A Feb. 22 Saanich News article reports on the pumping of storm water into Saanich’s sewer system by a contractor working on the McKenzie interchange. This report speaks of a contractor overflowing the system and dispersing hundreds of gallons of diluted sewage to the surface.
In this report, the Ministry of Transportation says Saanich was aware of this abuse but do not allow the practise. (Saanich denies knowledge of the situation and says the practice is illegal.)
This has now happened twice that the public knows of. It was not reported at the time to the residents affected or the general public. Municipal public works employees attended the site and assisted in the cleanup. I did not read of any discipline, fine or stop work ordered, or even if Work Safe was notified. The Work Safe office in Saanich would be aware of the infraction. Saanich is squarely responsible for any use of its underground infrastructure.
If it was a Saanich public works employee who committed the same infraction as the contractor in this case, they would have been immediately held accountable and faced a dubious fact find, letter of discipline with termination implied, even if only a first infraction. A Saanich worker could be suspended and fined, with a letter on file, or potentially terminated with no progressive discipline.
Why are the standards so different for a contractor abusing Saanich infrastructure than a municipal employee? Could it be that their certificate of recognition program (OH&S) may be compromised by their employees but not by others, especially if not reported?
When I was a public works employee and working near waterways, I knew full well Saanich would hold my feet to the fire if I dropped an ounce of concrete or debris into the water. I would also have multiple agencies holding me accountable due to my job certifications (such as Work Safe BC, Safe Work Saanich, OH&S, environmentalists, Stewards of Colquitz, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, biologists, CRD, etc.).
The circle of life for Saanich is to point blame at the work. If you go online to the Work Safe site you will see that all workers at any level are obligated to report any such occurrences. Saanich (Safe Work) public works manager and the director of engineering seem to have allowed this to fly under the radar or in the cloak of night. But don’t worry, the contractor, after two reported cases, will be put on notice.
This is not about the contractor. It is not a mistake or misunderstanding. The transparency of Saanich is like brown soup, dirty opaque water.
George Ffitch
Saanich