Greater transparency urged for negotiations on MOU between Oro-Medonte / NVCA

AWARE Oro-Medonte news release October 26 2011

AWARE Oro-Medonte is an organization that works for greater accountability by government.  In response to the article in Orillia Today (Oct. 20/11), and to Sandy Agnew’s statement to the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA) Board, we make the following comments:

AWARE Oro-Medonte’s three main objectives are to promote better communication between local government and our residents; to monitor Council’s activities and report to our membership; and to ensure that all matters under consideration by our local government place the health of our environment first.  

The issue under discussion, the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Oro-Medonte Township, the NVCA and the Severn Sound Environmental Association (SSEA), is a complicated one that deserves careful attention by all parties, including the taxpayers who are footing all the bills.

To that end, AWARE Oro-Medonte recommends that negotiations be carried out with greater transparency and in public. A Freedom of Information request, attempting to clarify the facts, was denied by Oro-Medonte, adding further to the uncertainties surrounding the matter and more taxpayers’ money to the costs.

AWARE Oro-Medonte seeks to support the Conservation Authorities that serve our township. Without their lawful authority to protect our natural resources we fear our township could be open to damaging developments that ignore the township’s stated priority of “Environment First”.