Panel
reviews usually take at least a year to complete and
often much longer.
The federal government decided to begin the environmental
assessment last June. In early September they asked
Friends of Red Hill Valley to provide a written submission
on the terms of reference (or scoping) of the assessment,
including advice on what things should be included
in the scope of the project itself. Friends submitted
an 11,000 word document. A number of other organizations
also made submissions.
On
November 17, federal authorities informed Friends
of Red Hill that they were still preparing a DRAFT
scoping document "in consideration of all comments
received". They informed us that once they have completed
the draft, they will be asking us to make further
comments on it.
After
they take those additional comments into account and
the scoping document is finalized, they will be requesting
specialist advice from a number of federal departments.
It is from this information that they will prepare
a draft Screening Report. This suggests that a completion
date of mid-January is very unlikely.
It
remains important for all friends of the valley to
contact their federal MP and ask them to ensure that
the assessment includes all important issues including
the need for the road and alternative places to put
it.
Letters
should also be sent to Mr. David Anderson, the Minister
of Fisheries and Oceans at 200 Kent Street, Ottawa,
Ontario K1A 0E6; and to Ms. Christine Stewart, the
Minister of the Environment, at Terrasses de la Chaudiere,
10 Wellington St., Hull, Quebec, K1A 0H3.
In
a related development, Mr. Charles Caccia, a prominent
Toronto member of the federal Liberal government,
recently wrote to both Minister Anderson and to all
Hamilton-area MPs. He asked them to support him "in
ensuring that the Red Hill Valley remain a parkland
rather than being converted into an expressway".
