A newspaper might not want to automatically adopt the popular stance but the deliberate ignoring of facts in your most recent editorial is perplexing.
Yes, CUPE is involved in the fight to keep Stave Lake out of any private control. Public involvement, however, seems to show CUPE being only a small part of the P3 opposition.
The Walkerton disaster is an example of private control gone very, very wrong; the private lab chose not to notify the health unit regarding contamination.
Yes, Stave Lake may stay in public hands, but who owns the water once it enters, and is treated, in the plant? It’s not in the lake anymore and is now considered to be a different product.
Water is privatized in Canada. It can be purchased in virtually any venue across the country. The private bottling companies do not create that water in a lab.
The city is eagerly seeking to sell the treated Stave Lake water to other entities; a private bottler cannot be ruled out.
But we can see this lack of foresight with that gold standard – our P3 hospital. The cost overruns are documented, and many people have reported a frightening lack of care there as a result of too few staff and/or too little space. How is that not part and parcel of the P3 picture?
If the referendum fails, we will still have the same water flowing through the same taps as always. The difference will be a minor delay before (hopefully) a reasonable plan is produced for future development needs. This all depends on who sits as our mayor and council for the next three years. Major Plan A deja vu is only an incumbent re-election away.
Those who opposed Plan A with logic repeatedly endured the Plan A faction’s tiring “naysayer” anthem.
Whatever you want to label us now, the “no” bandwagon” is leading the parade.
Laurie Hoekstra