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Hi All,
Anyone who has been keeping up with the Toxic Tar Ponds in Cape
Breton would have seen or at least heard about Don and Ron Deleskie
starting their own cleanup of the ponds. These two men have lived in
the immediate area of the ponds most of their lives and are now
suffering the ill effects from living in that neighborhood. They are
two regular citizens/residents who are fed up with stalling tactics and
bull that has been fed to the locals for the past decades on cleaning up
the mess.
They proved that the ponds are toxic - two people, including a tv
cameraperson, passed out at the site. Imagine people exposed to that
day in and day out.
Late in the week Senator Donald Oliver sent a letter to the Cape
Breton Post saying "enough is enough" . Maybe it's time to appeal to
the Senate to put pressure on the bureaucrats and politicians in Ottawa
to start putting real money and commitment to getting the ponds cleaned
up. If you agree, read the letter below and feel free to write to the
Senators yourself if you would like to see the ponds cleaned up now
instead of in 3 years time.
The coke ovens and landfill need further study, but the elements in
the ponds have been identified and need to be gotten rid of.
Thanx.
Fran Morrison
mailto:shalimars@ns.sympatico.ca
Subject:
TAR PONDS A TICKING TIME BOMB
Date:
Fri, 27 Aug 1999 13:04:53 -0300
From:
Fran Morrison <shalimars@ns.sympatico.ca>
Reply-To:
morrisons@canada.com
To:
Senator Colin Kenny <CKRESE@SEN.PARL.GC.CA>,
"Senator kennycosen.parl.gc.ca" <kennyco@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator spivamsen.parl.gc.ca" <spivam@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator adamswsen.parl.gc.ca" <adamsw@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator buchajsen.parl.gc.ca" <buchaj@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator russemsen.parl.gc.ca" <russem@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator gustalsen.parl.gc.ca" <gustal@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator haysdsen.parl.gc.ca" <haysd@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator johnsasen.parl.gc.ca" <johnsa@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator carstssen.parl.gc.ca" <carsts@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator kroftrsen.parl.gc.ca" <kroftr@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator taylonsen.parl.gc.ca" <taylon@sen.parl.gc.ca>,
"Senator ghittrsen.parl.gc.ca" <ghittr@sen.parl.gc.ca>
August 26, 1999 original signed document sent by fax
Senator Donald H. Oliver, Q.C.
Parliament Buildings Wellington Street
Ottawa, Ontario
Canada
K1A 0A4
August 26, 1999
Subject: “Tar ponds a ticking time bomb”
Letter to Editor, Cape Breton Post, August 26, 1999 (p.3)
Dear Senator Oliver,
How refreshing it is to see someone in your position make the statement
“The Sydney tar ponds are a ticking time bomb.” Congratulations for
having the guts to write that letter.
You have no idea how frustrating and degrading it is for the people of
this community to be left with this toxic soup for the past decades and
systematically “put off” by successions of governments.
The latest farce is the Joint Action Group which was formed three years
ago by the well-intentioned Sergio Marchi. Mr. Marchi stated at that
time that fencing should be put around the ponds, while the community
decides on a method of cleanup, so that the children cannot get too
close.
Personally, my life has been interrupted by this issue because of its
seriousness. I was an original member of that Joint Action Group (JAG)
for almost 3 years until I could no longer tolerate the foolishness that
goes on in the meetings. I could no longer tolerate the fact that I was
participating in a process which had become an obvious tactic on the
part of the government to put off a “real” cleanup.
Instead they throw little bones (like $62 million) at the community to
hush us for a
while. The latest statement made by the JAG Chairman “JAG will not be
swayed by public pressure,” was horrifying to read in our local paper.
JAG is supposed to be a community-driven organization, however, the fact
that the Chair will ignore the demands of the community is appalling and
unacceptable.
The community knows it is going to take far more than $62 million. It
is too late to put up fences as Mr. Marchi said 3 years ago. Those tar
ponds should be cleaned up now.
Fences at this point in time are a joke. Fences do not keep the harmful
bacterias and other poisons from the lungs of the people who frequent or
live in those areas.
Three more years to pick a technology to clean the ponds is too long.
There are proven technologies out there, and international companies
with experience to clean up sites like the tar ponds.
The coke ovens and municipal landfill MAY take a bit more time to make
decisions on as the elements there are more diverse.
If you have any influence as a Senator, I appeal to you to use that
influence to make our government take the efforts of Mr. Don Deleskie
seriously and hear the pleas to get the tar ponds cleaned up.
I also feel that government is wasting taxpayers’ money on JAG and I
have come to feel that JAG should be done away with because it is not
living up to it’s original concept of being “community-driven” and its
goal to expedite a cleanup has been lost among issues that don’t really
count.
Yours truly,
Fran Morrison
mailto:shalimars@ns.sympatico.ca
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