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06 | 07 | 2014 VOLUME 19 | ISSUE 23
CHOREOGRAPHY AT MUCH MUSIC VIDEO AWARDS THE ARTS PAGE 19
COMMENT PAGE 8
WEEDS MORE THAN A PROBLEM OF AESTHETICS
Candidates stake their positions in election debate
Change of tactics needed to clean Elmira aquifers, CPAC argues
With just over a week until the election, Kitchener-Conestoga hopefuls bring the issues to Elmira
STEVE KANNON Welcoming Chemtura’s recent moves to increase the rate at which it can treat contaminated groundwater, Elmira’s environmental watchdog group says the company should be doing more. Unless the chemical producer moves past treatment to removing the underground pollutants, the 2028 timeline for restoring the aquifers to drinking water standards is in jeopardy, says the chair of the Chemtura Public Advisory Committee (CPAC). “There continue to be many areas of concern regarding the remediation. The efforts to reclaim the clean water of the Elmira aquifers have continued now for over 25 years, and they will probably continue for another 25 years or more,” Dan Holt told Woolwich councillors meeting June 2. Holt said CPAC is not optimistic the company’s longstanding plan to remediate the aquifers by pumping up water, treating it and then discharging it into the Canagagigue Creek will be adequate. Chemtura – Uniroyal Chemical at the time, then later Crompton Co. – has been using a pump-and-treat process to remove a pair of toxins – NDMA (nitrosodimethylamine) and chlorobenzene – from the former drinking water aquifers underneath Elmira. Discovery in 1989 of the CPAC| 6
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SCOTT BARBER
Michael Harris, Wayne Wright, James Villeneuve and David Weber traded verbal jabs during the Kitchener-Conestoga electoral forum at the WCS community room June 4. [SCOTT BARBER / THE OBSERVER]
Candidates for the provincial riding of Kitchener-Conestoga gathered at the Woolwich Memorial Centre in Elmira on Thursday evening for the final debate of the election campaign. During the two-hour discussion, a clear consensus emerged amongst the parties: this election is about the economy, stupid. “I believe that keeping working people employed while investing in infrastructure, education and skills training, will lead to growth which will in turn lead to greater tax revenues and eliminate our deficit without cuts to families,” Wayne Wright of the Liberal party said during his opening statement. Progressive Conservative incumbent Michael Harris stressed the need to eliminate the College of Trades and reintroduce the Fair and Open Tendering Act. “We have to end the
waste, mismanagement and scandals at Queen’s Park, because you and I know that we must get Ontario’s finances under control so we can make the much needed investments in our health care and education,” he argued. James Villeneuve of the NDP disagreed, calling the PC economic plan “fundamentally flawed” and noting that the proposed 30 per cent tax reduction is for “large corporations and not for you hard working people of KitchenerConestoga.” The Green Party was represented by David Weber, who emphasized the need for environmentally sustainable economic solutions like light rail transit and a revised Green Energy Act. The most contentious issue involved the PC’s plan to abolish the Ontario College of Trades. “The College of Trades is DEBATE | 4
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