Deal Or No Deal

Why is it when the City Of Toronto makes a deal the details of that deal are never revealed without our representatives making a big stink....here is another of those deals.

Landfill hurdle cleared
Settlement with Indian band over pollution worries smoothes way for city to take over St. Thomas dump this week
March 27, 2007
John Spears
City Hall Bureau

Toronto has reached a deal with an Oneida Indian band that settles concerns over the city's purchase of a garbage dump near St. Thomas, just 2.2 kilometres from the band's reserve.

Tomorrow's special meeting of council to ratify the agreement should pave the way to completing the $220 million purchase of the Green Lane landfill Thursday. Ownership takes pressure off the city, whose arrangement to ship garbage to Michigan expires at the end of 2010.

The Oneida Nation of the Thames had gone to court to force the city to talk to band leaders about their worries that increased dumping at Green Lane, which has operated since 1979, could contaminate their water.

The city agreed to voluntary talks and a deal was reached, works committee chair Glenn De Baeremaeker said yesterday. No details were released.

"The intent of the meeting is to give direction to legal staff about a settlement with the Oneida Nation," De Baeremaeker said.

"The people of Toronto have been well protected ... the Oneida Nation has been well protected, and there's a settlement coming forward which is in everybody's best interest."

With the settlement in hand, the city will take possession of Green Lane on Thursday. The city's "due diligence" research has shown the dump is in good shape, De Baeremaeker said.

While Toronto will continue shipping garbage to Michigan through 2010, the city now has a safety valve, he said. Michigan legislators are pushing to close the border to out-of-state trash.