flow offf-site and further contaminate the rest of the deep Elmira drinking water aquifers. 

Figure A.3a  is the Off-Site Extraction Well Average VS. Target Pumping Rate for the five largest off-site extraction wells whose purpose is to pump and treat supposedly long ago contaminated (from Uniroyal Chemical) Elmira drinking water aquifers namely the Municipal Upper and Lower (MU & ML) Aquifers. Here's the problem. The three largest of these five all consistently exceed their Target Rates often by a significant amount. The two lowest pumping rate wells are very close to their Target Rate or just below. Hence the groundwater levels in the off-site Municipal aquifers are being reduced at the highest rates they've ever been while on-site pumping which is supposed to be keeping Uniroyal contaminants on-site is badly lagging. 

All of this is grossly and blatantly contravening everything that UPAC and CPAC were advised over a couple of decades yet suddenly Lanxess are telling TAG, RAC and everybody else that it's not a problem. So were they lying years ago, lying now or have they simply just never stopped lying to the public?