Outrageous interference by our MP
MP Cathy McLeod’s interference in the railway-tie issue may seem the politically wise thing to do, but it amounts to an outrageous political interference in provincial affairs.
The decision to grant a permit to Aboriginal Cogeneration Corp. was a provincial decision within provincial jurisdiction. The federal government has no place in this issue. To be fair, McLeod is an inexperienced MP, but there’s no excuse for this. The depth of that lack of knowhow is firmly illustrated by the fact she calls this the biggest issue she’s faced since she was elected.
What does she base this upon? One hundred people have told her they don’t want a railway-tie disposal plant in Kamloops. Wow, it apparently doesn’t take much pressure to get her on your side. She could actually have done something positive, by putting her resources into shedding some light on the whole situation rather than making political hay.
Bending like a reed in the wind is a safe way to be a politician, and now both our MP and our City council are taking the safe way. That doesn’t take a lot of courage. An interesting sub-plot here is that this issue pits McLeod and Mayor Milobar squarely against Terry Lake and Kevin Krueger, who have no choice but to defend the MOE.
I doubt McLeod knows much about the technology behind the project (she says she’s not particularly interested in the science of it), and she has apparently not considered what gave rise to it in the first place — a need to find a safe, environmentally friendly method of disposing of railway ties. The same, it would seem, can be said for mayor and council.
If ACC president Kim Sigurdson was interested in countering some of this fear mongering, he’d challenge our MP and our mayor to take a trip (at his expense) to the North Dakota research centre where the technology was developed, and get a lesson in it. Then he’d stand on the stage of the Clock Tower Theatre and let the public have at him with any questions they want, and he’d stay there until every last one was answered.
Some guts will have to be shown on this thing, and maybe he’s the best one to take the lead on that score.
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Hi Mel
I cannot let your comment go unchallenged. Typically when the Federal Government funds a project it requires support of local government and a host of additional engagement. Just witness the process that many had to go through for CAF applications. The fact that the argument is SDTC is arms length and therfore did not undergo a federal assessment is the main issue They report to parliament/are funded by governmment and directly link with the Minister of Environment, Industry and Natural Resources. They should be held to the same standards.
This is not about interfering with provincial process it is about questioning Federal process and the basic standards of local Government engagement. I have read in great detail about the scientific process. My bottom line is a more fullsome assessment would provde the appropriate lens to this initiative that does have citizens serioulsy concerned about the health impact.
LikeLike