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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Sewage-plant details withheld: critics
Say councillors not getting all the info
CITY councillors will soon vote on a $660-million sewage-treatment plant, even though they won't have crucial information about the project.
Mayor Sam Katz and his executive policy committee are recommending council approve a 30-year contract with one of the world's largest environmental firms to design, build and help manage the plant, a deal several critics said keeps too many important details secret.
The executive policy committee endorsed the contract with Veolia Canada Wednesday morning and it goes to city council May 19.
The deal was criticized by several people who spoke at the meeting, including Coun. Jenny Gerbasi and Mike Davidson, president of CUPE Local 500.
Gerbasi and Davidson were critical that key information -- how much Veolia is being paid and how it will share any savings or cost increases with the city -- is being withheld, and councillors are being asked to approve the deal without these details.
Michael Welch, a spokesman for the Winnipeg chapter of the national group Council of Canadians, pointed out Veolia's parent company has been embroiled in lawsuits around the world, accused of shoddy, incompetent and sometimes illegal conduct.
Katz said after the meeting details about the contract will be made public after it's been approved by council.
"Once this moves forward, if any member of the media has questions, they should get the answers," Katz told a group of reporters. "Anything that has to be public, we will abide by."
Katz said the civic report predicts the Veolia contract will result in a 10 to 20 per cent savings of the construction and operating costs of the sewage plant upgrades over the 30-year term of the contract. Katz said the bulk of those savings will be returned to the city, adding Veolia will keep the rest. However, Katz refused to disclose details on the savings' sharing arrangement or even how much Veolia is being paid to manage the project.
The deal with Veolia marks a dramatic turnaround from what Katz had originally envisioned for the state-of-the-art sewage-treatment facilities. The project will now be controlled by a city-owned utility. Veolia will design and build the project and stay on to help city staff manage it.
aldo.santin@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 13, 2010 B1
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