The stink really is getting worse!

We have a guest blogger today, Jim Richards from Orono, ON. Below is his letter, and what he says makes a lot of sense.

To the Editor, (Orono Weekly Times) and to Clarington Watchdog:

In response to your excellent Editorial (The smell is getting worse) on 3 Feb. 2016, I submit the following comments, and preface each by stating in advance, that they are subject to 'in my opinion', one of the remaining rights we still have in a free and democratic society after 10 years of Federal PC rule.

The issue of incineration vs aggressive recycling arose during the local election in 2006. Thereafter, it became a major issue and has remained so until this day. No doubt it will be with us for the next 2-3 decades as class action suits will undoubtedly follow when cancer and respiratory rates in Port Hope, Clarington, Oshawa and beyond start to increase.

Who to blame: Well, we could start with our Regional Chair, Roger Anderson who' bullied' this project through the Regional Council at the time. Even when the ill-informed (ignorant for the most part) elected officials, who should have been looking out for not only our health concerns as well as our financial welfare, continued to vote this scam forward, (and that includes representatives like former Mayor Jim Abernethy, and Regional Councillors Charlie Trim, Mary Novak and Local Councillor Gordie Robinson), in the face of mounting evidence that this was a costly (in more ways than one) move, we continued down the path of smoke and mirrors from the incinerator business, their  lobbyists, and the very consultants Durham Region hired to do the oversight (who are members of the incinerator coalition)! The farce was supported too by Durham Region staffers who were taking their orders from political bosses (who are elected to represent the public) and not the public (who they are hired to serve).

We then experienced a municipal election in 2010 where local Councillors Adrian Foster and Willie Woo, strong opponents of incineration  for four years, ran for the Mayor's seat and a Regional seat respectively. With major door-to-door and financial help from the anti-incineration group, they were elected; but to no avail. I'm embarrassed to say that I worked very hard to see both of these two duds elected. Shortly afterwards, both of them flip-flopped, and started to go along with Anderson and his cronies to support the burner. To suggest that they are liars might find me in court, so suffice it to say, they were not telling the truth.

We were promised by Anderson, et al, that we would get the "best of the best", "on time and on budget". Well guess what: we did not get the best of the best, we got a 'royal screwing', and it was 13 months late and several millions of dollars over budget as pointed out in your editorial.

I would also like to point out that while the former Provincial government did nothing to assist, the current Liberals in QP are doing even less. It is shameful, and something for you to think about in the next Provincial election. Their oversight has been woefully lacking, and not in keeping with the BS they are now trying to force down your throat about their concerns about climate change and the like, and that they actually care.... it's their back door to more taxes!

A few months ago, Covanta conducted a series of tests, and it showed that two of the deadliest compounds known to mankind, dioxins and furans (according to the World Health Organization) were four times the acceptable limit ( and by the way, those limits are decades old). Was Covanta or Durham Region told to shut down the "state-of-the -art" burner; no, they were given a chance to conduct another test. Excuse me if I seem skeptical, but given that opponents had asked for pre-sorting of the crap going into the burner (and were refused) I cannot help but wonder if Covanta perhaps carefully sorted the trash going into the burner prior to the second test (just an idle thought....).  In any event, to no surprise, they passed the second test. They were now almost near their goal.

In order to mask the high readings of dioxins and furans, Covanta added yet more chemicals to the mix. Yes, to be sure, they were able to meet the rigged (in my opinion) test, but surpassed the amount of ash being produced. Roger Anderson and his political puppets made a big noise about making Covanta adhere to the original agreement, but once Covanta suggested a legal confrontation, Anderson et al. backed down, and have now given Covanta the green light to shaft us in ways we have not yet experienced. On the internet, you will find evidence of Covanta bankrupting municipalities in the US.

From start to finish, this entire sham, shrouded in secrecy has been a circus and a disaster for you the taxpayers in terms of health and the environment. My advice (for you and your children and grandchildren) in the future, is to "follow the money". Maybe someday we will get to the bottom of this scam. Think of the Mark Twain adage "We have the best politicians money can buy".

