Finding Truth, Weighing Consequences
by Mayor Peter Kelly
June 20, 2009
Openness, accountability, transparency; these principles have guided me through my life and my political career. The challenge presented by the shutdown of the Halifax Wastewater Treatment Facility has been particularly difficult for me because it challenges me to weigh what I say publicly against the possibility of exposing you, the taxpayers of HRM, to potentially significant liability.
Certainly, there are things I could have communicated better in recent days and weeks, and I take full responsibility for any comments that may have caused members of the public to question my commitment to openness and accountability at City Hall.
There has to be a balance between meeting the expectations of individual citizens for access to information and the responsibility of the municipality to protect your significant investment. Please know that I am focused first and foremost on seeing the Halifax plant fully operational as soon as possible. We can’t get there without a solid understanding of what went wrong, what needs to be fixed, and/or replaced and what needs to done to ensure we never again experience a flooded plant. I am not an expert in this field so I am relying on the experts within HRM to make recommendations and I, along with Council, will make a decision.
I can assure you that around the council chamber, throughout City Hall and Halifax Water, we share the public’s bitter disappointment in the Halifax plant’s failure just as we once shared the pride of watching the harbour waters restored. I promise that we will again enjoy those clear waters and we will remember this as an unfortunate setback that was rectified.
The challenges before us are great, but not insurmountable. To restore something as complex as a large wastewater treatment facility takes fact-finding, hard decision-making and dedication.
A mistake in this regard would waste precious resources and, ultimately, time that would be better spent making the correct moves. I have made the repair of the harbour solutions facility my number one priority. This is not to diminish the need for accountability, but to say let’s not allow the assignation of fault to hinder efforts to stop the flow of sewage into our harbour.
Difficult decisions need to be made and some of them will have significant impacts on the municipality for many years to come. Therefore, we have to get this right. What has happened with the harbour solutions project is unacceptable, the time it has taken to begin the repairs on the system is understandably, stretching too long for many. We are doing everything we can to make the right decisions, to make the kinds of repairs that will ensure the Halifax plant serves this municipality well into the future.
Despite this recent setback, we have to remember the outstanding water quality achieved last year with just the Halifax plant in operation. The improvements continued with the Dartmouth facility and will further improve with Herring Cove.
We’ve seen what the Harbour Solutions project can do. We’ve seen the clear water of the Halifax Harbour, and we’ve gone swimming at harbour beaches for the first time in decades. I am confident that the Halifax Wastewater Treatment facility will be restored and put back in operation. The beaches at Black Rock and Dingle Park will reopen as they were last year.
For now our focus is on identifying what needs to be repaired, how long it will take to repair the facility and determining responsibility. The necessary steps to solving this problem are being taken. Your need for greater transparency will be respected and I will protect your interests as we complete this process.
Our environment is the one thing we know we will pass on to our children. The people of HRM have chosen to be responsible stewards of our environment and we will leave a legacy that includes a clean harbor. We owe it to ourselves, to our children, and to the harbour that is essential to the social and economic prosperity of this great municipality. As your mayor, I intend to do everything in my power to see the Halifax plant restored.
Respectfully, I remain
Peter Kelly
Mayor
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