We purchased our house in Shawnigan Lake two years ago, only to find out that a soil-dumping facility was being set up a few kilometres away. This soil dump has been rejected by the residents of Shawnigan Lake as well as the Cowichan Valley Regional District. What more needs to be said?
The Environment Ministry has totally disregarded the wishes of the community and the governing body for that community. How is that even possible? Do the wishes of one company outweigh the needs and wants of the community as a whole?
Other people around Victoria agree if this facility is here they will not risk going in the lake anymore. A likely scenario given the applicants’ own science is that this facility will leak from these rubber time bombs and contaminate the salmon stream, lake, drinking water and possibly the Victoria water source as well.
What do I tell my kids when they can’t go in the lake anymore? What do I say when they can’t drink from the taps and brush their teeth with tap water? Why in one breath will the minister not force one municipality to take a sewage-treatment centre, while shoving a contaminated-soil dump onto another?
This is such a double standard, it would be laughable if it wasn’t so horrific. No means no!
Peter Hennig
Shawnigan Lake