Your editorial goes on to say that our Mayor (Foster) and Regional Councillor (Woo) voted against the final agreement that paved the way for Covanta to usurp millions per year for decades, including all of our Federal gas tax rebate dollars that are intended for infrastructure spending (roads, bridges and the like). I would like to point out that Mayor Adrian Foster and Reg. Councillor Willie Woo only voted against the final proposal because they did not get what they wanted in terms of other items contained in the "host community agreement; it was not because they opposed the air, water and soil pollution that will become the legacy of the Durham Region's " mistake by the lake", and the price we will all pay in terms of health and dollars in the coming years to support Covanta. Check them out on Google if you want to see their labour and environmental record. Only Reg. Councillor Joe Neal voted "no".

By the way, the 16 or more million dollars from the gas tax rebate, that is now being given to Covanta, will require that your taxes will go up to pay for the infrastructure items it was intended to help with. As long as you the taxpayer ignore this fact, your Regional Chair, Mayor Foster, Reg. Councillor Woo and others will claim that the burner is not costing us any additional money in the form of taxes; it's the road repairs..... Wake up ratepayers! Think about this as you get your property tax forms about 1 year from now. In a few years from now we will witness a spike in cancer rates, birth defects and the like in Durham Region. There will be class action suits to accompany this travesty, and if you need a list of who to include, let me know!

Jim Richards

Orono, ON

Municipal Election 2010 - Watchdog or Lapdog?

This should be an interesting year for Clarington residents, and in fact for everyone in Durham Region. It is an election year, so self-serving rhetoric will abound from many incumbents and from some challengers.

When considering your choices, take the time to get to know a little about the candidates. Incumbents have an advantage with built-in name recognition, but just recognizing a name is not a reason to vote for someone. Some of our worst representatives both locally and at Regional Council are incumbents. Certainly in Clarington that is the case in my humble opinion.

When deciding who you might want representing you at the region, keep this question in mind: Do you want a watchdog for Clarington residents or a lapdog for Regional interests and an unelected chair above all else? We need watchdogs, not lapdogs. We need people with the courage to stand up for their own municipality and residents and not people who will 'compromise' (sell out) on issues of great importance to our communities. We need politicians who don't say "I was elected to represent the Region of Durham" (Mayor Abernethy). I thought he was elected to represent the municipality of Clarington.

There are always wonderful EXCUSES made by politicians for the decisions they make. Some are valid, many are not.

Revisiting the incinerator decision

What is wrong with this picture? Lots. Do we need servicing for employment lands designated as the Science Park in Bowmanville and the Energy Park in Courtice? Yes, we do. Are we held hostage by Durham Region's unelected Chair and reduced to begging to get our fair share? Yes. Should we perhaps find another way to pay for servicing of these lands, other than being reduced to accepting buy-offs from the Region just to get an agreement to begin an EA to consider servicing? Is there a law that says we must depend on Regional tax money for our services rather than being inventive and thinking outside the box to find a better way where we can be the authors of our own destiny instead of waiting for crumbs from the Region? Clarington has not gotten our fair share without having to give up more than anyone should - being the garbage dump for the Region. Sewage plant and municipal waste incinerator, auto wreckers, nuclear plant and cement factory, new 407 link and on and on - all spewing unhealthy emissions and adding to our already poor air quality and health risks. And all right along the 401 - gateway to Clarington! Such a beautiful sight. Rationale from the consultants: this air shed is already so polluted, adding a little more won't make a difference. Well sorry, but it makes a difference to us. To the residents of Clarington!

Were our 3 Regional Councillors (Mayor Abernethy, Councillors Novak and Trim) right to completely disregard votes taken at Clarington Council (before the flip-flop of Local Ward 4 Councillor Gord Robinson) declaring us an unwilling host, and not supporting the building of an emission spewing incinerator in our community? Were they right to completely support every vote at the Region to promote the building of an incinerator, start to finish over the last few years? Were they right to completely disregard the overwhelming majority of residents who care more about their health and the health of their children and grandchildren than getting half-baked promises from an Region that we no longer have any faith in?

Are our Regional representatives right to sell out our future health for a 'business plan' that is totally dependent on Durham Region? Who has faith that the Region or Province will adequately monitor this garbage burner? Both their records are lacking historically and the vote of Regional Council to reduce monitoring from what was originally promised to residents because it would cost too much, appear to care more about their own financial health than the physical and financial health of their residents, especially those in Clarington and in Oshawa who will be most heavily affected by emissions. But remember that all surrounding communities, including those outside of Durham Region, will be affected by the increase in tiny particulate matter which can have a profound effect on health and by a substantial increase in dioxins and furans, known cancer causing emissions. These emissions won't be adequately monitored, and some won't be monitored at all. I suppose many of these politicians subscribe to the idea that "What we don't know won't hurt us".

