Local Member of Parliament John Weston this week said he's trying to secure a second extension of the deadline for dredging the Mamquam Blind Channel, beyond the current deadline of February 2011.
If successful, the extension would give local officials more time to secure funding for the long-discussed and controversial project. It's favoured by most boaters because it would make the channel easier to navigate, even at low tide, but opposed by those concerned about its potential to release environmentally hazardous heavy metals such as mercury into area waterways.
Weston, the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast-Sea to Sky Country riding's representative in Ottawa, last announced an extension of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' (DFO) dredging window in May, when he said it had been extended until February 2011. DFO officials determine when it's environmentally safe to carry out such work.
On Tuesday (Nov. 24), Weston told The Chief he was "90 per cent sure" that the dredging deadline will be extended again.
In response to a call last week from Daniel Veniez, the riding's Liberal Party candidate for the next election, for the federal government to pay the estimated $1 million cost of the project, Weston reiterated past statements that that's not likely to happen.
"There's one school of thought that the only role of an MP is to help deliver funding to the local level. But there's another level where I've helped get the deadline for dredging extended to give the community more time to find funding for this much-needed project," he said.
In response to calls for help from local officials, Weston said he has investigated programs that might yield funding for such a project and came up empty. The Tory MP said the Conservative government doesn't have a "slush fund" of discretionary money for such projects - suggesting that if the Liberals were in power, they might have such a fund.
"The Conservative government is all about accountability. The funds that I've helped bring into the riding were all made available through programs with specific criteria," Weston said. "You may have had to compete against other communities for the funding, but if you didn't match the criteria, there's no funding. There's no slush fund."
Veniez, in a statement issued last Thursday (Nov. 18), said, "Like all critical transportation infrastructure that facilitates trade, tourism and long-term job creation, Ottawa must invest in this urgently needed project. The dredging is an economic development and safety imperative.
"The time for inaction and excuses is over."
Weston, touting past efforts to secure funding for the West Coast Railway Heritage Park's new conference facility, Squamish River flood-control measures and other local projects, responded, "It's easy for Veniez to say, 'What about this or what about that' from his fax machine in South Vancouver, while I'm working every day to help people and communities in the riding."
Mayor Greg Gardner said he was pleased to learn that a deadline extension could be announced shortly, but said the District of Squamish can't be expected to carry the full funding load.
"I would suggest that there are other players in this," Gardner said. "Navigable waters are a federal jurisdiction, No. 1. No. 2, there are users who benefit from that more so than the general members of the community, so my belief is that it's not a solution that entirely rests on the shoulders of the District of Squamish."
- With files from Meagan Robertson, The Chief
