Dear Editor;

A highly important topic we have read and heard a lot about is the dredging of the Owen Sound harbour. According to Mayor Deb Haswell, the mayor at the time, "The work is urgently needed and it is high time it is done, considering it has been an ongoing issue for some 15 years... we've got to get going on this. It's just ridiculous. It's sort of gone beyond the ridiculous now in terms of length of time to do this."

To quote Bill Henry of the Sun Times: "Just one shipping company still sends working commercial cargo vessels to the Great Lakes Elevator here, and then only smaller vessels with partial loads. Cement and salt ships also come in light." Steve Kell from Parrish Heimbecker said: "The firm is not just unable to expand and fully utilize the elevator asset, it's losing business."

Owen Sound harbour is also used to export local grain and soybeans. If dredging is not done very soon, Steve Kell said "The commercial part of the harbour runs the risk of being closed forever."

Can Owen Sound afford to have a concrete white elephant standing in the harbour? Can Owen Sound afford to see all the employees of Parrish Heimbecker being laid off? Can Owen Sound afford to lose a commercial tax base? Can the people of Owen Sound afford a property tax hike to make up for the loss of this business?

According to Bayshore Broadcasting the Owen Sound harbour was last dredged in 1964. That is 50 years ago. Early it was stated that the dredging issue has been ongoing for some 15 years.

Our local MP, Larry Miller, sees the importance to the economy of having the harbour dredged and he has stated "It's my job to get it done and it will be dredged." But after a while (years) endless platitudes become very meaningless. Miller has been representing Grey-Bruce-Owen Sound (BGOS) for 10 years. That should be more than sufficient time to accomplish this task by any stretch of one's imagination or patience.

After all, this is vital to the economy of not just Owen Sound but of all the surrounding area. I will digress for a moment and do an analogy. In private industry a company is not making a profit. The board brings in a new CEO, president, head honcho (call the position what you like) to make the company profitable once again. It is not only expected but demanded that he/she accomplish this task in a year at most. No excuses will be accepted. If he/she cannot complete the task, they are considered incompetent and unceremoniously fired.

Is not 10 years enough to accomplish the task of the harbour dredging more than sufficient in anyone's eye? If it has not been completed by now it would seem it never will be by this Harper Conservative government..

Owen Sound harbour is a Federal port. The Ministry of Transportation oversees the Owen Sound port as well as many others. Miller is a government member for this area, Miller is chair of the powerful Commons Committee for Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities. According to Michael Warren' "The Ministers of Transportation and Public Works are required to appear before his committee to explain their political policies and programs."

Lisa Raitt the Minister of Transportation, is the one who can give the go-ahead to the dredging. She was here last April for Miller's fundraiser but did not have time to meet city officials on the dredging matter. So, Raitt the Minister of Transportation believes it was far more important to aid Miller's fundraising that to discuss the future of Owen Sound harbour. Yes, she does have the Harper Conservative government's priorities in proper order. Not!

It was also stated in a Bayshore Broadcasting article that Raitt sent a letter that said "there was no time to meet in the near future." So much for the Harper Conservative government caring whether the harbour gets dredged or not. Can it be any plainer? Or as the old adage goes "do I need to hit you in the head with a two by four?" Dredging the Owen Sound harbour is not important to this Harper Conservative government. It is not on its radar.

Recently a consultant's report came out saying that the Owen Sound harbour should not be dredged because it contains contaminated sediment, that it should not be disturbed as it will heal itself over time. Very convenient timing. Every port in the world is contaminated with toxic sediment, that is the nature of the beast but that does not stop them from being dredged. There are dredging companies that specialize in this type of difficult and environmentally sensitive problem. As an example can you just see the ports of Vancouver, Halifax, Montreal or Toronto closed due to toxic sediment? Hardly. But it is OK for Owen Sound? That is totally unacceptable and ludicrous.

There was an article written by John Ivison a while back entitled "Larry Miller, The Voice in Harper's Ear." By the title of the article and the body of the article one could only assume that Miller has some sway with Harper. Did Miller ever refute this article? No. Since he has clout with Harper, is the chair of a very powerful transportation committee, then why has the harbour still not been dredged after 10 years on his watch? Even Miller said to Bayshore Broadcasting "it appears like Transport Canada doesn't really care about the harbour and they would like it to close." So who is making this all important decision, this current Conservative government or bureaucrats? If it is bureaucrats then what is the use of our present government and our local MP?

Next year will be election year, promises will fly, and no politician wants to lose a very well paying job with many perks. Will one of those promises be, re-elect me and I will get the harbour dredged? Another promise might be made to dredge the harbour at the last minute due to the Harper Conservatives falling in the polls and wanting to retain power at all cost. Are you going to be fooled in voting for the Harper Conservatives if this "Hail Mary pass" occurs?

Change is coming to Canada. Will the voters of Bruce Grey Owen Sound ride the crest of this new wave or will they be drowned by it? Election time is when voters get to say how please or displeased they are with their present MP and sitting government. Just remember 10 years of inaction. Do you want four more years of the same? Your choice come election day. Time to start a new chapter in BGOS, this area cannot afford to languish in the doldrums any longer.

Richard Hutchison
Georgian Bluffs