junk politics

01/10/2006

Animal Rights SLAPP

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01/09/2006

San Diego SLAPP

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01/07/2006

Activists claim victory against developers

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01/05/2006

2 SLAPPs "4" 1 / 5

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01/04/2006

Overstock and Gradient SLAPP

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01/02/2006

Anti-SLAPP now in 25 States

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12/29/2005

Anti-SLAPP since 94 around Boston

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12/27/2005

Baseball SLAPP from Google

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12/26/2005

Boxing Day SLAPP

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12/21/2005

Anti-SLAPP from Malibu

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12/16/2005

SLAPP news for 16 December 2005

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12/15/2005

SLAPP news for 15 December 2005

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12/14/2005

Mattel's Indian SLAPP?

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12/13/2005

SLAPP news from Google for 13 December 2005

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12/02/2005

Slapp from Google News 2 December 2005

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11/14/2005

Original Website Critical of Activa Holdings

Over at tdaxp I wrote about Activa Holdings, which apparently is the NationMaster of Canada.  They sued a Canadian woman for a critical website.  Because of all the traffic it has been taken down, but here is a copy of it.  Hat-tip to Robert Douglass for a the backup copy:

 

Environmental and Labor Law Infringements in Waterloo Region

November 3rd 2005

Today I have spent a fair bit of time with various individuals since word of this legal action came out. I've contacted ministries, local political reps and the media to let them know of the situation in order to bring to light the plight of our construction workers, our public's safety and the need to apply enforcement measures to protect them all.

I hope this action helps to facilitate actions to help resolve these issues. Before I could not afford a lawyer but now I could qualify for legal aid. I look forward to bringing this issue to a judge.

Louisette Lanteigne, Waterloo Ont.

Getting sued in Waterloo - November 3rd, 2005

This is a quote from the Statement of Claim

"the malicious, high-handed and arrogant conduct of the Defendant warrants an award of punitive or exemplary damages to ensure that the Defendant is appropriately punished for her conduct and deterred from such conduct in the future."

I am getting sued for this website which I built to facilitate the reporting of environmental and labour law infringements. Greg Murdoch of Sorbora Law office served me the papers last night saying that Activa wants to sue me for for $2,000,000 regarding defamation.

They want $500,000 general damages, $500,000 General damages$500,000 special damages and $500,000 punitive damages with prejudgement and post-judgement interest on the aforesaid amounts.

They want an interlocutory injunction restraining me from further broadcasting regarding Activa

They want an Order directing me to remove the infringement website.

An order requiring me to preserve all documents and evidence related to the matter

Cost of this action on a substantial indemnity basis

Such further and other relief as this Honorable Court deems just.

( J.Greg Murdoch of Sorbara Law Office)

I want very much to bring this issue infront of a judge and I was actually hoping that an injunction would facilitate that. I wasn't counting on a $2,000,000 threat to go with that but if necessary, I will proceed with years of documentations and photos to back me up. If anybody wants to help or if anybody knows of a lawyer willing to help me counter sue, feel free to contact me.

Louisette Lanteigne,700 Star Flower Ave, Waterloo Ont. N2V 2L2

butterflybluelu@rogers.com

(519)885-7619

On Saturday April 16th 2005, an environmental spill was reported to the Waterloo Regional Environmental Enforcement Services after I spotted multiple leaks of diesel fuel and oil at an area construction site located near the storm management pond at the corner of Bleams and Fisher Hallman in Kitchener.

I have been reporting such infringements by various companies to both the Ministry of Labor, the Ministry of the Environment as well as to Waterloo City Council and the media over the past 4 years. The city's response has always been quick and effective to address the immediate situations and they had given developers warnings but after a week or so, the sites would fall often fall back to unsafe standards again.