Hype and Hyperbole

I hope those same politicians are given a pile of hurt in October. There has been too much dishonesty, too much hype and hyperbole.

Here is a question that should be asked of each one of those who voted on June 24 to approve the very faulty EA (more on that later) produced to support building of the now infamous Durham Incinerator:

"Your rationale or excuse for continuing to vote approval of the incinerator forward at each milestone was that you wanted to get ALL the information. You said that you were voting forward the incinerator at each step of the way without having complete reports or having satisfactory information at that point was so that you could get more information at the next step. If that were true, then WHY did you vote to approve an incomplete EA with incomplete reports which where completed and submitted to the Province more than a month after you voted to approve? Why have no questions been asked or protests lodged by Regional Councillors after seeing that this EA was incomplete and faulty. Why are you still supporting it?"

More questions might be asked as well, such as, "Why did you consider only the hired gun's (consultants) and proponents of incineration to have credible information but not that of local and regional doctors and doctors and scientists worldwide? Why did you not consider the credible articles in medical journals, peer reviewed and widely accepted that were presented to you by local residents? Why did you allow yourselves to be reeled in and see only what the proponents wanted you to see? Why didn't you give both sides equal consideration?"

We'll get into specific claims and comments made by our incumbents during this election year (both past and present statements). But I implore you to get involved this year. We have several incumbents in Clarington who should be replaced due to past performance on a number of issues; in my estimation 4 of our 7 Clarington Councillors need to 'feel the pain' of their callous disregard for the health of their citizens. Health and quality of life should be a #1 priority, and an incinerator is inconsistent with both objectives.

There are better alternatives. Incineration is the most expensive, least environmentally friendly solution to the waste problem. This fact is being shown across North America by Councils and Trustees choosing better solutions and refusing to capitulate to the incineration industry and their claims of safety. Sure incinerators are relatively more safe now than they were 20 years ago. But does that mean they are safe? NO. It means they've cleaned up their act somewhat, but the technology does not yet exist to make them "safe".

The horse-trading by a powerful, unelected Regional Chair must be curtailed, especially when it benefits another Region (York) and hurts physically and financially residents in our own region. Backroom deals between York and Durham have been ongoing for some time. Durham must be put first for a change. These deals so lauded by some of the lapdog politicians are not so great for Durham, if you take the time to investigate them and not just settle for the distortions and embellishments served up on a platter for and by Regional Council and Committees.

WAKE UP CLARINGTON! Get involved. Voice your concerns. Make your voice heard. Don't settle for less than we deserve. Don't settle for lapdogs instead of watch dogs for our municipality.

Watch for more information on all of this - 2010 election, incineration health risks, better solutions, Regional shortcomings, and of course the "Elect The Chair" campaign, renewed.

Who will speak for us?

Where to begin? Although I've been away for some time, I've kept up with all the goings on over the incinerator. And in my travels I've had the opportunity to learn much more than I ever wanted to know about incineration, and the pro-incinerator lobby. They are powerful and vocal and are everywhere. They are masterful at showing the best side of incineration and hiding the deep, dark deadly secrets.

They will show you the clean, Darlington-looking control rooms and allow you to speak with those who depend on the industry for their livelihoods. They will point out a school or daycare or apartment building or clothesline just within spitting distance of the incinerator and tell you everyone is content and happy with it. And it makes you want to spit.

If you travel a little farther afield and speak to people not on the industry's "okay list", you'll find a lot of worry, a lot of dissatisfaction, and a lot of anger surrounding the incineration industry. Especially from those who were led to believe that it was safe with few emissions because of all the scrubber technology and monitoring. They found out differently AFTER the fact. They found out that livestock on farms were affected and now it's not safe to drink the milk or eat the meat that has 'bio-accumulated' toxins in them. It has now begun to hurt the farming industry and as that knowledge spreads, it will devastate it.

They found out that they are having higher rates of birth defects in infants in areas within a 20 - 90 km radius of these stacks. They are having more chronic lung disease problems such as asthma (sound familiar?) and certain types of cancers.

But in most cases, their governments are silent. They don't want to be sued and they want to keep up their denials. There are some in government who are trying to speak out and are muzzled. There are many in the general population who are not muzzled and are being heard world-wide, if you care to listen.

