The Winnipeg Free Press reports this morning that, “Opponents of Winnipeg’s waste-water-treatment deal with Veolia Canada were ecstatic Thursday night after more than 24,000 voters took part in a conference call about the city’s contract with the environmental consulting firm. The Winnipeg Citizens Coalition, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Winnipeg Water Watch and the Council of Canadians enlisted Toronto’s Strategic Communications to set up a virtual town hall about the city’s plan to seek Veolia’s expertise in designing, building and possibly managing at least $661 million worth of upgrades to two Winnipeg sewage-treatment plants.”
“A total of 24,063 people tuned in for at least a portion of the hour-long call. At least 1,500 of those callers remained online for the entire hour, said Bobbi Ethier, co-chairwoman of the Winnipeg Citizens Coalition. …The conference call, moderated by coalition spokeswoman Vicki Burns, mostly allowed participants to listen to Veolia critics from three U.S. municipalities that have worked with the U.S. wing of the multinational firm. …At least 1,230 participants wanted to ask questions, but only several received the opportunity. Opponents of the deal argue not enough is known about the work Veolia will do for Winnipeg.”
More on the Council of Canadians opposition to Veolia at http://canadians.org/campaignblog/?s=veolia.
The Winnipeg Free Press article is at http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/veolia-opponents-score-online-hits-105510458.html.