I spotted similar spills during the construction of my own subdivision of Columbia Forest in Waterloo years ago as well as in the neighboring subdivision of Laurel Creek Village in Waterloo. In all the following situations I have documented, the infringements took place in the area of the Waterloo aquifer or near storm management ponds. I am concerned that such polluting will pose a direct risk to the region's drinking water. I have witnessed unharnessed roofers in Columbia Forest, Clair Hills, Laurelwood Village and in Kitchener at the Laurentian Village subdivisions both before and after I went to city council and the Ministry of Labor. This is in direct violation of existing Labor laws. This site is created to provide the public with the actual photos of what I saw so that we can all see and learn how best to proceed with this situation. All the photos and contents of this website are free for anyone to use.

Yours sincerely,
Louisette Lanteigne
Waterloo Ontario

butterflybluelu@rogers.com

Thursday October 13th, 2005

At 12:10 pm, I contacted Sorbara Law office to speak with Gred Murdoch regarding Activa. He wasn't in his office so I left a message saying if he wanted to speak to me, feel free to contact me at my home.

He never returned my call.

Today (Sept 16th)I recieved a "Notice of Alleged Libel in a Broadcast" refering to the webpage that you are currently reading.

This notice came from Activa Holdings Inc. via their lawyer J.Greg Murdoch of Sorbara, Schumacher, McCann LLP.

Allow me to clairify once again, this website is designed to facilitate the reporting of labour and environmental law infringements to municipal, provincial and federal officials and to try to educate the public on the subject of safety so they can also make their own reports if necessary. In order to place the reports and to illustrate the existing situations I have to mention where I saw the infringements and what companies are involved. It's that simple.

I don't make any money doing this and I have no motive to want to do this other than a deep concern for community safety. Ideally I would love to have nothing to report on because that would mean there isn't a problem but the truth is, we need enforcement.

Unless I see an injunction from a judge, this website stays.

October 4th 2005

Things are not doing so good in Laurentian Village in Kitchener. Behind the Prosperty Homes trailer located on Henhoeffer Crescent and Activa, I saw a suspicious looking diesel tank. I took a closer look and saw it was intentionally supported on a pile of scrap wood on a tilt. That's when I noticed the rubber hose. The hose was being used to syphon the diesel fuel and below it was evidence of a spill. The area smelled strong and the ground was saturated.

I saw many unharnessed roofers and dozens of workers without hard hats actively working on site. This one unharnessed roofer was quite a site to see. The yellow cable in the roof photos is the extention cord for the nail gun this fella was using while working on a roof of the house at 23 Big Springs Court. He squatted down on the wood of the roof and slid down it like a slide.

Activa is the developer of this site. They are supposed to be responsible for the environmental and labour law compliance. I contacted the Ministry of the Environment, the Ministery of Labour and the TSSA about this one.

Currently Activa is trying to get a zoning change so they can build a new subdivision in Vista Hills in Waterloo directly over 1% of the Waterloo Moraine's recharge area. They have built over the moraine in my subdivision of Columbia Forest and in Laurel Creek Village and in both cases, I have photographed and reported leaks of diesel and oil and have reported numerous labour and environmental law infringements.

I have recently joined up with the Citizens for the Protection of the Waterloo Moraine in an effort to raise public awareness on the issue of ground source water protection. I want to see the Waterloo Moraine protected with the same legislation as the Oak Ridges Moraine. Our moraine provides 300,000 people with ground source drinking water. We're the largest region in North America dependant on ground water. This moraine is one of the major sources for the Grand River and that is the only source of drinking water for Brantford, Brent County and Six Nations.

Right now the Vista Hills land is up for rezoning. Ironically, this subdivision is already featured in an area phone book and it was on a free commercial map that was distributed to area homes. Even real estate guides have featured the completed Vista Hills subdivision on their maps for four years. The truth is the land is still agricultural. If the rezoning to residential takes place before the moraine is protected this subdivision will be built.

I ask both the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Labour to please step in and see what you can do in regards to protecting our groundwater from Activa. We know their history. The citizens of Waterloo Region simply cannot afford the risk.
September 27th 2005

I recieved a letter from the Minister of Labour Steve Peters updating us on the current situation in Waterloo. He said the use of safety harnesses and fall protection especially in the roofing/siding industry remains top priority for the Ministry of Labour's construction inspectors. Between June 14-Mid September, construction inspectors in the Region of Waterloo have investigated 95 complaints, issued 350 orders and initiated 18 more prosecutions in the course of their inspection and enforcement activities.

