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March
1998 Newsletter
Friends
Withdraws from "Community Stakeholder Committee"
Friends
of Red Hill Valley
has formally withdrawn from the so-called "Community
Stakeholder Committee" set up by the region to provide
advice on the expressway project.
The
committee had been stacked with pro-expressway "organizations"
including private companies and business associations that
will make money if the project proceeds. Friends and other
community groups withdrew at the March 5th meeting, after
the pro-expressway elements refused to recognize the legitimacy
of the concerns expressed by members of the public about
the project.
In
three public meetings in late February, more than 300 residents
demanded answers to three key questions: What is the need
for the expressway? Why is it being located in Red Hill
Valley? Can the taxpayers afford it?
At
the March 5 meeting of the Committee, the representative
of the regional government "reported that approximately
100 members of the public attended the first neighbourhood
meeting at Elizabeth Bagshaw School, that approximately
60 members of the public attended the second neighbourhood
meeting at Glendale Secondary School, and that approximately
130 people attended the third neighbourhood meeting at Woodward
Public School. (She) noted that at all three neighbourhood
meetings there were two main issues raised: people are still
concerned about the need for, the costs of, and the location
of the expressway. Air quality and health impacts are major
concerns." (From the minutes of the March 5 meeting).
Even the pro-expressway elements admitted that these were
overwhelmingly the main concerns raised at the three public
meetings.
At
this point, one community group proposed that the Committee
recommend to regional council that the public concerns about
need, cost and location of the expressway be addressed.
All of the pro-expressway elements rejected this minimal
request. One claimed that the 300 residents did not represent
the public and that 300,000 people had not attended. Another
said that the people at the meetings had been misled by
anti-expressway leaflets. Several repeated the Regional
government mantra that these issues cannot be discussed.
When
it became clear that the Committee was not to be allowed
to raise the concerns of the public, the representatives
of Friends of Red Hill and other community groups
withdrew from the Committee.
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