To the Expositor:
Thursday evening, October 6, I had the opportunity to listen to the Providence Bay Draft Waste Management Report presented to Central Manitoulin’s Waste, Water and Education (WWE) Committee by Cambium. It was generally a well-rounded report produced in a very short time.
Of concern was Cambium’s persistent referral to a proposed pilot project using thermal treatment technology—advanced recycling (AR). It was obvious that this report was structured by direction of council to promote this technology. This technological solution was presented to the WWE committee by Gagnon Renewables originally in 2019. At last week’s meeting there was a follow-up appearance by Matthieu Gagnon of Gagnon Renewables, who further outlined what this proprietary non-combustible process in an oxygenless system might do.
By directing the Cambium Waste Management report to further the interests of a third party, Gagnon Renewables, the current Central Manitoulin council is dancing around Section 106 of the Ontario Municipal Act regarding anti-bonusing legislation, the granting of obvious undue advantage to a third party provider and dodging their own Procurement Bylaw requirements setting up Gagnon as a sole provider of a proprietary AR.
Central Manitoulin has other waste disposal options that were clearly set out in the Cambium Waste Management report. Why don’t we work towards implementing those instead of investing our energies in proprietary experimental pilot projects about which very little has been shared with the stakeholders, the citizens of Central Manitoulin.
Regards,
Gertha Griffiths
Spring Bay