Our elected (and unelected) officials have chosen not to listen. They are content to listen only to the paid EFW lobbyists the Region hired to promote incineration. Yes, that's right, they were hired to get it through the EA process and get it approved. They were not hired to do objective testing or studies - and that is more than evident from the so-called studies already completed. Look at the air quality statistics brought forward at Regional Committees and Council, and at Clarington Council numerous times. Those numbers came from the appendices of the Region's very own hired consultant's studies so they cannot dispute them. But those numbers were hidden deep in those pages and never, not once, brought forward by the consultants in all their presentations to committee, council, or the public at the public information sessions, even when asked about them. When air quality numbers are hundreds and thousands of times worse in Clarington than in East Gwillimbury, but they are rated as equal or both "neutral" for advantage or disadvantage, you know SOMETHING isn't right.

And that is only the tip of the iceberg. Confidence in the EA process has been dwindling as it has become increasingly evident that results appear to be manipulated in such a way as to promote or ensure the desired outcome of the process. This is not wild speculation. It seems so abundantly obvious if anyone takes the time to actually read not only the executive summary of these studies, but also dig deep into the bowels of the consultant's analysis to extract the fact from the faeces.

That so many of our elected officials are taken in by this spin and haven't taken the time to flush out the truth for themselves is highly disturbing. These are the people who are entrusted with our health and well-being, yet they refuse to listen to the groundswell of doctors in Durham Region who are vehemently opposed to this incinerator. They refuse to read the medical journals or numerous studies that would support the contention that there are emissions that cannot be captured by present technology - emissions that are bioaccumulative and dangerous to humans, especially in the fetal stages, infants and toddlers, and those with chronic illness who are already compromised. Tiny nanoparticles that can penetrate all organs including the brain through the blood/brain barrier.

They are entrusted with keeping our environment safe and healthy, yet refuse to listen to experts or environmental groups and choose instead to believe the consultants who are paid to PROMOTE incineration, the lobby groups and the industry.

They should be protecting agriculture in the region, including livestock operations, but have ignored expert studies and peer review literature which explains the risks and already proven effects on the food chain.

They should be caring a lot more than they are - and should show some common sense. Mayor Abernethy continues say they MUST push this EA through (though he neglects to say it should be done properly instead of FAST). The way this EA is being conducted, speed is so much more important than accuracy, and speed is a good way to hide many of the facts that should be made public knowledge.

Take the ridiculous reasons given by most Regional Councillors for approving the Courtice 01 site as the preferred site for the incinerator to be built - so that they can get ALL the information needed to make an informed decision. Then they went ahead and made a MAJOR decision in the EA process steps WITHOUT having the necessary information to make that decision. Talk about loony and backward. They needed to have technology information before choosing the site. They completely ignored the information given to them by residents and doctors and experts regarding air quality, for example, using that fake excuse that they want to get more information. Why make such an important decision without having the information first? We know why - it is an excuse they can use to push the EA farther and farther down the road and enable it to skip over information that should be given tough scrutiny. Instead it will get short shrift.

The public is not being fooled, other than a few who have listened to their politicians and not questioned any of the information or done any research themselves. And those are the people who won't be changed anyway. They're probably still using that old DDT in their yards and have kept the asbestos in their walls and don't worry about it because they're not sick yet. They probably smoke too (no lung cancer yet) and think there will be hundreds of jobs to run this new facility. They certainly haven't done their homework there, either.

The incinerator lobby can be excused to some degree for their shameless promotion of EFW, WtE, incineration or whatever you want to call it. They get paid for it. But the fact that our politicians in whom we place our trust are shamelessly promoting it and not even asking questions is totally inexcusable and disgraceful.

That our Mayor Abernethy and Regional Councillors Charlie Trim and Mary Novak put the Region AHEAD of Clarington is disgraceful and inexcusable. Where they got the idea that their first allegiance is to the Region, above Clarington and its residents is not hard to figure out. They are being used by the Region to get what the Region wants. And they haven't even figured that out yet.

It is unbelievable that these three voted AGAINST the motion by Brian Nicholson that said if a municipality was an unwilling host, the region would not force an incinerator on them. They would not even protect their own municipality - the Region as always comes first. None of the three can claim they are being protective of Clarington or NOT putting the Region first in all things incinerator.

