TAG/TRAC DISPUTED OR CONTENTIOUS ISSUES ARE NEVER RESOLVED. THEY ARE DENIED OR BRIEFLY ADDRESSED THEN DROPPED

 

Of course this behaviour can only occur when the Chair and the Agenda are firmly controlled at all times. Whether Tiffany with TAG or Nathan with TRAC you will see lots of time wasting presentations by Lanxess and their consultants GHD.  Truth or accuracy are not as important as the message which is "Trust us, we know what we are doing. If in any doubt you may consider us as hydrogeologic Gods or better if that eases your mind."

Hot button issues should include DNAPLS, mass downstream exceedances of health criteria whether soils, sediments or fish tissues, ongoing gross pumping failures both on and off-site. Then of course instead of making up excuses such as "asymptotic behaviour" for the in your face failure to achieve drinking water standards for either NDMA or chlorobenzene by 2028; Lanxess should have doubled down and already implemented ISCO (In Situ Chemical Oxidation) or other source removal mechanisms in multiple areas both on and off site. This combined with the November 2012 pumping promises made ignored by Chemtura could have made a major improvement  by now in the current concentrations of dissolved contaminants. 

Two other points. Mayor Shantz's ill advised and petty assault upon Woolwich volunteers (CPAC) in April and September 2015 was grossly counterproductive to the cleanup as it effectively removed accountability. Also it will be interesting to see some of the concentrations of other Uniroyal Chemical contaminants still dissolved in Elmira's Aquifers. This is one more hot button issue that has been deftly kicked to the curb by the professional liars in charge. 

I DISLIKE ALL POLITICIANS OF ALL STRIPES - TRUDEAU LIBERALS NEED TO GO ALTHOUGH I FEAR THEIR REPLACEMENT

I do not believe that either the Liberals or the Conservatives hold the public interest as their first priority.  Perhaps the NDP or the Greens do but the proof is in the pudding which means giving them a shot at power i.e. governing. I think after a term or two in office there would be less speculation and wishful thinking and more objective data as to where those parties priorities are. Maybe we would be pleasantly surprised and maybe we would shrug our shoulders and say "same old", "same as the Liberals or same as the Conservatives".  I really don't know.

The Liberal party are not as bad as Pollievre would have us believe. The carbon tax is actually a proven economic stimulus that helps decision makers move somewhat in a green direction.  Environmentally the Liberals are still subsidizing the oil & gas industry but the Conservatives will continue to do that until the last barrel of oil is extracted or the planet has burned to a crisp.  The real nail in the Liberal party for me is their willingness to scapegoat honest citizens who have followed the laws of the land whether in pursuit of recreational or competitive target shooting or those who legally hunt whether for ducks, geese or deer and moose etc. Literally via Order in Council (Cabinet decision) versus parlimentary legislation they have tied up hundreds of thousands to millions of firearms preventing citizens who have broken zero laws from using their own legally purchased property. At the same time the Liberals have not offered a nickel in promised compensation for these firearms to their lawful owners in the past five years. A government behaving like that desperately needs to f*&#% off and go sit in political purgatory for several years at least. 

Ideally I could live with a minority government consisting of Conservatives, NDP and Greens. If you like Doug Ford here in Ontario go ahead and hope for a majority Conservative win. You'll have lots of time down the road to regret that. 

My favourite joke is that politicians are like diapers and need to be changed often and for the same reasons  i.e. they are full of ...

WRDSB CONTINUES TO PUBLICLY UNRAVEL

 

Thank you Waterloo Region District School Board. Your idiocy and ideology combined with your inherent corruption is presenting a beacon of stupidity and incompetence throughout Waterloo Region. You have via thirty years ago with the Ron Archer scandal laid bare your fundamental indecencies. It was bad enough that he was knowingly allowed to continue teaching (?) and molesting school children but the failure of the police and judicial system to charge senior WRDSB staff involved in covering up Mr. Archer's criminal activity and indeed "passing the trash" to transfer him from school to school was almost equally as contemptible. For this our police and prosecuters never were held accountable much less those at the top of the WRDSB directly involved in lying to parents, denying childrens' complaints and ignoring the odd brave individual within the system who dared speak out.

Then there is the Caroline Burjowski affair. A twenty-year teacher was treated by the Board and Trustees like trash because she politely and professionally spoke her honest opinion regarding certain controversial books available to extremely young students. Right or wrong, 100% on target or not she both as a teacher , a stakeholder and a human being deserved so much better. 

