The CCME strategy discussions open up a lot of room—but we have to use that room in a constructive way—to deal with the problem that we have.

 

Pushing an innovative approach to dealing with wastewater will be difficult after the years of discussions that resulted in secondary treatment in places like Halifax. It seems inevitable that we are going to spend a lot of money on secondary treatment in Victoria. The question is: are we going to get value for our money?

 

Can we be a model of sustainability, and deal with this problem? There is a lot of language in the CCME draft documents that is quite tentative and offers a lot of room for development of a progressive response to this problem.

 

Also, we must press for the distinction between cities in marine coastal environments and those on lakes and rivers. That is, the immediate receiving environment matters.  

 

We have an opening at CCME - but we need to use that opportunity in a constructive way.