Darvin Jasper introduced our guest speaker for the evening. Darvin and Terry became friends because their wives taught together. Terry Sargeant was recognized for his distinguished record of public and volunteer service, in particular his work as Chair of the Board of Governors of the University of Manitoba by receiving an Honorary Doctorate on June 2, 2011 (L.L.D.)MB.
Born in Melbourne, Australia, (moving to Canada at age of one year old), Mr. Sargeant attended the University of Manitoba, graduating with a B.A. in 1967. Following graduation, he served in Parliament from 1979-1984 representing the riding of Selkirk-Interlake as a member of the New Democratic Party. In parliament he served as critic for both National Defense and Sport. After his time in Parliament, Mr. Sargeant continued his public service, serving as a senior official in the provincial governments in Manitoba, the Yukon and British Columbia.
Following almost twenty years of government service, Mr. Sargeant entered the Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba. After articling with the Public Interest Law Centre, he was called to the Manitoba Bar in June 2000. He then worked as the chair of two important quasi-judicial bodies in Manitoba - the Appeal Commission of the Workers' Compensation Board and the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission. For nine years, Mr. Sargeant was a member of the University's Board of Governors; he served as Chair for four of those years. In these roles, Mr. Sargeant volunteered thousands of hours of his time to strengthening the University's governance system, advising two presidents and leading a presidential search process.
Mr. Sargeant is a steadfast community leader and volunteer, having served on the boards of numerous arts organizations, including Prairie Theatre Exchange, the Manitoba Theatre Centre and the Winnipeg Folk Festival. He has also served in leadership roles in national organizations, including the Council of Canadian Administrative Tribunals, and the National Association of University Board Chairs and Secretaries.
http://umanitoba.ca/admin/governance/senate/hdr/1176.html . Terry is the President of the Board of Directors- Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra 2017/2018.
Darvin advised that Terry is an excellent cook as well as stating that they share a love of the theatre, jazz and good wine.
Due to his varied employment history, Terry advised that he had a lot of options as what to talk about tonight. He felt a safe topic would be his time with the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission (C.E.C.). He was Chair of the Commission for 12.5 years. First a history of the C.E.C..
It was in 1935 that the Manitoba Legislature, in response to public health concerns, enacted The Prevention of Water Pollution Control Act, which, in turn, led to the establishment of the Provincial Sanitary Control Commission for the control of water pollution problems. This Commission had both an oversight and management role – it was the issuer of licences. During its 33 years of operation, the Sanitary Control Commission issued 150 licences to limit individual sources of water pollution.
In 1968, when the need for more broadly based environmental protection became
apparent, the Provincial Sanitary Control Commission was replaced by the Clean Environment Commission – with added responsibility for protection from contamination of
air and land, as well as water. For the first 20 years of its existence, the CEC continued to be, not only an oversight body, but also the issuer of environmental licences, as well as orders in respect of environmental breaches. With the implementation of the current Environment Act in 1988, these roles were delegated to the Department of Conservation and the CEC became what it is to be today. (Manitoba C.E.C. Annual Report 2010-2011).
The C.E.C. acts at arms length from government as an administrative body, such as the Public Utilities Board, Workers Compensation Board, Liquor and Gaming Authority of Manitoba. The Clean Environment Commission is established under The Environment Act (1988) to provide an independent avenue through which the public can participate in the decision making process regarding the environment in Manitoba. The Commission provides advice and recommendations to the Minister of Sustainable Development regarding environmental issues and licensing. The Minister of Sustainable Development will generally refer projects to the Commission when there is a great deal of public concern raised or for projects that have far reaching or a significant impact on a large number of Manitobans.
The C.E.C. can respond in two different ways. The first would be a hearing, while the second option available would be an investigation. The minister will publicly announce that the Commission will be examining the issue and will provide the Commission with terms of reference that will guide it through the process. It will be specified whether the review will take the form of a full hearing or an investigation. As part of the process an Environmental Impact Study (E.I.S.) may be required. This will provide much more needed information by identifying effects of the proposed project during construction as well as into the future. This E.I.S. must be completed early on in the process, so that the analysis can be useful to the decision makers. These documents can be very large encompassing multiple thick binders of information. The E.I.S. should justify the project, identify options and alternatives. For example, for a hydro project- what would happen during drought years, what are the cumulative effects, management plan into the future, final decommission and removal plans.
