MP tries to get details from minister about tar ponds cleanup
Tanya Collier MacDonald
Cape Breton Post
Friday, Oct. 31, 2003
It'a crucial but awkward time
to convince Ottawa to proceed
with the cleanup of the Sydney
tar ponds and coke ovens sites,
says a Cape Breton MP.
"We hoped to have it on the
table before the leadership
change," said Liberal Mark
Eyking, who represents Sydney-Victoria.
"It's easier to have it done now."
Although leadership hopeful Paul Martin
committed to cleaning up the toxic sites
previously, said Eyking, it would
be smoother if a technology
and cost were agreed on
before Prime Minister Jean
Chretien resigned from his
post in the coming months.
That's why Eyking posed a
question to Environment Minister
David Anderson in the
House of Commons Thursday.
The MP said that since
cleanup recommendations
were forwarded by the Joint
Action Group in May, would
the minister tell the House
what the next steps will be
leading to the final cleanup of
the hazardous waste site.
Anderson replied that
Ottawa is reviewing the recommendations
with the Nova Scotia government which
leads the cleanup.
We are looking at environment
considerations, health
considerations, length of time
it will take to deal with the
problem to clean up and also
issues (related to) future site
use, and of course we're looking
at issues to the public and
of course costs," Anderson
replied.
Eyking said no timelines
were given and cost estimates
remain unknown.
"I have mixed reactions,"
he said. "Sometimes you feel
you have more impact because
you're in government. But I
can't kid myself. I'm not in
cabinet. It would have been
nice for him to say an amount
and a technology but he
couldn't do that."
Eyking said getting
Ottawa's attention is particularly
difficult for MPs now
because of concerns relating
to SARS and mad cow disease.
"It's very competitive."
The Joint Action Group
recommended that contaminated
waste from the Sydney
tar ponds and coke ovens sites
be removed and destroyed.
The recommendation was
the result of a community
consultation process that
involved 1,754 Cape Breton
Regional Municipality residents.
They were asked to
respond to a workbook outlining
technologies available.
tcmacdonald@cbpost.com
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