Re: “ ‘Free’ plant an insult, Esquimalt mayor says,” June 19.
The Capital Regional District has apparently extended an offer to cover the capital costs of sewage treatment if Esquimalt rezones McLoughlin Point. This seems to be a trick to motivate otherwise uninterested residents to put pressure on Esquimalt’s council.
However, there are troubling aspects to this offer. First, it comes at the expense of the other municipalities who must shoulder even more of the cost burden.
Second, many of these residents are equally affected by the facility: residents of James Bay and Vic West in particular are no further from the proposed site than residents of Esquimalt, yet would arbitrarily be paying even more to subsidize this politically expedient offer to their neighbours. It would not be unreasonable of Vic West and James Bay to demand equal compensation, but this would even further increase the financial burden on residents of the rest of the region.
The CRD is overstepping its authority in extending this offer.
Walter Ash
Victoria