Public participation is key to the success of a hearing and an important part of an investigation. The Commission values the opinions and knowledge of the citizens who are affected by the project under review. There are several ways to participate in a hearing or investigation, each with different levels of commitment and responsibilities. All hearings and public meetings associated with an investigation are open to the public to attend and observe. The hearings are designed to be open, fair and impartial; also as informal as possible. Attending such an event and listening to what others have to say may inspire you to also express your opinions as a presenter or through a written submission. An individual or group may also choose to present their opinion or observations during the hearing or meeting as a presenter. A presenter is generally given 15 minutes to appear before the panel and make their statement. An individual or group must apply to the Commission to be a presenter. The most significant way to be involved in a hearing is to be a participant (there are no participants in an investigation). To be a participant an individual or group must apply at the very beginning of the process and be approved. Participants often serve the role of the opposition by gathering significant amounts of information and researching details that are then presented to the panel. This is a very involved and time consuming job, and for that reason funding is often available to help prepare the case. Participants play an important role in assisting the panel in understanding the issues that are considered in the development of their recommendations.
During a hearing or public meeting all the identified parties are given an opportunity to present their position. In a hearing this will include the proponent and participants giving opening remarks, a presentation, questioning each other, answering questions put to them by the panel and making closing remarks. Presenters are given a chance to make their statements and at specified times short questions from the audience will be allowed to be made of the proponent. At a public meeting there are only presenters who make their statement before the panel.
The panel has 90 days after the completion of the hearing to provide a report with recommendations to the minister. In writing this report and making recommendations the panel considers all the evidence and information presented to them throughout the process. This includes presentations, written submissions, questions asked and answered during the hearing and any research the panel may have conducted. The report and recommendations are forwarded to the minister who then considers them. The minister then decides whether or not to adopt the recommendations, he/she is under no obligation to do so. The report must then be released to the public within 2 weeks. This does tend to put some limited pressure on the minister to follow the advice of the hearing.
Over the past 10 to 15 years, aboriginal input has been very important regarding impact to the land and resources. Most of the projects that go to hearings involve aboriginal lands in some way. The work of the C.E.C. also tended to be focused over and over on impacts to Lake Winnipeg, “it`s all about Lake Winnipeg”. The major work completed by the C.E.C. include; 4 Manitoba Hydro Projects, Floodway Expansion, Hog Farms Waste, Winnipeg Sewage Treatment. Lake Winnipeg is not in good health at this time. Major issues are; algae blooms, rainbow smelt, zebra mussels. (some material from
Q/A
1.-Chuck Crocker asked if during the hearing process if there is any consideration of the `Cost/Benefit` analysis of a project.
A. -No there is not. This would be placed in the hands of the P.U.B.
2.-Chuck also questioned about the expense of the nitrogen removal in the City of Winnipeg sewage treatment upgrades. There is very little benefit to Lake Winnipeg for the very large expense related to the nitrogen removal.
A.- The nitrogen removal is actually not that great of an inclusion to the total cost of the project. The City of Winnipeg is behind the times when talking about sewage treatment. A large city should be involved in `Biological Nutrient Removal`, Winnipeg is reluctant to follow this trend.
3.-What is the composition of the C.E.C. Board?
A.- 1 Commissioner/Chair * Full time
1 Administrative Assistant *Full Time
1 Secretary *Full Time
Also 12 to 15 part time commissioners for panels, a broad range of skill sets and education/backgrounds. Due to the nature of the panels, retired individuals work best. A large time commitment for relatively low pay, is required.
The use of Consultants is also very important for the Hearings ~6
4.- Ed Thompson made note that the environmentalists seem to want to put the hog industry out of business.
A.- There were 20 days of hearings for the Hog Waste Hearings in 14 communities including colonies and a feed plant tour. If all the recommendations were followed, there would be no need for a moratorium on hog farms in the Red River Valley. The decision was no new lagoons in the Red River Valley. Much better now with all waste being injected into the soil.
5. Alan Roberts agreed that the hog lagoon decision was not correct. Alan owns a cottage at West Hawk Lake and has concerns regarding the waste water treatment going back to 2010.
A.- Terry again advised that the C.E.C. has no enforcement capabilities. Can only make recommendations to the Minister.
On behalf of the Charleswood Rotary Club, Bob Eilers thanked Terry Sargeant for his presentation. Bob explained what ShelterBox does and that a donation in Terry`s name would be made to ShelterBox.
