Send a letter to Council

Dear Springwater Council members,

I’ve just learned that Council is planning to take the MSP a big step closer to approval by issuing a Notice of Completion for the EA on June 19th, the same day the public gets to have its first look at the final environmental report based on the developers’ studies. As a concerned citizen, I cannot let this go unchallenged.

Your own experts have described the financial hazard this mega-development will bring to ALL of Springwater for generations to come. It is neither affordable nor environmentally responsible. The only possible justification for saying YES must be to avoid making the tough, but correct, decisions for the well-being of the people of Springwater, now and to come. The MSP’s style of development has a long track record of destroying municipal finances with huge debt and sky-rocketing property taxes, ruining the irreplaceable environment, creating unhealthy and unsafe traffic congestion, and trampling all over social well-being. Which is why many jurisdictions across the globe are avoiding it like the plague that it is.

I am asking you to draw back from approving a Notice of Completion for the EA and to refrain from making such a far-reaching decision behind closed doors. As your “employer”, I deserve to see you do so democratically - out in the open. It’s both responsible and proper for you as the “proponent” to keep control of the EA process until issues flagged by the MOECC response are resolved to your satisfaction. Once you approve the EA, all power will transfer to the province under the Water Resources Act which governs the Permit to Take Water process [PTTW]. You’ll only be a participant at that stage, with no clout. Don’t allow another backroom deal between the province and the developers. We don’t need another fiasco like the Special Rule, which got us into this mess.

At the very least, be the transparent, responsible and accountable representatives we elected you to be. Don’t rush this decision when your constituents are focused on the summer break. There is no need for such haste. Many of you promised you’d never allow anything truly important to be dealt with during the quiet summer months again, when the public’s attention is elsewhere. I remember the last time this happened - MSP legislation was hustled through. Approving the EA in late June fits in that select category.

In conclusion, I want you to know that I’ll be watching to see who truly has the best interests of Springwater at heart and is willing to uphold the mandate they received by campaigning to stand up for Springwater as never before - and to stop the MSP.
I know you care about the people of Springwater. Let’s see the action which proves it.

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