MORE ON THE MINISTRY OF EXCUSES & CORPORATE COLLUSION

The Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (MOECC) are all about appearances and public relations. Hence the new name. This is the third change I've seen since I seriously started studying their behaviour twenty-five years ago. They actually went from M.O.E. to M.O.E.E. or Ministry of Environment and Energy and then they went back to simply the Ministry of Environment. Recently due to the press around climate change and of course they've changed their name again. What has been consistent throughouit is their ability to talk the talk while utterly failing to walk the walk.

Enforcement of our current environmental laws are a joke. Here in Elmira we are even being bafflegabbed that the M.O.E. do not have the authority to go on private property in order to investigate spills, odours , complaints or any other reasonable evidence pertaining to pollution. The Chair of the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC) recently had to quote part of the Environmental Protection Act to the M.O.E. to convince them that they do indeed have the authority to go private property.

A recent letter from the new Director of the West Central Region of the Ontario M.O.E. is a typical example. Written on behalf of the Director it purports to be responding to a CPAC Resolution, endorsed by Woolwich Council requesting that the M.O.E. undertake a comprehensive investigation of the east side including off-site of the Chemtura property. This M.O.E. letter is uninformed, inaccurate and generally dismissive of the concerns of local residents as well as of the local Council. Yes the power and money are in the hands of Chemtura canada, Not in the hands of Woolwich Township. Nevertheless it would be nice for a change if we could see our provincial government and Ministry actually working on our behalf rather than on the behalf of the polluter.