In regards to the photos I took of the beer bottles on the construction site at Laurel Creek, he said alcohol consumption on construction projects is enforced under the federal Criminal Code by local municipal police officers. Construction inspectors who encounter this usually refer it immediately to police.

Thank You to Minister Peters and all the hard working men and women with the Region of Waterloo's Ministry of Labour office for their wonderful work in helping to keep our workers safe.

My heartfelt thanks to each of you!
September 23rd 2005

The KW record published that an 8 year old boy was killed in Montreal by falling wooden pallets on an unfenced Construction site and charges may be laid against the owners of the site.

This story affected me deeply on a personal level. I have seen children making forts out of pressure treated lumber and brick quite often in the lot behind my house from May 2000 til 2003. This was located beside the only completed parkette in our subdivision.

In one incident, I watched a large group of unsupervised kids, around 12 of them between the ages of 5-12 years old, make a brick fort with a plywood roof and they put a BBQ inside that they tried to light it. They were jumping on the rooftop. I called the police immediately and this resulted in the relocation of the debris to a fenced in area away from residents and children. After that I still saw kids and parents taking scraps from construction areas to use as building blocks for little ones.

Parents should be aware that Pressure Treated wood is not safe. It is contains many chemicals including arsenic and it's a known carcinogen. If you or your child handles this wood, immediately wash your hands. For more information regarding this known toxin, visit here.

I have seen kids playing in a stagnant pond of water that was 4ft deep. It was filled with building debris including paint cans, fiberglass insulation, pressure treated wood, oil residue and tadpoles. This area located over the Waterloo recharge that gathers our ground source drinking water.
"Treated wood should not be used where it may come into direct or indirect contact with drinking water, except for uses involving incidental contact such as docks and bridges"
US Environmental Protection Agency

This body of water stood unchanged for three years until area residents went to the city to clean it up. This was in Columbia Forest Subdivision on White Elm Blvd. Below is the photo of this area as it stood for three from the time I moved in. This "Lake" that was over 40 ft. wide. Residents thought it was a storm management pond. Beside it is a photo of the sludge and tadpoles that swam in it. Kids always came here to catch the tadpoles. The next three shots featured the basic condition of our area parkettes. There were no completed parkets in our subdivision for over 2 years after residents moved in.

. On September 18th as I was inspecting Laurel Creek Subdivision and witnessed two boys around 8 or 9 years old making a fort with building debris. Both the boys were carting off a workhorse together than they gathered pressure treated wood scraps to make the fort.
Parents in new subdivisions under construction should make sure their child is supervised when they play outdoors. Know the dangers and speak to kids about it.

If building debris has been found in the vacinity of a children's park or unsafely stored in an area where children play, please contact the builder or developer ASAP. If they don't respond, call the police. A child's life could depend on it.
September 18th 2005

I got a new digital camera today and it took me less than a half an hour to find all sorts of infringements in the Laurel Creek Subdivision.

At 5:52pm I spotted two separate diesel tanks that were unlocked. This is in direct violation of existing Labor laws. The Waterloo Fire Prevention Unit and the Technical Standards and Safety Authority were both contacted in regards to this as well as the Ministry of Labor. One of the tanks was located in lot 150 and the other was located beside Eastforest Home's Trailer.

At 5:35 I spotted the oil spill located at lot 37, civic road 386 Red Osier. It was reported to the Ministry of the Environment's Emergency Spills Services and it was actually cleaned up by a fella who worked for the City of Waterloo. The spill was right across the street from an ESPA forest and this location is over the recharge for our City's groundwater supply that we drink from. There is a trail made by the city, but I witnessed 5 people in total who decided to take a stroll through the forests instead. One went with their dog. I also heard the gunshots of area hunters.

