The decision by fellow members of the Irving Oil Community Liaison Committee to give clean air activist Gordon Dalzell the heave ho is raising a number of questions. One question is whether these community liaison committees are any good.
Sharon Murphy ran for the Green Party in Saint John East, claiming air pollution on the east side was causing people to become sick. She doesn’t believe they’re very effective, saying a new model is needed.
Murphy also tells us her community group, Peace NB, has tried unsuccessfully for months to get a meeting with the provincial Environment Dcepartment.
Murphy says even if the Environment Department set up a 1-800 number for people to let the department know they can’t even wait at a bus stop with their child because the air is so bad on some days.
Dalzell recently, in an interview with CHSJ News, raised concerns about the health effects of emissions from the rail cars taking oil to the east side terminal from the Causeway. He was critical of the Environment Department for not doing an environmental assessment before giving approval but did tell us Irving Oil was trying to mitigate the odour. Dalzell maintains as a Canadian citizen he has a right to freedom of speech.
