Both the Information and Privacy Commissioner/Ontario and the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario have raised concerns about the process and impact of Site 41.
ONTARIO’S INFORMATION AND PRIVACY COMMISSIONER
The Alliston Herald reports today that, “Ontario’s information and privacy commissioner issued the order in May. Environmental consulting engineers Jagger Hims Ltd. refused to comply in June. And members of the Site 41 community monitoring committee (CMC) are steamed in July. …The information in question is the so-called Modflow data (groundwater flow simulation figures) for the landfill site.”
Today’s Barrie Examiner editorial states, “The province issued an order to the county to direct its consultant to provide the county with the Modflow records by June 26. Jagger Hims has said no, saying its approach to the project and technical knowledge are proprietary information. So again, through its consultant, the county can be seen as blocking access to information Site 41 opponents want and feel they deserve to see.”
ONTARIO’S ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER
The Toronto Star reported on May 30 that, “Ontario’s environment commissioner, Gordon Miller, says the battle over Dump Site 41 is a political mystery – a site being built on an aquifer in 2009, using an engineering concept proposed in the early 1990s. ‘If we were to start this process today, we would not build this site,’ Miller said.”
THE PREMIER
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty said this week, “It’s never easy to locate these damn things…I have to rely on experts on issues as to whether we compromise the environment. The best advice we’ve received is it’s viable. There has been extensive work done to ensure we properly understand the impact of the landfill site…”
And yet his environmental commissioner says “if we were to start this process today, we would not build this site” and his information and privacy commissioner has issued an order for a critical report (on the impact of the landfill site) to be released to the county, that still has yet to be released.
TAKE ACTION
Go to http://canadians.org/action/2009/10-July-09.html and send a letter now!
WEB-LINKS
The 18-page order from the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario for “the County to issue a written direction to Jagger Hims to provide the County with the records responsive to the appellant’s request” is at http://www.ipc.on.ca/images/Findings/MO-2416.pdf.
The Alliston Herald article is at http://www.allistonherald.com/allistonherald/article/140609.
The Barrie Examiner editorial is at http://www.thebarrieexaminer.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1649629.
The Toronto Star article is at http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/642925.