At 5:47 I spotted a high level of debris that has obviously been left uncleaned for a rather long time located at 586 Violet St. There is also evidence of construction workers drinking on the job at this location. A set of two beer bottles was found beside a home being built by Eastforest Homes. There was only an empty lot beside this area so it wasn't from the neighbours. The large beer bottle was found on the other side of the same house half buried with in building debris. In the back yard there was paint spattered on the ground in several spots but I didn't get a photo of that.. In the front yard of this home lay the pile of bricks as seen in the photo below. The last photo just shows the rubbish on lot 226 where Decora builds. There really is no need for area residents to have to put up with this sort of filth.

August 22 2005

Today I recieved an email from a person who's home was built in a Waterloo subdivision. I will not disclose the identity of this person but I have passed this to the MOE and MOL.
"They stored a leaky dozer in the foundation of my building prior to erecting the frame. I was unsuccessful at getting the spill cleaned up… as they poured cement over it to cover it up (I have pictures). So my house sits upon plume of gas and oil. I am sure the vapours escape into the air I breathe everyday. I also have pictures of contractors drinking beer as they build the interior of my house."
July 27th 2005

New Minister of Labor Steve Peters contacted me via letter to extend support for my efforts in reporting labour law infringements. He said the Ministry of Labor does not have enough inspectors to monitor all construction activities however complaints can be made by workers and the public to ministry inspectors who will then investigate, enforce and prosecute as needed.
To make a complaint or to voice a concern, please call the Occupational Health and Safety Call Center at 1-877-202-0008.( The Ministry will honour all requests for Anonymity)

I'd like to take this time to welcome Mr.Steve Peters as our new Minister of Labor and to thank him for caring about our KW workers!

I'd like to also welcome Laurel Broten as our new Minister of Labor! (Thanks for the letter!)
June 24th 2005

There are unconfirmed reports of a Safety Inspector being beaten at 146 Purple Sage in Laurentian Forest. The incident involved an assault by a frame builder who was arrested by the Waterloo Regional Police. I have inquired with police service and they can't disclose any details at this time. If I hear anymore regarding this incident, I will update you on this.

The days are long and hot. Learn the signs of Heat Stress before it happens. Click the button.

Hard Hats protect you from Heat Stress. Learn the facts, wear the hat.

June 17th 2005

I recieved a letter today from Minister of Labor Chris Bentley. He wrote "I understand that several of your safety related complaints to the Waterloo Ministry of Labor Office have been followed up, written orders have been issued and inspectors have initiated prosecutions. In fact since April 1 2005 in the KW area, inspectors have launched 20 new prosecutions."

One hundred new enforcement officers have been hired this year and one hundred more will be hired within the next year. He thanks me for contacting the government regarding these issues and he forwarded a copy of this letter to Gerrard Kennedy the Ministry of Education.
June 9th 2005

The local situation in regards to work place safety on area construction sites is growing worse in this hot weather. Today, I spotted workers on various sites throughout KW working without harnesses, hard hats or even shirts for that matter. Workers without hard hats and harnesses were spotted in Mannheim Estates and Laurentian Village in Kitchener as well as in the Clair Creek subdivision in Waterloo as seen in the photo below.

The largest number of infringements I saw was in the Forest Gate Subdivision off Erbsville Rd. in Waterloo. This small subdivision is located just across the street from where Wideman Rd. meets Erbsville. Here I spotted many brick layers and construction workers working without hard hats. I saw around 27-30 of them in total. Below are some photos of what I saw. This subdivision was being used as a Government of Canada Youth Training Strategy program in conjunction with the Waterloo District School Board. Basically it's an area where co-op training of high school kids takes place to give them on the job experience. There wasn't a class here at the time I took these photos however it was still unsettling to know that there are a number of young summer workers here.

When I called the local Labor office to make a file a formal complaint, the office gave me this number in Hamilton to call. When I tried to file a complaint they wouldn't let me because I required an address. I drove back to the site to get it. When I arrived to the site I realized there were no signs indicating street names or even the name of the subdivision itself. I went to a man who appeared to look like a site manager with clip board in hand. I asked him if he could give me the name of the street we were on. He looked at me and said, "Well it doesn't have a name yet." I asked him if he could tell me the name of the subdivision we were in. He said they don't like to disclose this information because there are people taking pictures who are causing some trouble." I took that as a hint that he knew me from the articles in the paper or otherwise. I got no help from him so I had to go to the city's development services to find my answer. The subdivision is Forest Gate and the street we were on is Forest Gate Crescent.

