"Governance" is basically a diplomatic way of saying that our politicians are of low quality. In other words our so called professional politicians are anything but. They are all about themselves and making themselves look good so that they can get re-elected. Three examples come to mind and the first is in today's K-W Record via Susan Koswan's Opinion article titled "Energy and water need better management". She identifies recently released policy briefs from the Morwick G360 Groundwater Research Institute. I think she is referring to the world class group of researchers out of the University of Guelph which would include Dr. Beth Parker, formerly of the University of Waterloo Groundwater Institute. Years ago I had the privilege of reading a number of groundwater reports written by her and Dr. John Cherry dealing with DNAPLS. Recently I exchanged a couple of e-mails with Dr. Parker regarding the opportunities missed by those in charge of the Elmira cleanup failing to ask for assistance from the world's best, so close to home. Susan Koswan quoted from the Morwick G360 group as follows: " Ontario's principal challenge is not a lack of groundwater science, but fragmented and reactive governance" for both municipal and agricultural groundwater." That report hit the nail on the head.
Then we have a quote from Dr. Richard Jackson when he was the Chair of the Technical Advisory Group (TAG) in Elmira, Ontario. He advised that TAG were stymied in cleaning up Elmira's groundwater not by technical problems but by "public policy failures" and he resigned shortly afterwards.
Thirdly all we have to do is look at Wilmot Township today facing the 770 acre farmland expropriation by the Region of Waterloo allegedly on behalf of the province of Ontario. Our regional politicians had a goodly turnover of mayors (all but one) in the recent elections but more veteran regional councillors desperately needed to receive their walking papers and did not. Those buggars won't even share data, scientific reports regarding groundwater or anything else citing Non Disclosure Agreements that they signed with the province. Losing our Regional Chair (Karen Redman) to Doug Ford's appointee was much less painful than expected as she did nothing to assist Wilmot on this file. That area of Wilmot sits on top of the Waterloo Moraine and any new industrial development on recharge groundwater areas needs serious study FIRST not after the properties have been amassed for the development.
Despite recent Waterloo Region claims we are still in a water crisis, not just in Woolwich Twn. (Uniroyal Chemical) but throughout the Region due to decades of reactive governance, public policy failures, non disclosure agreements and gutless wonder politicians covering their own backsides.
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