South Island Aggregates and owner and the policy makers at the Ministry of Environment have shown that they just don’t care that a majority of taxpayers, citizens and municipalities all want the contaminated soil relocation to stop.
Yet the courts and governments allow it to continue. I believe that this situation has many people questioning whether true democracy and civil morality still exists.
In this corporate world I wish that this was just a local issue, but I know that it is a much, much bigger problem, that reaches beyond a local level. Choosing business over environment has gotten to the point that it has already started threatening our constitutional rights (i.e. clean water, and air) at the most fundamental levels; something needs to be done before anything or anyone gets hurt. When children, adults and senior citizens are putting themselves in harm’s way to protest a potential environmental disaster on a day-to-day basis, our courts and governments need to take action. We need a moratorium on this contaminated soil relocation now!
Regardless of where everyone stands on the contaminated soils and/or relocation issue, everyone needs to have confidence and trust in our justice system, but with the recent courts decisions (or lack thereof) many of us are losing that respect. And the cost of that loss is exponential. Is this the message Canadians want to send to the rest of the world and to our future generations?
I was sickened to read director Sonia Furstenau’s moving letter. How many elected, hardworking municipal officials does it take for the province to finally listen? How many elected officials will choose to fight for their constituents’ rights and wishes, year after year, if their words continue to fall on deaf governmental ears?
Does anyone really have a voice? Is our system already too broken? I pray that it is not.
Mark Docherty
Cowichan Station
