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Commentary: Getting to the bottom of ‘Sewergate’

Fred Sherwin Orléans Online - Tuesday, September 16, 2008

The fall-out over “Sewergate” seems to just keep getting messier and messier. Last week, the city fired two more city managers and suspended a supervisor for their “alleged” roles in the 2006 sewer spill that allowed over one billion litres of raw sewage to be dumped into the Ottawa River over a six week period.

I say “alleged” because we have no idea what their role was. And therein lies the problem. We still have no idea why the spill happened, or how far back it’s been an issue.

One of the managers fired was David McCartney, a former manager of wastewater and drainage services, who spilled the beans about the spill in the first place. A colleague of McCartney’s who’s still employed by the city, recently sent an e-mail to city councillors stating that his firing was a “travesty” and that the real blame lies with the other two men who were let go.

I’ve heard from other people who make a convincing argument that the real blame lies with the city and city council for allowing the city’s wastewater system to deteriorate for years.

I’m sure the truth lies somewhere in between and the only way to get to the truth is to hold a public inquiry, if for no other reason than to restore the public’s faith in the system.

The public has a right to find out what happened and who’s responsible in a thorough and open process. Simply leaving it up to the city’s auditor general, or Ministry of Environment investigators is not enough.

(C) Orléans Online


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