What an excellent letter Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O’Leary wrote to The Telegram concerning the floodplain in HSC area.
Thanks to her for showing some political will/fortitude in this and other work.
I appreciate your tact, but it matters not a whit what the build is for, or will house — it could be a parking garage and the same civil engineering logic holds.
It is unbelievable that the province and city cannot come to common ground on this knowledge. N.L. overtly shows political ignorance in terms of Climate Change by betting the (already sold) farm on Oil, while all News shows that Climate Change is real, and Canada and Newfoundland are nowhere near making real changes, nor reducing emissions necessary. Let’s call a spade a spade: we’re deeply in debt, and we’re aggressively pursuing oil and iron for cars in China to help deal with our debt. Rather immoral, no? I mean, in terms of our grandkids ...
Anyway, I was in Derry, Northern Ireland, last fall when they had a massive case going on about how some developers built on a flood plain some years ago, and silently knew it, and municipal government representatives knew, and now Climate Change and lawsuit, lawsuit, lawsuit.
What a mess.
I must add that I personally disagree with the idea of “inclusion” being part of the argument of where to place the replacement of the Waterford, and I have a hard personal example.
As you know, almost every family has issues with Mental Health at varying times, and it can be a confusing, dark, personal and private time for the family.
My partner worked for some time in Emergency at the Waterford, and I would occasionally have to collect her in the vehicle. I felt sad and ashamed sitting in the car, like some voyeur — it was and is utterly nobody’s business but your own that (say, for a made-up, but not un-common example) your amazing father had an alcohol-induced break due to depression and needed some observation and treatment, and you and your brother had to bring him in here raving.
That’s the part of “inclusion” I take issue with, and think should give pause for consideration. Privacy matters a lot — we can’t simply flick a switch on a buzzword.
I applaud O’Leary’s efforts in both mental health initiatives, and in speaking out on this very important engineering issue.
Gerard Neil
St. John’s
Related story:
LETTER: Location for Waterford Hospital replacement is worrying
