The expansion of the Carp landfill facility is back in the news. The less-known part of the story is that the Carp facility is not for the ordinary residential waste but rather for ICI - industrial, commercial and institutional waste.
In every discussion about this matter, municipal officials (both elected and staff spokespeople) make the point that ICI waste is a provincial responsibility. Usually this leads to an explanation that the city can't do much because decisions are taken at Queen's Park.
It is strange that we so often seem to run up against provincial policies and decisions which the people of Ottawa are unable to change. First Ottawa is the second largest municipality in Ontario; surely that should give us some influence. Second, the Premier is elected in an Ottawa electoral district; surely he has some interest in Ottawa issues. Third, an Ottawa Councillor is the Chair of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario; surely he gets a hearing in Toronto. And finally, until recently the Minister of Municipal Affairs also represented an Ottawa riding; there must have been talk about Ottawa issues around the Cabinet table.
With all these prominent Ottawa connections with the province, it is a mystery that Ottawa doesn't get its way on issue after issue.
Has Ottawa failed to effectively articulate its concerns to the province?
No comments:
Post a Comment