Mayor 'shocked and disturbed'.

News 100 blackBy Pepper Parr

November 26th, 2019

BURLINGTON, ON

Earlier today Mayor Marianne Meed Ward released a statement setting out how “shocked and disturbed” she is over the spilling of waste into Cootes Paradise that took place during a period of time that is measured in years.

The news of the spill broke more than five days ago – what took the Mayor so long to prepare and issue a statement? – looks like public posturing.

Mayor Meed WardThe Mayor said: “Like residents of Burlington, Hamilton and neighbouring municipalities, I am shocked and disturbed to hear of the massive sewage spill into the Cootes Paradise watershed. Like many, we are left asking how such a thing could have happened over such a long period of time, what the impact is to the environment and our residents, and why the public, and partnering municipalities and agencies were not notified.

“We are aware that the Ministry of Environment, Conservation & Parks is investigating, and we look forward to a full understanding and public reporting of what occurred. However, we shouldn’t have to wait to hear about sewage spills at the conclusion of a Ministry of Environment investigation; this is an environmental and public health issue that needs to be addressed collectively right away.
“There are more questions than answers at this point, and Burlington will be requesting a full response to these questions on behalf of all residents impacted in our area communities including:

“1. What is the human health impact to residents living around the Bay, or who have enjoyed recreation at the Bay? What is the impact to the ecology of the Bay, and plants, wildlife? How will the impacts of the spill be remediated?

“In this endeavour, Burlington stands ready to assist, as we have in the past on the Randle Reef cleanup ($2 million contribution) and Cootes to Escarpment eco-park initiatives.

“We need these answers immediately.

Chedoke CreekIn a release on Wednesday, the City of Hamilton admitted 24 billion litres of sewage spilled into Chedoke Creek between January 2014 and July 2018.

“2 – How can we ensure this never happens again? How did this happen over a long period of time without being detected and immediately addressed? Do we have appropriate monitoring protocols in place to test water, raise red flags and prompt investigations when contaminant levels are elevated?

“3- Is there provincially mandated public reporting of any spills that affect air, land or water, and if not, why not?
“We will be seeking that the province implement immediate mandatory public reporting of any spill that has the potential to contaminate land, air or water. In the meantime, I commit to voluntary reporting and to look into whistleblower policy protections; I will encourage area municipalities and regions to do the same.

“Had this been in place, Burlington and agencies with a role and stake in Cootes Paradise would have been immediately notified of the spill, along with the public. We should not have to learn about contamination of our shared water from media reports.

“As we go forward, looking for answers, preventative action and remediation, Burlington stands ready to help.

“The City of Burlington and the City of Hamilton are neighbours and our friendship and history of working collaboratively together goes back many years. We are also partners in many formal areas, such as the cleanup and remediation of Randle Reef, our shared work of traffic management in the Waterdown Area, and as part of the Bay Area Climate Change Office, to name just a few. Given this relationship, along with our shared watershed and potential impact to residents, it is unacceptable that we (and the public) were not been notified of this spill in a timely and direct manner.

“We are focused on getting answers, making sure something like this doesn’t happen again and doing what is necessary to cleanup the mess in our shared watershed.

“I’ve had an opportunity to speak with Councillor Lloyd Ferguson, Chair of the Public Works committee and member of the Royal Botanical Gardens and Hamilton Conservation Authority Boards, as well as Maureen Wilson, Deputy Mayor, to share our concerns and questions and formally ask for the release of all documents to the public and ourselves.

“I have a scheduled (sic) called (sic) with Mayor Fred Eisenberger to share the same information and request.

“As we did before with the clean-up of Randle Reef, the City of Burlington is ready to help our neighbour and partner for the greater good. The environment, clean water and clean air are not confined to narrow municipal boundaries and the impact and resolution of this issue isn’t either.”

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6 comments to Mayor ‘shocked and disturbed’.

  • Pat Ireland

    The Mayor seems intent on maximizing her sounds bites to the detriment of the residents of Burlington. What benefit does calling out Hamilton City Council create for the residents of Burlington? Does this demonstrate she is someone who how actually knows and cares about working cooperatively with others? Well Hamilton gets the last laugh as the mayor proves she doesn’t know the boundaries of her city.

    • Eve St Clair

      Cootes Paradise is part of Burlington so yes the sewage spill does affect Burlington geographically as well as the residents who enjoyy walking in the area . Kudos to Mayor Meed Ward for speaking out on this issue

    • There are a lot more boundaries she is not aware of that will come back and bite her one day and Hamilton will certainly get the last laugh.

  • Bob

    Where are we: Flint, Michigan? Oh sorry, this story is about Hamilton come Apawaskat, Burlington is the side show here. To remind, Burlington is affluent, one of the Best Cities to Live in Canada – really are we sure? I’m with the Marsden’s, in the parallel context that there is more here than we are being fed (metaphorically Skeletons ) and this is Bay Street’s version of how to legally maneuver a city, to save a collective of backsides. As usual, where are all the professionals, with their codes of conduct hiding. Oh, I forget, it all about jobs for the middle class – whatever that is.

  • Roger

    Burlington tax money should not be offered or consider to clean up Hamilton”s mess – 4 years and the best that can be offered as OOPS – the greater good – when does the phrase – clean up your own mess / take responsibility

  • We think it would have been better for the Mayor to wait for the Ministry of Envirlonment and City of Hamilton having all the facts before raising questions regarding public health issues in such a manner. Neither the Burlington Mayor nor the Halton Chair addressed similar questions when the shoe was on the other foot due to a bacterial gastroenteritis outbreak that was never reported (as the legislation required). It wasn’t reported until some nine months had passed and dozens of families were affected through a horrible disease leading in many cases to unexpected death of their loved ones. A Chapter in marsdens.ca that is set for publication in 2020 (Skeletons in the Closet) is devoted to publicizing the truth that truly earns (according to those who have reviewed the draft) stronger words than Meedward used for Hamilton’s dilemma. We are in no way belittling the seriousness of the Hamilton issue but believe in giving Hamilton the opportunity to learn all the facts before they make statements they may have to retract and then get accused of misleading the public and their friendly neighbor!.