Why are the Tories so bashful about taking credit for the WDA?

by Jay Arthur

I am sure everyone was as anxious as I was to read the Ontario Progressive Conservative Party's election platform.

It was with great anticipation that I  logged on to the Tories' website on that fateful day in May when Ernie, Lizzie  and the boys went go-karting. Here it was: The Road Ahead: Premier Ernie Eves' plan for Ontario's future.

Surely here I would find the answers to the question on everyone's mind these days.
In the wake of the passing of the Waste Diversion Act, how does waste management and diversion figure in the Tory platform?  Lord knows, they will be looking for something positive to say on the environmental front, given the Walkerton disaster and the Hydro fiasco. Would it be the lead story or a strong second to the much celebrated but quietly watered down and delayed Nutrient Management Act?
The word environment or anything like it, does not appear on the "contents" page of the platform, so to speak. There's lots of stuff about helping families and children (God bless 'em)  and better health care, and tax cuts. But nothing on the environment.
It's not until you dig down to the Policy Papers that the word even appears.
Number Six: Safeguarding the Natural Environment.  There will be clean water. That would be good. Clean air. More parks. And that's it.
Not a word about the blue box. And not a word about oil or tires or any of the other  plans on the horizon.
And there was no word about the environment in the throne speech delivered at the end of April--literally.
I would have thought they would be proud of having finally got something beyond the talk, through the legislature and almost into the implementation stage.
As I write this, the comment period for the  blue box program plan has passed and there is no word from Minister Stockwell. What is he waiting for? Christmas?
I felt sure he was sitting in the wings waiting for the word

from Ernie to remind us all about how the Tories saved the blue box.
After all, what's not to like in the blue box plan?
There are those nagging little points that the provincial recycling council brought up about whether CSR can actually raise the funds it needs from the obligated stewards, and the fact that the words reduce and reuse don't seem to exist in anyone's mind nowadays. And there's this last minute complaint from the packaging material guys about the last minute change to the plan to suggest stewardship can be voluntary. They even hint at a legal challenge, in a round-a-bout way.
If the minister is going have anything positive to say in time for the eventual election, he'd better approve the plan now or ask the WDO board to make any changes very quickly.
There just isn't time to send everyone back to Square One, even if the boys at CSR would love it.
We have seen the May 1 obligation deadline pass, and the June 1 deadline pass. Each month is another $2 million the brand owners aren't paying and another $2 million the municipalities  are not seeing to support their recycling programs.
Of course, the minister does have a lot on his plate. In 1995, the Tories removed any opportunity Toronto had to manage its refuse locally by killing off the Interim Waste Authority. Now,  the minister is lecturing the city about its lack of a second disposal option in the event that the border is closed. That shows leadership. People like leadership.
He is also kind of busy trying to legitimize the Adams Mine lakefill option, not to mention the benefits of incineration to address Toronto's garbage woes. More leadership--and, who knows, an investment possibility for someone?
Sometimes I get the sense that the Tories are really not very proud of the latest stewardship news (particularly the blue box plan), and are afraid they may be asked embarrassing questions on the hustings about the higher diversion rates in other provinces.
So, expect lots of noise about cleaning up the West Nile-infested tire piles, but it looks like we will all have to wait for any publicity on the blue box.