Now we have the sudden removal of chanika jewan the Director of Education. His presence resulted in major educational developments not all universally favoured by parents, students or teachers. The WRDSB seems to think that all the other education stakeholders including Board members should have zero input in both decisions and even in major changes made by the brain trust at the WRDSB. Three trustees however have stepped up namely Bill Cody, Mike Ramsay and Cindy Watson and are agreeing with Louise D'Amato's (K-W Record) request for some kind of a town hall meeting. For decades I have watched the WRDSB play fast and loose with education in general, students progress and parents' abilities to significantly participate in their childrens' education.  It has been a disaster and the province should have stepped in decades ago and thrown them out of their cushy positions. Shame on them.

Is there significance as to the number of horrible politicians who learned their "craft" starting at the WRDSB? Does our current mayor of Woolwich Township (Sandy Shantz) even acknowledge any longer that she chaired the school board for a term or two? If I were her I certainly wouldn't.

TRAC CONTINUES TO FLOUNDER - WORST ROT IS AT THE TOP BUT ALL ARE TAINTED BY ASSOCIATION

 

Three points today. 1) The next TRAC meeting isn't until April 10, 2025 6 pm. which is beyond ridiculous.  2) Those in charge of TRAC are censoring/removing technical reports submitted to TRAC 3) Despite the title above a recent communication has me adding a proviso to my title regarding "Tainted By Association". 

3) first.  I still believe that the ultimate result of participation in a grossly corrupt and perverted body like TRAC will engulf and ensnare even those who are still trying to make a difference.  I also believe that that participation alone gives undeserved credibility to this 100% controlled by Lanxess and Woolwich Township group of individuals. Each time someone leaves they appoint another unprepared and most likely well out of their depth individual to TRAC. Despite individual credentials, zero experience in an ongoing issue thirty-five years in length is the height of stupidity but exactly what corrupt polluters and their fellow travellors thrive on.

1)  2025 - 2028  Three miserable years until in theory the hammer should fall. It should fall resoundingly upon Lanxess , the loser in the game of musical chairs in which they are the current owners. It should also fall upon the Ontario MECP and upon Woolwich Township for their deceit and manipulation in excluding legitimate opposition from an honest public consultation process much less from the perverted form they have made it into. TRAC should be pounding Lanxess and the MECP into a full assault upon the cleanup not throwing up their hands, admitting defeat and coasting as they have over the last five years. Shame on the pack of them.

2) Public input and consultation means exactly that. Our drinking water and our Creek are public issues and Woolwich have zero right to pick and choose only supporters or soft spoken, deferential to authority persons to TAG and now TRAC.  They also have zero right to refuse to send technical reports on to TRAC because allegedly there may be a harsh criticism or two embedded in said report. That said I continue to e-mail technical reports directly to TRAC members making it less tenable down the road to pretend that no one gave them serious alternate cleanup advice or pointed out blatant nonsense from Lanxess's consultants GHD.  

UGH! NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS ARE FOR THE IMPERFECT AMONG US. OR THOSE LACKING IN TYPICAL MALE OVERCONFIDENCE

 

I read somewhere recently that one of the male gender's most endearing features is their overconfidence in their ability to quickly pick up extremely technical knowledge and then apply it instantaneously in an emergency. The example given was that twice as many males as females were convinced that in an emergency (eg. unconscious pilot ) that with a very brief few pointers that they could successfully land the airplane. Now the writer was female and she diplomatically did refer to this as an "endearing trait" of men. Hmm I sense that others of both genders might not interpret that scenario exactly the same. 

I think back thirty years to Stephen Quigley and Allan Deal of Conestoga Rovers (CRA) so confidently predicting that their expertise then would result in the smooth landing of the Elmira Aquifers past the line of the Ontario Drinking Water Standards etched in stone on the landing strip. Along with them was David Ash, Jeff Merriman and Dwighte Este all of Uniroyal Chemical. Mostly names from the past who appropriately took a hike after a while.

Regarding others making New Year's resolutions, I am cool with that. Regarding myself I am conflicted.   Yes in my most serious moments of reflection I can find an error or two over the decades, maybe even more. But... I take my word very seriously despite lying little shits like Robert Re..... oops this is part of my possible New Year's Resolutions and I'm already about to cross the line. O.K I take my word seriously enough that I don't want to lie even to myself. If I make a resolution I'm stuck with it. Hence problem solved by simply not making any resolutions.

Over the last seven or eight years I have expanded my list of crappers here in Elmira and area. Prior to that (approx.?) I believe that I focused strongly on the polluter (Uniroyal/Crompton/Chemtura), their consultants (CRA), and the Ont. Ministry of Environment (M.O.E.). It is my recollection that I did not strongly hammer Woolwich Township, GRCA, Region of Waterloo, Woolwich councillors etc. That expansion whether I'm totally correct or not on the 2016-2017 timeframe occurred as I began to understand the depth, the deceit and the malice behind  our authorities enabling the polluters' escape from accountability. 

