Apology over #sewergate forthcoming after emotional council meeting
Published November 28, 2019 at 3:15 pm
An apology from the city of Hamilton over their handling of the massive sewage spill into Chedoke Creek is expected Thursday (Nov. 28).
An apology from the city of Hamilton over their handling of the massive sewage spill into Chedoke Creek is expected Thursday (Nov. 28).
After a marathon Council Meeting Wednesday night into the early hours of Thursday morning, members of council finally agreed to issue an apology and release additional information on the leak that saw 24 billion litres of sewage leaked into local waterways.
The meeting was incredibly emotional and tension-fraught as Councillor Maureen Wilson pushed council to accept responsibility and push forward with a public apology.
"I sat there. I was in tears," "I demanded and asked and begged my council colleagues to release this information publicly." All you need to know about how feircely @ward1wilson stood up for her community & #HamOnt and the adversity faced over Chedoke Creek transparently
— John-Paul Danko (@JohnPaulDanko) November 28, 2019
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Late yesterday, Wilson and councillor Nrinder Nann filed a motion amendment that demanded the city make an apology and called for the total release of information related to the spill and its aftermath.
Many councillors around the horseshoe, however, weren’t sure what they should feel sorry for.
Councillor Terry Whitehead, was behind the idea of apologizing for the spill, which he called ‘shameful,’ but baulked at the notion that they apologize for not ‘acting in good faith,’ which he believes the council did not.
He went on to say that council was unanimous in their decision to withhold the information about the leak until the Ministry of Environment conducted their investigation.
Wilson retorted that that was “ridiculous” and simply “not true.”
“I sat there. I was in tears,” she said. “I demanded and asked and begged my council colleagues to release this information publicly.”
Despite resistance from some council members, the meeting eventually went in-camera. Councillors emerged just before 3:30 am to say they’d agreed to issue an apology and to release some more information.
The apology and additional information are due later Thursday.
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