P>AGE: 26,WNlDNIiSIÃVN ALILJS I 28. i,)85,WIITB'1Y UREI: PRE:SS w Mýp LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Dennis Fox says.... Council responsib le for Decom plan confusion fce use hemeinste pvi Dear Sir: Council's decision con- Why is there such con- cerning the Decom fusion over Whitby biomedical waste proposal? Why is Whit- by Council so intent on trying to place the blame and respon- sibility onto either the company involved or onto the Ministry of the Environment for this confusion? When in fact, they should be placing much of this respon- sibility onto themselves. I attend the council meetings on a very regular basis and I have followed this particular issue quite closely and particpated in the discussion meeting held on June 3, and from what I have observed and learned since coun- cil's decision to deny approval for this proposal- the fault for this confusion lies with Whitby Council. Acoria o uIloa According to our local press, Decom represen- tatives claim that coun- cil did not refuse their proposal and intend to get the final OK from the Ministry of the En- vironment before con- struction starts - and yet the minutes to the June 24 meeting clearly shows that permission was denied. As a result of Decom's most recent actions, Whitby Council is crying foul and claiming in- nocence in the whole matter. The most basic question to ask now is - what gives this com- pany the impression that they have the right to proceed? Over the last several weeks, I have tried to find the answer to this scheduled the meeting for June 3. c) June 3 - a large number of people voiced their concerns about the health and safety stan- dards of this company. However, represen- tatives from the Ministry of the En- vironment were also present and publicly supported Decom - for they too were under the impression that Decom already had the support of council! No decision was reached, but it was decided that another public meeting would be held on June 17 to discuss the matter more fully with the publie health department. d) June 17 - Residents were invited, in writing, to attend this meeting. After making the people wait for five hours, the planning committee finally started to discuss the Decom issue at mid- night. However, they refused to allow the residents to speak and proceeded to approve the Decom proposal. e) June 24 Council meeting - Council rever: question by researching past agendas, talking with the town's staff on four different occasions, and talking with a num- ber of residents who at- tended the meetings concerning this issue. The following points are a brief summary of what I have found and perhaps you will draw the same conclusions that I and a number of other East Ward residents have - that Whitby Council mishan- dled this situation from day one: a) As early as March the town was already negotiating with Decom. During this time, the town's plan- ning and public works departments told Decom and the Ministry of the Environment that they had no objections to the proposal. The town conveyed the same message to the ministeries of labour and transportation. b) A number of East Ward residents phoned Mayor Attersley, in May when they first heard of this issue, and insisted that a public meeting should take place to discuss the Decom proposal. Reluc- tantly, the Mayor Mayor says.... Ajax would s upport extra NVIIAI IUlmZ M ib Dear Sir: May I commend your paper for upholding the principle of represen- f tation by population for the council of the Region of Durham in your recent editorials. t Based on a review of Weci our ctidpapter forsupholding the nvation fl trom ,ur the council of the Region ompleir catalgue of Durham, 4 years ago, ýor ou a Keep ske t) B the Hon. Claude Ben- Svour Innett, then Minister of SuxuriouodMunicipal Affairs And Housing, advised Regional Council "based on the principle of representation by 68 99 population, the Town of Ajax and the Town of PRINING AND Whitby are significantly under represented on Regional Council." The Town of Ajax ac- tively solicited the en- CORRECTION NOTICE The flyer delivered to your door week of August 26th carries an error... The savings on Monarch All Purpose Flour 10Kg should read .50' not .80'. Valdi apologizes for any inconviences. ses the previou decision and apparently denies Decom's request. Why? It is obvious that something happened which caught Whitby Council by surprise - public participation and opposition to the idea. Council found itseif in a precarious position - commitments have already been made, but it is election year and they must appear sup- portive to the public, so they will blame Decom and the Ministry of the Environment for bypassing Councils ap- parent decision and make them out to be the bad guy. Unfortunately, it will have to be the residents who will ultimately suf- fer for council's poor handling of this situation. And the politicians? It looks like they are run- ning for cover, as indeed you might do, having shown your colors so clearly. Dennis Fox Kirby Cres. Whitby. eat dorsement of Regional Council for additional representation, but, for political reasons, the request for the ad- ditional representation was not approved. Con- sequently, we pursued this matter with the full support and assistance of George Ashe, M.P.P. There is a minor correction to your ar- ticle on page 20 of your July 31 edition, on this subject. The Council of the Town of Ajax unanimously supported the request for an ad- ditional representation for the Town of Ajax on Regional Council. The Town of Ajax did not recommend additional representation for the Town of Ajax as well as the Town of Whitby, as the Council of the Town of Ajax felt that a-ny initiative for additional' representation for the Town of Whitby on Regional Council should be initiated by the Town of Whitby. I expect the Council of the Town of Ajax would have sup- ported a request of the Town of Whitby for ad- ditional representation on Regional Council, had the Town of Whitby requested an endor- sement from the Town of Ajax. Yours very truly, Bill McLean Mayor Town of Ajax.