The Ontario Buiding Code Act requires that a copy of the building permit be posted in a conspicuous location. This copy of the permit would identify the lot number, the Registered Plan number, as well as the permit number.
May 18th 2005

Today I recieved a letter from the Honorable Leona Dombrowski, Minister of the Environment. She wrote "The advocacy on behalf of your neighbourhood is commendable and I encourage you to contact the ministry at one of the two aforementioned numbers to report any further incidents." She provided me with the list of contact numbers shown at the bottom of this page.

I encourage all residents to record this information for your own use should you spot any infringements in your area.

There was an interesting article published in the Waterloo Chronical on May 18th written by Michael Hiemstra who brought to light the issue of using the web as a vehicle to protests. I agreed with many of his arguments and in response, I would like to present this explaination as to why I brought this information online.

May 17th

I spoke at the Waterloo City Council on May 16th and presented the following speech at the Waterloo Regional Council regarding the planning of the designation of the Environmentally Sensitive Landscape (ESL). I voiced concerns regarding some of the ongoing infringements by our area construction companies and have requested that our region hire a designated officer to patrol area construction sites for both labor and environmental infringements on an ongoing basis. With the ESL, we will preserve the source of our water but if we don't enforce environmental standards throughout the region it may still result in the contamination of our drinking water.

Friday May 13th 2005

Back to bad habbits in Laurel Creek subdivision. This photo taken on Buttercup Court features two workers working on a house without hard hats and one fella is in shorts. This took place at 9:45 am.

At another area construction site, unharnessed roofers and workers without hard hats were spotted working in the vacinity of high school students who were part of a federal Youth Training Program. Students were here at the time of the infringements that I saw. This incident was reported to the Ministry of Labor. The School Board was contacted and they quickly responded to ratify the situation. It's such ashame that our area builders were not better examples for these kids. This took place at the Forest Gate subdivision and was reported to the Ministry of Labor as well as the board of education and the ministry of education.
Sunday May 1st

At Laurel Creek Village, the diesel tank is now properly covered with a water proof cover to prevent possible overflow of fuels. Sites in both Clair Hills and Laurel Creek Village appear much cleaner, with the propane tanks properly stored away. It makes for a much nicer view for new home buyers and it's much safer for area residents too. I hope this becomes a long term practice. It's good to see!

Sorbara Law had issued a letter in regards to this website that was mailed April 19th. I read their letter and I believe that they saw my website during a transition period when I was adding new information regarding a fuel spill on Bleams Road. The website had implied that the April 16th spill was involving Activa Holdings but this was incorrect. I did speak with the authorities regarding the incident and made the correct changes on April 19th around noon and from that point on, everything on the website was 100% accurate. All the incidents on the website have been inspected by the City of Waterloo and the Region's Environmental Enforcement Services and the Ministry of Labor.

Wednesday April 20th

On April 19th the KW Record reported that a construction worker fell 9 meters off a roof and injured his back. His name was not released but the incident took place on April 18th before 10 am on Forest Gate Crescent near Erbsville Rd. In spite of this incident these are the photos of what I saw on April 20th in the Laurel Creek Village subdivision.This area is being developed by Activa.

I took these photos on my way home from the Ministry of Labor office. I went to the Ministry to mention that I had previously seen roofers unharnessed working off of Erbsville Rd and I tried to address this issue to City Council and the Labor Ministry before the incident of the roofer falling happened. They told me to call this phone number.(1-877-202-0008) On the way home I saw these infringements and took the photos. When I got home I called the number and mentioned the workers in the rain. The phone attendant told me to contact Laurel Pautler from the local Ministry of Labor office. I phoned her and filed a formal complaint via phone regarding this. I mentioned to her about the spill that took place on April 16th and she assured me if the Regional Environmental Enforcement office finds anything labor related, they would contact her office about it. I am unaware if this has been done so to date I have not filed a formal complaint to the Labor Ministry regarding the Kitchener spill on April 16th, but they are aware of the situation and will be notified of the website for their own reference. I will notify the Environmental Enforcement Services to forward any info regarding possible labor infringements to the Ministry of Labor. The date and time on on these photos is correct..

