Your landfill is staying public, and here’s why.
Bonjour from the North — three cities, one corridor, and the stories that don't make it south of Barrie.
Okay, so picture this: Sault Ste. Marie city council just had a big vote about something that, let's be honest, most people don't think about until garbage day. They shot down a plan to privatize our municipal landfill. You might be thinking, "Who cares about a dump?" But tabarnak, this is bigger than just trash. This is about what we value in the Sault, right down to the bedrock of our city.
The proposal was dangled like a shiny new car: millions in potential savings if we let a private company take over. And sure, who doesn't like saving money, especially when the city needs every penny? But a majority of councillors looked at that price tag and said, "Hold on a minute, there's more to this than dollars and cents." They talked about service levels, keeping local jobs, and, get this, environmental concerns. It's easy to just chase the lowest bid, but what happens when a company from God-knows-where starts cutting corners? Or when those jobs that help support families here, the ones whose kids go to school with ours, just disappear?
### Why This Matters for the Sault
* **Local Jobs:** Keeping the landfill public means those jobs stay in the community, supporting our neighbours. It's about more than just a paycheck; it's about the stability of families in a city that’s already seen its share of economic shifts, especially with the changes happening at Algoma Steel.
* **Community Control:** When the city runs it, we have a say. We can hold them accountable if things go sideways. A private company? Their first loyalty is to their shareholders, not necessarily to the folks living down the street from the landfill on Fifth Line.
* **Environmental Stewardship:** This one is huge. Northern Ontario knows what it's like to have our resources exploited. Keeping control of our waste management means we can enforce our own standards, standards that are built to protect the St. Marys River and the land we all share with Garden River and Batchewana First Nations.
This decision by council really shows the heart of the Sault. We're a steel town, we're tough, but we also look out for each other. We understand that sometimes, the cheapest option isn't the best option for the long haul. It's a reminder that even in the gritty details of municipal operations, our values as a community shine through. It might not be the flashiest news, but it tells you a lot about the kind of place Sault Ste. Marie is and the kind of place we want it to be.
Marc-André Desjardins, MiTL Sports Desk, Sault Ste. Marie.
My buddies at The Morning Wire talk about things like this every single day — catch their take live at mornings.live.