How many times have we said over the last year or so that the preferred site would be in Courtice. How many people have said it was pre-determined and that Durham Region hired the consultants to steer the site selection toward the Courtice site right from the beginning (as well as steering away from any of the alternative technologies)?
Do we all have crystal balls, or was this plan just poorly disguised from the start? Then again, why bother to put much effort into disguising the intent when it makes no difference what Clarington voters, Clarington staff, or a few of the local councillors have to say. The Region has admitted time and time again that it doesn't matter. Last week's attempts at explaining away Chairman Anderson's comments at Clarington Council were puny and didn't hold water to anyone who has heard Mr. Anderson comment on the same subject countless times at committee meetings. He was not only talking about the EA process itself. Ask him point blank if it will matter to the Region if Clarington declares itself a willing host or not, in the end, when the Region decides they are going to put their beloved incinerator in our midst. The answer is no. He has admitted it many times over the last year.
Well, now the joke is on our Mayor and Regional Councillors in Clarington, as well as any others gullible enough to think this is an objective EA process. There are so many holes in it that there will be appeals upon appeals and the Province should start to listen, since those pushing this project through at both Regional and local levels of government had their minds made up years ago, in spite of their insistence that they are waiting for all the "facts". If Mayor Abernethy was remaining objective, why would he promote incineration to the Clarington Board of Trade by playing them a video from an EFW proponent? Why would he vote down any attempts at getting more information from the Region or vote against the Region having to pay whatever it takes for Clarington to do its due diligence? Why would Mary Novak and Charlie Trim do the same? Why would Abernethy be so happy about Courtice being chosen as the preferred site for this incinerator? If he thinks he will benefit from it, or that Clarington will, he is sadly mistaken, and his refusal to remain the least bit neutral will haunt him in the next election, if he even has any plans of running again.
So, residents of Clarington, are we at all surprised by any of this? The only things I am surprised about are the lackadaisical attempts at convincing us this EA process as it is presently being run is "transparent". We asked for fairness, transparency, honesty. Our politicians promised us these things. What do we get instead?
Talk about managing garbage! The "poo pumper" is certainly hard at work these days.
I got a snail mail answer today from John O'Toole asking about what the PC's will do about the incinerator and the unelected chair.
ReplyDeleteHe saids that the Region is going the right way with the incinerator, and he'll go with the beliefs of the people, which he obviously isn't.
As for Roger Anderson, he appreciates the importance of direct balloting, however he believes that because the beliefs that the southern voters would overweigh the rights of the northern and rural municipalities. He thinks there needs to be more discussion before the 2007 election.
I haven't got a reply from the other candiates.
Mr. O'Toole has just lost my vote in the upcoming election, and I would surmise many other votes as well over this issue. He obviously isn't listening to what the "people" are saying, which is NO! He's listening to Abernethy, Novak and Trim and Anderson and not the residents of the municipality he lives in himself! I have been a long-time Tory supporter but this is a huge issue and we need someone who will listen to the people. The people didn't choose this, the Region did, back in 1999, before this EA ever began.
ReplyDeleteAs for Anderson, does he worry that the beliefs of his Regional Council will overweigh the rights of the residents of Clarington? Not one bit. He doesn't give a hoot about democracy or direct balloting. That man is another who will have to go, somehow.
Love the septic truck. A picture is worth a thousand words, for sure!
ReplyDeleteWe're getting plenty of garbage from the regional consultants and project team. The stench is getting stronger and stronger with each misstep they take. Seems they are taking a lot these days, and don't try very hard to even cover it up.
I too am a Conservative, but will be voting Green Party in this election, something I've never done before. Mr. O'Toole isn't listening to the residents nor has he done his homework re incineration. Nor has Mr. Tory, and the Liberals have loosened up requirements for approving new incinerators, so are also in favour of incinerating waste. Out of sight, out of mind.
ReplyDeleteWell, the Tories and Liberals are Out of Sight, Out of Mind in this election for me, and for many others I've spoken with in this riding. The incinerator is too big an issue to flip off.
The talk for the last year has been that the site search was a waste of time and money as it was being engineered so that Courtice would be the eventual outcome and the studies would all point to it.
ReplyDeleteI guess the "talk" was right. I didn't think people should be so cynical but they obviously knew something I didn't. Looking back now, I can see why Clarington, and now Courtice was chosen. We have weak representation politically. None of our local councillors have the guts to even declare us an unwilling host. The others (Mayor & Regionals) fall all over themselves to do what the region wants, and the residents of Clarington be damned.
I wasn't convinced about this whole mess until recently. Now I see the writing on the wall. Courtice and all of Clarington is the waste receptacle for all of Durham Region. Darlington, sewage plant, Miller Waste, auto wreckers and now lets put an incinerator down near the lake too. That Energy Park won't be very inviting to prestige companies, will it? Neither will Courtice. Or Clarington.
Sarah
ReplyDeleteI agree re: politicians in Courtice.
I am totally frustrated that incinerators are being considered. The law regarding incineration is inconvenient, so overturn it. Grrr.
In PEI, residents are masters at recycling and reducing waste...why can't Durham residents become master recyclers and reducers too? I'd FAR prefer the inconvenience of having three or more bins for separating garbage than having an incinerator.
Sue
In order for our municipality to work, there must exist a certain level of trust and faith. The public at large must be able to trust their elected representatives to do the job. When that faith is shaken, not only does the municipality and region suffer, but the residents do as well.
ReplyDeleteThe Region and consultants trying to brush off or circumvent EA problems gives us cause to not trust anything they now try to convince us of. That also applies to our Mayor and regional reps who continue to say they have not yet made up their minds, all the while promoting EFW and trying to stymie the local reps from getting answers for themselves and for residents.
Our regional representatives are totally failing us. When all is said and done and the 'facts' are in, does anyone believe they will stand up for the residents or for Clarington? They will find a way to say it is safe and will vote at Regional Council to approve, along with the others who were convinced by the tightly scripted European Tour.
Will anyone be surprised? No, no more surprised than with the selection of Courtice as the preferred recommended site.
Trusting our regional politicians to do what's best for our municipality is rife with risk. They have shown poor judgement in several areas to date. Why should we trust them with our health?
ReplyDeleteThey seem impressed with infomercials and sales pitches made by those who stand to benefit from the acceptance of incineration here and world-wide. They seem incapable of seeing past their own noses when it comes to being OBJECTIVE and looking at more than what their paid consultants (paid to promote incineration for the region) tell them.
I've lost all respect for them and all trust in them. It's a sad state of affairs for Clarington these days.