Re: “Polak created sewage impasse,” editorial, July 13.
In her response to the Capital Regional District, Environment Minister Mary Polak outlined the steps required for moving forward with a sewage plan. As she has stated many times over the last year, including in response to questions I have asked in the legislature, the deadline for project completion, and for receiving provincial funding, is 2020. The CRD, in turn, asked for a new self-imposed completion date of 2018 which the minister has granted. She has also affirmed the autonomy of municipalities regarding zoning and land use, which should come as no surprise to regional directors, as that is the law.
The minister’s letter outlined the steps required for the regional district to change the plan, and stated her office is available for assistance. The role of the CRD should be to facilitate municipalities to develop shared services, such as sewage treatment, and to seek ideas to save on costs, while introducing innovation, with local solutions, such as resource recovery, built directly into the project.
Rather than viewing this as an impasse, the CRD should grasp the opportunity to develop a better plan by working with communities and municipalities. A bottom-up versus top-down approach should have been the process from the beginning.
The funding is not at risk and we still have time to meet the deadlines. Let’s use this opportunity to create a plan that our communities can champion.
Andrew Weaver
MLA, Oak Bay-Gordon Head
