An official with the federal government says the Capital Region was very close to losing federal funding for the sewage treatment project.
When the CRD Board voted yes to a single McLoughlin Point sewage treatment plant last week, they were only half a month away from missing the September 30th deadline for federal project funding.
But some opponents, like Saanich Mayor Richard Atwell who was the lone CRD director to vote against the newly approved plan, doesn’t believe we should have taken the deadline threat seriously So, C-FAX 1070's Adam Stirling asked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, Jonathan Wilkinson, if they really were ready to stick to their guns.
"You would have lost this money and Victoria would have had to go back to the beginning if you wanted to apply for funds in the future. But you would still be facing the 2020 legal requirement to have a system in place."
When Stirling asked if we would have "unequivocally lost the money" Wilkinson simply responded "yes."
In the studio listening to those comments was Atwell. He still doesn't think it's the whole truth. "But he never said that no funding would ever be available ever," says Atwell. "I fundamentally do not believe that higher levels of government are going to starve the local taxpayer."
When pressed on the issue, Atwell said "I think if [the Liberals] want to get reelected and they want to put MP's in the region then they’d campaign on this and they’d make money available to the residents."
The federal government pledged a nearly a quarter billion dollars, provided a plan was in place by September 30th. The provincial government has committed a similar amount.
Meanwhile, Esquimalt council is preparing to get an earful over the fact the region's sewage treatment plan is back at McLoughlin Point. Council is inviting residents to come speak their minds at Monday night’s council meeting
Nick Kovacs is with the Esquimalt Resident's Association says he's been hearing a lot of reaction. For instance, people are concerned about local roads being dug up to build a bio-solids pipeline to the Hartland Landfill.
"People are starting to go 'wait a second, does this mean my street is going to get torn up? What happens if we have an earthquake and we have a pipe break? Am I going to have concentrated bio-sludge leaking down my street?'"
Kovacs was speaking on the C-FAX morning show with Al Ferraby.
While residents are welcome to voice their concerns, some experts don't believe Esquimalt will have the power to turn down the McLoughlin plan this time.