Muggah Creek Watershed
PUBLICATIONCape Breton Post
DATE Fri 11 Jun 1999
EDITION FINAL
SECTION/CATEGORY Letters
PAGE NUMBER5
BYLINESenator Al Graham
STORY LENGTH 498
HEADLINE:
Latest cleanup funding will move work ahead
To the editor:
On May 28 federal Environment Minister Christine Stewart and Nova
Scotia Transportation Minister Clifford Huskilson announced the
investment of $62 million over the next three years into cleaning
up the Sydney tar ponds and coke ovens, one of the largest toxic
waste sites in Canada.
Most of the money will go towards starting the cleanup, with the
remainder supporting the work of the Joint Action Group, the
community-based organization established three years ago to
educate and empower the community to get involved in the cleanup
process.
The federal, provincial, and municipal governments endorsed the
cleanup process in principle in September 1998 when they signed a
Memorandum of Understanding with JAG.
The $62 million announced a few weeks ago is a reaffirmation of
governments' commitment to this long-term cleanup project.
For almost a decade, successive governments have worked earnestly
to find the best options to clean up this site, located in the
heart of Sydney's downtown.
After two failed attempts at remediation, the federal Liberal
health and environment ministers of the day, David Dingwall and
Sergio Marchi, spearheaded the creation of the new
``community-based approach.''
Along with the province and the municipality, they committed the
federal government to work with the community to find an
environmentally acceptable and healthy solution to deal with the
problem.
In the fall of 1996, JAG was formed.
In the ensuing three years, the people who make up JAG have
dedicated enormous amounts of their own time to making their
community a better place to live in. Collectively, they have
donated more than 35,000 volunteer hours of their personal time
since 1996.
This work has not always been easy -- it is always easier to
criticize than to be part of the solution -- but the volunteers
have stuck to their commitment, and their determination and hard
work have paid off.
The federal government will invest $37.9 million in the first
phase of the cleanup.
As Ms. Stewart said on May 28: ``The Government of Canada is
committed to this cleanup. This funding shows we plan to do it
once and for all.''
On that occasion, I was pleased that Ms. Stewart and Mr. Huskilson
and I were joined by provincial ministers Michel Samson
(environment), Jim Smith (health), and Ray White (municipal
affairs).
The federal government recognizes the Sydney tar ponds for what it
is: a national problem requiring a national solution. Ms. Stewart
is personally committed to seeing this project through and has
made the cleanup one of her top priorities.
I am firm in my belief that if we all can work together we can
find the right solutions to this toxic mess. While $62 million
alone will not clean up the site in its entirety, it will take us
a long way down to the road to finding a solution.
Ultimately, that is what we all want: a cleaner, healthier, and
more prosperous Cape Breton.
Senator Al Graham
government leader in the Senate
minister responsible for Nova Scotia