So I was toying with the idea of backing off on my public educational campaign to expose ALL the guilty parties particularly the political ones. I considered making a Resolution to that effect based upon three friends and colleagues well intentioned advice. Maybe I will regret not doing it and maybe I won't.  

TWO RESPONSES TO YESTERDAY'S NEW YEAR'S DAY MESSAGE TO LANXESS, GHD, MECP & WOOLWICH TOWNSHIP

 

Firstly I believe that Sandy is ecstatic at the possibility of being honoured by being the one to dedicate the Uniroyal Chemical/Lanxess Canada cancer wing at Grand River Hospital. Now it is also possible that she may be somewhat confused as to why she was so nominated for this (dis)honour. I further expect that her guides, advisers, minions etc. will quickly get her up to speed. No Sandy, polluters and their corporate successors are not honoured by honest, intelligent, decent human beings for their refusals and failures to make the public interest whole again. Once your puffery and propaganda are removed  Lanxess and you will be treated much more appropriately. Perhaps you, just like your two sidekicks, Pat Mc. & Susan B. will also get the heck out of town for good. I am thrilled to have lived long enough to see that occur and maybe, just maybe I'll see your departure as well. 

The two responses were a pleasant surprise and consisted of the one pointing out that there is a more complete and factual book on the subject of "Elmira's Water Woes: The Triumph of Corruption, Deceit and Citizen Betrayal". Yes they are in fact referring to my 2019 book which can be found at www.waterlooregionadvocate.blogspot.com  The other response referred to righteous outrage and moral culpability for which I very much appreciate the author's words and sentiments.   

NEW YEAR'S DAY 2025 - TWENTY-FIVE YEARS OF INCESSANT LYING BY UNIROYAL/CROMPTON/CHEMTURA/MECP WITH NO CONSEQUENCES

 Starting as early as 1992 Conestoga Rovers and Uniroyal Chemical were talking about pump & treat i.e. hydraulic containment as the route forward. Yes they were also looking at and lying like dogs about DNAPLS (dense non aqueous phase liquids) not being on their site which has been disproven on a number of occasions. The lying about DNAPLS has continued to the present day whereas the lying about achieving drinking water standards in the Elmira Aquifers started to slow around 2017 and indeed since then Lanxess have grudgingly admitted that it isn't going to happen. Their lies have been more focused on excuses as to why it won't happen versus the reality that much more source removal was required as was much more groundwater pumping both on and off site. The latter was admitted in November 2012 by CRA and Chemtura but never implemented. 

 It is now 2025. Three skinny years until the mandated deadline.  Mandated...what a joke. The Ontario Ministry of Expanded Corporate Pollution (MECP)  are in the process of writing a new Control Order or whatever Mickey Mouse new name they want for the document. No penalties, no sanctions, no fines, no jail time, not even public denunciation from the MECP for the gross failure of the polluter, their consultants and their corporate successors. I believe that they the corrupt regulator (MOE/MECP) should also be facing consequences for their gross failures as well.

Polluters with deep pockets aren't even subject to moral suasion in this province. Where is the outrage that Uniroyal Chemical could destroy a former trout creek permanently with hefty downstream loads of dioxins, DDT compounds and so much more virtually untouched and unremoved to this day? Where is the outrage that they could lie without consequences for twenty-five years about cleaning up our drinking water aquifers by 2028? Elmira citizens including myself publicly criticized those lying filth, one corrupt technical report after another for decades and not so much as Thank You, you were right, It's not being cleaned up properly.  Our incredibly compromised authorities from Woolwich Township to Regional Government, GRCA, MECP etc. have been deeply in bed with the polluters and their fellow travellors since the beginning. Our corrupt authorities have enabled this pollution, this lack of cleanup and this  false narrative that it was nobody's fault from the beginning. Many of our authorities hands are dirty whether from personal benefit by supporting Uniroyal Chemical and friends or dirty/bloody from being complicit in the unnecessary destruction of people's health and lives. 

Cancers are rampant among us and do you seriously think that Uniroyal's toxic chemical additives to air, surface water, groundwater and soil have not taken their toll locally? Perhaps as a token of our "gratitude" we should name a cancer wing at Grand River Hospital after the company. It would be fitting if it was dedicated by say Woolwich  mayor Sandy Shantz who has put her personal stamp upon greasing the wheels for Lanxess Canada's smooth landing in 2028.