Sierra Club rates candidates
SYDNEY - The Cape Breton branch of the Sierra Club of Canada gave mayoral
candidate Dan Fraser a D+ for his answers in a survey on Cape Breton
environmental issues. Mr. Fraser was the last chairman of the now-defunct Joint Action Group, which
was a community and government partnership that studied and made
recommendations for cleanup of the Sydney tar ponds and coke ovens site. The
sites are contaminated with toxic waste generated over a century of
steelmaking. The Sierra Club was a member of JAG but quit because of frustration with the
government partners. Mr. Fraser was one of several candidates in Cape Breton Regional Municipality
who filled out the survey. Mr. Fraser's opponent, incumbent John Morgan, scored a B-- on the survey. The survey included questions on the proposed Coxheath quarry, strip-mining,
water supply, the tar ponds cleanup, the smoking bylaw, pesticides and waste
management. The Sierra Club was pleased with both candidates' responses to questions about
protecting people living near the tar ponds and the use of proven technologies
to clean up the tar ponds and coke ovens sites. But the group was disappointed
that neither seemed to support a full-panel environmental assessment
beforehand.
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