The Center to Protect Workers Rights (CPWR) says that roofers have the fifth-highest work-related death rate in construction, 29.9 deaths per 100,000 full-time equivalent workers, about twice the average for all construction of 15.2. About 50 roofers are killed on the job each year, most by falls (chart 1). The information in government reports suggests that inadequate fall protection is responsible for most of the fatal falls.

Saturday April 16th 2005

This incident was seen at approximately 4pm on April 16th as I drove by the Laurentian Village subdivision off of Bleams and Fisher Hallman. The infringements I witnessed were located on the west side of the storm water management pond. I went home and reported the incidents to the Waterloo Regional Environmental Service and returned to the site at approximately 8pm to take these photos. (The date setting on my camera was not set properly).

When I first spotted the site, all the gas and oil containment units were unlocked. This was in direct violation of Ministry of Labor safety laws. At the time I took these photos, someone had visited and placed locks on all the tanks. I used my shoe to help assist in visualizing the size of the spills. The dark spots are oil while the larger spills are diesel. In the image with the blue water pump, this was located right beside the water. Here are the photos of what I saw. To see the larger image, just click on the small photos.

An article written by Philip Jalsevac, regarding this spill, was published in the KW Record on Thursday April 21st. In it, Thomas Schmidt, the region's commissioner of transportation and environmental services, said the Ministry of the Environment was advised of the spill but said "they wouldn't respond to something like this because it was relatively insignificant." He went on to say "Clearly, we want people to manage their site appropriately and to make sure they don't spill these types of materials and to make sure they clean them up." He also added, "We're not out there all the time. If people see spills, it's absolutely appropriate to call in and get it dealt with."

Based on what the Environmental Services Department saw it didn't look too bad but after the article I contacted Mr. Schmidt about this.

New info regarding the April 16th spill

April 25th 2004

Here are some photos taken directly across the street from Sir John A MacDonald School on Laurel Creek Drive in the Laurel Village subdivision. These photos were taken on Saturday April 25th 2004 at 5:30 pm after the Emergency Spills officer arrived. I saw this and called them immediately.

The first photo is an oil spill. The other photos are in regards to the leaky diesel tank. The tank was being stored in a tub to help contain the leak. By law the tub must be covered by a tarp to protect the fluids from possible overflow from snow and rain. The handle and cap of the tank should be locked. I had reported this to the Environmental Spills officer. He described this situation as "Very bad". With him present, I took the photos of me holding the gas nozzle so I could show this situation to Waterloo City Council. There was two inches of loose fuel in the tub at the time I took these photos. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the cap was off the base of the tub allowing for the diesel fuel to leak onto the ground. You can see the 2-3 inch groove left in the dirt from where the fuels had escaped onto the ground. I brought this to the attention of Waterloo City Council and they quickly responded by making Activa remove all the contaminated soil. This area is located on the Waterloo aquifer which recharges our groundwater.

Winter 2005

The following photos illustrate the continued environmental and labor law infringements in Laurel Creek Village (Columbia Forest II) in the winter of 2005. The tanks are still unlocked and uncovered from snow and rain. As you can see the levels of the fuel/water mix in the tank is quite high and close to the overflow levels. I also witnessed the unsafe storage of propane tanks throughout the subdivision. At this point I filed my first formal complaints to the Ministry of the Environment as well as the Ministry of Labor for unsafe storage of fuels. I witnessed many roofers working without their harnesses for years during the construction of my subdivision and area subdivisions along Erbsville Rd. and in Kitchener. This is something I witnessed on a daily basis just driving around my area and to my husband's work. It is a developer's legal responsibility to maintain the safety and environmental standards on their development sites. Their duty is to oversee the actions of the various housing companies and monitor that standards are being met. Currently, the city and the ministers only step in when formal complaints are made but without a delegated officer doing the inspections, it doesn't get reported. Housing inspectors cannot make reports of this nature because it isn't in their jurisdiction to do so.

