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WHITBY, Ont. Durham Region’s proposed Energy From Waste (EFW) incinerator is a costly recipe for toxic air that will cause millions of taxpayer dollars to go up in smoke, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario President Sid Ryan told Durham residents yesterday at a rally opposing the future construction and operation of the public-private partnership (P3) incinerator.
Dozens of residents assembled yesterday in front of the Regional Municipality of Durham’s Headquarters in Whitby to voice their concerns about the P3 project the region is attempting to enter into with New Jersey-based Covanta Energy. If approved, taxpayers would be on the hook for at least $239 million to construct the incinerator in Clarington. There are 20 schools located within a ten-kilometre radius of the proposed site.
Any exposure (to toxic emissions) constitutes risk. Do we really want to expose our children and elderly to that risk? asked Ryan.
CUPE Ontario has joined with Prevent Cancer Now, the CAW Durham Region Environment Council, the Durham Regional Labour Council and other community groups to fight the incinerator. In addition to grave concerns about the health and economic impacts posed by the P3 incinerator proposal, all of these groups are also worried about the poor environmental precedent set by burning waste and Covanta’s poor labour relations record.
Covanta, the American company that is the preferred vendor, has a record of safety and labour regulations violations in the U.S. that is a mile wide, said Ryan.
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For more information, contact:
Sid Ryan CUPE Ontario President 416-209-0066
Kevin Wilson CUPE Communications 416-821-6641