This is why these three must NEVER be allowed to be re-elected in Clarington. They have given up their right to speak for us since they have never spoken for us. They speak for the Region at all times. This is something none of us should forget, no matter how this incineration farce turns out. They have not stood up for Clarington. Only our four local councillors have done so. Hats off to Councillors Foster, Hooper, Woo and Robinson. They are the only ones looking our for our welfare, and it can't be easy with the pressure from the Region and from our Mayor. They deserve our gratitude and our support.

Now comes the PR farce the Mayor is trying to foist upon the good citizens of Clarington. These people who will be speaking are not experts on incineration. They are promoters, lobbyists, but where are the experts? How can residents give their councillors questions to ask the presenters before they hear them speak? Our hands are tied and the Mayor knows it. That is why these people were invited by our Mayor are being promoted in this forum rather than at an open forum where residents can ask questions.

There is so much more to say on this subject and it will be said. The entire scenario as it is playing out simply disgusts me. All that I hold dear, namely fairness, openness, honesty, transparency... they are all missing from this entire process. The dirty little bag of tricks continues but is not fooling anybody. Instead it is strengthening those in opposition to this entire debacle. The word is rapidly spreading. They may have the votes at Regional Council to approve this incinerator. But WE have the votes at the ballot box, and we will not forget.

Oshawa Motion says Ban the Burn

Oshawa Regional Councillor Nicholson has placed the following motion on the agenda for the next Oshawa Council Meeting, Monday, June 11 at 6:30 pm, and the public is welcome to attend.

Let's hope that our Clarington Council takes a close look at this motion and will take similar actions. The public is behind this by a huge majority. We are all becoming much more informed - more so than many of the politicians who are pushing this project on us. Many have not bothered to do any research into incineration, as they have their one-sided consultants giving them all the information they need - to keep pushing for it. According to Regional Consultants so far, there is really no down side to hosting an incinerator. It's all light and roses; all good. Only harmless water vapour emissions from the stack. Ash that will disappear and barely need to take up any space in landfills. No traffic problems, no infrastructure problems, not toxin problems. Health concerns? Heck no! It's as safe as other government sanctioned things like asbestos - oh, wait. I forgot, they changed their minds on that one. It's as safe as Thalidomide. Oh wait, they changed their minds on that one too. It's as safe as... well, you get the picture. Those dioxins and furans which have no safe levels at all, will be at a level that the government will tell us is safe. And we all trust the government (all levels), right?

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MOTION

Whereas the Township of East Gwillimbury has unanimously opposed the location of an incinerator within its boundaries and has indicated that it is not a willing host community for an incinerator, and

Whereas the Region of Durham has consistently refused to support resolutions that would require any municipality in Durham to be a willing host community before being considered for an incineration site, and

Whereas sites in Clarington will cause a real and demonstrated health hazard to the residents of Oshawa, with prevailing winds depositing dioxin, furans, nanoparticles and other noxious and poisonous materials over large portions of Oshawa.

Be it resolved,

1. 
   That the Council of the City of Oshawa indicated to the Region of Durham and to the Region of York that it is not a willing recipient of the wastes and poisons discharged into the air from a proposed incinerator potentially located in the municipality of Clarington.


2. 
   That the Council of the City of Oshawa urges our neighbouring municipality of Clarington to join with East Gwillimbury to indicated its opposition to an incinerator being located in Clarington and that they pass a resolution indicating that they are not a willing host municipality for any potential incineration site.


3. 
   That the Council of the City of Oshawa urge the Region of Durham and the Region of York to respect the wishes of the local Councils by committing to a protocol that would not allow any incinerator to be located in any community that is not a declared willing host community by a resolution of its local council after public consultation.


4. 
   The Council of the City of Oshawa strongly urges all local Councils in the Region of Durham and the Region of York to support the actions taken in East Gwillimbury and to take similar actions to those included in this resolution.


5. 
   That a copy of this resolution be sent to all regional and local councils and council members in the Regional Municipalities of Durham and York and to all MP’s and MPP’s in ridings located within those regions.

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We commend Councillor Nicholson and hope Oshawa Council will send their very strong voices to the Region for the benefit of Clarington, Oshawa and all Durham Region residents.

There is a better way than Thermal Treatment or Energy From Waste (INCINERATION). There are safer, less expensive, and much CLEANER ways to deal with trash. No one technology is absolutely perfect (yet), but experts are working on it. And to date, they have come up with a better way. Lets hope they will take the time to examine it.