July 12, 2006

OPEN LETTER

The Hon. Dalton McGuinty
Premier of Ontario
Room 281
Main Legislative Building
Queen′s Park, ON
M7A 1A1

The Hon. David Caplan
Minister of Public Infrastructure Renewal
6th Floor, Mowat Block
900 Bay St.
Toronto, ON M7A 1C2

Dear Premier McGuinty and Minister Caplan,

I am writing concerning an urgent matter affecting the City of Hamilton. Following yesterday′s rainstorm, severe flooding and sewage have washed through homes and streets in Hamilton East, causing extensive property damage.

Almost a year ago on August 30, 2005, I alerted you to the devastating consequences of a previous flood. I urged you to support Hamilton Council′s request for disaster relief. On that occasion, you refused to assist the people of Hamilton.

The City of Hamilton, meanwhile, developed a ten-year plan of capital improvements. But yesterday′s debacle illustrated that the City can′t wait ten years. The Ministry of Public Infrastructure Renewal (PIR) is said to exist to solve problems for cities, which everyone acknowledges have been starved for provincial infrastructure dollars for years. Yesterday′s mass damage is a clear sign of the McGuinty government abdicating its responsibility to help cities renovate old infrastructure.

The McGuinty government and its Ministry of PIR have a mandate and an obligation to get behind Hamilton′s infrastructure renewal capital plan. It is during these times of massive property destruction that governments and infrastructure ministries, in particular, are supposed to be there for people, not missing in action. Hamilton cannot do the required work on its own fast enough, nor does it have the budget.

I invite both of you to come to Hamilton tomorrow to see the problem firsthand. Meet some of the homeowners and see the costly mess you′re leaving them to contend with. And measure for yourselves the impact on people, their homes, businesses, insurance rates, even their ability to obtain insurance.

The McGuinty government should not allow city residents to shoulder the high costs of your inaction. I urge you to provide the capital support to the City of Hamilton so that the 10-year plan for upgrading sewer and water infrastructure can be fast-tracked and completed in three years. Please don′t make the same mistake you made last summer and ignore the problem. It will only get worse and Hamiltonians are looking to you for action. They look forward to your immediate and helpful response.

Sincerely,

(ORIGINAL SIGNED BY …)

Andrea Horwath
M.P.P. for Hamilton East