It was not my idea. I am not in charge of this upcoming meeting. Its' purpose will be to update Elmira and Woolwich citizens regarding the status of the alleged remediation of the Uniroyal Chemical toxic dynasty. This so called remediation has been underway since January 1992. In fits and starts. In stop and starts. What has been constant is the propaganda and puffery coming from Uniroyal Chemical initially and their three corporate successors since (Crompton, Chemtura, Lanxess Canada).
Uniroyal's toxic dynasty includes gross soil contamination, gross ground and surface water contamination, gross air contamination and gross downstream creekbank soil and creek sediments contamination. Plus throw in some floodplain soils contamination as well. Now of course it goes without saying that gross truth pollution has also occurred by those responsible for the environmental pollution as well as their fellow travellors.
Fellow travellors have included most of our political and semi political authorities to their everlasting shame. Of course lying to the public is all in a day's work for professional politicians whose motivation is their own self-interest versus the public interest. Seriously is it possible for any but the newest Canadian residents to still think that our governments are here for our benefit? Think provincially with Doug Ford and the Conservatives blatant lying and corruption over the Greenbelt. Think about Justin Trudeau and the Liberals cheerfully bringing in many hundreds of thousands per year new immigrants without having first upgraded our housing stocks, our transportation routes, our sewage treatment plants, our water supply and on and on. Did they do this on humanitarian grounds or did they do this to massively increase the supply of labour, decrease wages and weaken unions? It may be true that Canada needs a certain number of working immigrants per year but why are so many underemployed in relation to their skills? Why with the Covid pandemic are restrictions on both foreign nurses and doctors practicing in Canada still maintained? Why are highly educated Canadian applicants to medical schools being routinely denied admission?
We are a country of self-serving producers and professionals all looking out for number one who are also smart enough to be politically active. Professional lobby groups both pressure and financially reward our governing parties to do their bidding. This obviously includes input into legislation whether to weaken government attempts to control collateral damage to the public or to further strengthen individual groups stranglehold on their part of the economy.
Our municipal, regional, provincial and even federal governments have not acted in the interests of Elmira and Woolwich residents. They have permitted the downstream discharge and leakage of Uniroyal Chemical's toxic wastes from 1942 up to the present. Along with that they permitted decades of toxic air emissions and groundwater contamination. Our governments have taken the measure of local citizens and opposition and decided back in November 1989 to continue their support of a very dirty polluter. This has been done both with subtlety at times and blatantly at others. Citizens have paid the price through shortened lives and increased health issues.
It is my hope that citizens will leave this public meeting knowing that they must step up and demand government action. The pressure must be renewed for any appropriate cleanup to take place.
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