What we need is a dedicated person from the region or province that is qualified to police both the environmental and safety laws on area construction sites on a regular basis because it is obvious that the area Development companies are not doing their job.

I went to the media at this point and did interviews with both the KW Record and the Waterloo Chronicle in regards to the infringements I saw. The Article for the Chronicle was titled. "Developers Negligence Poses Many Risks" and it was written by Bob Vrbanac and published on Wednesday March 23 2005. The Record's story was called "Put Environment and Safety First, Developers Told written by Bob Burtt and published on March 29 2005.

I spoke to Waterloo City Council and a representative from Eastforest Homes in regards the infringements. In regards to the unharnessed roofers the policy for Eastforest homes is "If a worker is caught without their harness, we will send them home immediately. It is not acceptable."

Background Info

I have gone to Waterloo City Council in regards to various environmental infringements during the creation of my subdivision of Columbia Forest. We had a standing body of water at the base of White Elm over 4ft deep. It was filled with insulation, building materials and even tadpoles because this "Lake" as residents called it, was here for over a year. The area of the lake was so long we all just assumed it was a storm management pond of some sort. This area was not fenced at all and it was located directly across the street from the only completed kiddy park we had. I spent most of my summers telling kids to get away from the water. Kids loved to walk in the water, pitch rocks in it and catch the tadpoles. When I told Waterloo City Council they drained this water immediately.

Beside the children's park on the corner of Butternut and White Elm, we had loose brick, plywood and piles of brick stored directly beside the park. Again I spent hours and hours telling children to get away from the building materials. The local children used to make forts with the brick and roof it with the scraps of plywood. On one occasion they actually built a BBQ inside one of the forts. When I notified the city all the building debris was removed for the sake of community safety.

I was curious so I went to Laurel Village to inspect the new housing area to see if the same things were being repeated. I decided to speak to one of the folks who were outside with their three year old child. The yard was not completed and there was debris, including a half buried 2 by 4 sticking out of their yard with rusty nails in it. I asked the folks how long their yard has been this way. They said for about a year. The condition of the yard was so poor they couldn't allow their child to play outside at all. They were in the same position I was when I moved into my new subdivision. New home owners are often not aware of their rights. They don't know that they don't have to live with hazardous debris surrounding them. They are entitled to safe green spaces for their children to play in. They don't have to put up with environmental spills or hazards that can put their children at risk.

Here are just some of the speeches and letters that I presented to various people in regards to these infringements.
Waterloo City Council Apr.2004 Presentation

Waterloo City Council March 2005 Presentation
Regarding West Side District Plan (Letter)

Letter to Environment Minister

If you spot Infringements, here are the folks to contact.

When making a report, please have the address, date, time, the subdivision name and the name of the company if possible.

To report incidents of water pollution, spills and illegal waste disposal as they are occuring or soon after contact: Ms. Tina Dufresne at the Ministry of the Environment (Guelph Office) toll free at 1-800-265-8658 during normal business hours or Ministry of Environment's Spills Action Center (24 hours) at 1-800-268-6060

To report unsafe working conditions including unharnessed roofers & labor law infringements contact: Ministry of Labor Office 1-877-202-0008. (anonymity will be protected)

To report incidents of unsafe fuel or propane tank storage please notify these two safety authorities: The Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) at 1-877-682-8772
The Fire Prevention Division of the Waterloo Fire Department at 884-2121 for Waterloo,

741-2495 for Kitchener or 621-0754 for Cambridge.

To report drinking from workers on construction sites, contact your local police Department immediately.

If you think your community is dealing with unsafe storage of building debris or potential safety hazards please don't hesitate to contact your local ward rep and your city's development services department. They can make a difference.

 

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11/13/2005

SLAPP news for Sunday, November 13, 2005

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