Re: “Don’t open door to local vetoes,” May 7.
The editorial implies that Esquimalt is about to obtain “veto” powers over the siting of proposed regional sewage facilities. The editorial suggests this is hazardous and that the province can’t give the veto to one municipality without giving it to all.
Similarly, Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard said this week that “a lot of us would consider that a precedent and we would want equal treatment,” meaning that Saanich would want these “veto” powers too.
No one has been given veto powers. The province has the power to override municipal zoning decisions regarding proposed sewage facility sites by invoking provisions in the Waste Management Act. No one is proposing to change this legislation.
Esquimalt Mayor Barb Desjardins has stated that Esquimalt will exercise its duty to refuse to rezone land for the proposed biosolids treatment facility at the Viewfield Road site. For Esquimalt council to do otherwise would be a dereliction of duty; the proposal is clearly not in the best interest of the community, and the site meets none of the basic criteria. MLA candidates for the Esquimalt-Royal Roads riding have reviewed the proposal and are clearly satisfied that, in the case of Viewfield, overriding Esquimalt’s objection is not justified.
It remains up to whomever forms the provincial government on Tuesday to decide whether it is necessary to use the WMA to override municipal decisions. Leonard has implied that Esquimalt is getting special treatment. In fact, all municipalities in the Capital Regional District have the same right to refuse to rezone. They have the same right to pressure the province to weigh their objections before using the WMA to override them. The province is not obligated to come to the same decision about every proposed site.
Janet Riddell
Victoria