Brent Cameron | Mar 22, 2017


Letters have been written regarding the plan to initiate a mandatory septic inspection program in our township. Those who have defended the plan have characterized dissenters as being willfully ignorant of the dangers of contaminated wells, and by extension, our fresh water sources. They have equated opposition to their proposal as no less than neglecting human health and the environment.

It is regretful that the argument is being cast in these terms. It means that one must agree fully and without reservation, lest they be branded as an enemy of the environment and human safety. This is as incorrect as it is unfortunate.  As one of the three dissenting votes on Council, I believe you have a right to know what concerns motivated that decision.

In May, 2015 the Committee presented an interim report to Council that outlined the general nature of the program. At that time, I expressed one single concern – affordability. I mentioned that new septic systems can cost up to $10,000 and for most working families in Central Frontenac (not to mention those on a fixed income), this could potentially force people to give up their homes. Members of the committee, in a meeting open to the public, said that they had not been given the mandate to study how this program could be implemented so as to not force those kinds of situations. They did agree that it was important and affordability should be taken into consideration going forward.

Moving forward to this February 28th, the Committee made its final report which, despite the passage of nearly two years, did not contain significantly more information. Despite the verbal assurances given at that 2015 meeting in Mountain Grove, there was no mention of an affordability plan – let alone a proposal for one. The only real change was the acknowledgement that a full septic replacement could be as high as $20,000.

When I voiced my view on this omission, I was answered with the rhetorical question of ‘what’s the price of a contaminated well?’ as well as ‘Maybe people could apply for a provincial grant.’

The price of a contaminated well is high – it is damaging to the individuals directly affected, as well as the community as a whole. I would also argue that it is a price similar to forcing people to vacate the only homes they may have ever known for no transgression greater than the sin of not being able to raise $20,000.

As far as the possibility of provincial grants are concerned, precisely two weeks to the day after this vote, Council was informed of the elimination of the Ontario Home Renovation Program (OHRP) – the very type of program where these ‘provincial grants’ might have come from.

An affordability program for our community’s most financially vulnerable would have strengthened the report. It would have allowed the program the ability to accomplish its laudable goals without forcing low income households into jeopardy. The Committee had two years to formulate a plan. That was not done.

Without that plan, I believed the report to be incomplete and the work not fully done. That is why I voted no.

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