Municipal leaders involved in the clean up of St. Johns harbour are likely to give public private partnerships the thumbs down. CUPE Newfoundland and Labrador president Wayne Lucas has garnered verbal commitments from several municipal leaders, including St. Johns mayor Andy Wells and the mayor of Conception Bay South that sewage treatment plants will be publicly-owned and operated.
St. Johns is rejecting any move to look to multinational corporations to build expensive infrastructure, says Lucas. Ive had some very positive meetings with our town fathers who realize that in the end its the public that loses out when transnationals are allowed to run the show.
Lucas says he hopes to have a Water Watch committee up and running in the new year to keep public interest and accountability at the forefront of harbour clean up deliberations.
St. Johns harbour has been rated the worst in the country by the Sierra Legal Defense Fund. The three municipalities involved in the clean up are waiting for a commitment from the federal government to pay one third of the cost.