Puslinch councillors say a recent meeting with the Minister of the Environment about the Highway 6 improvement project was very successful.
Councillors finally met with John Gerretsen on May 27, after asking since March for a meeting to address long delays in the environmental assessment process.
“I think it was a step in the right direction,” said councillor Susan Fielding, who has lobbied the MTO for years for improvements near Morriston and was the first to request a meeting with Gerretsen.
Fielding said in an interview it seemed like Gerretsen’s staff did not keep him very well informed because the minister “shared our frustration” over the delays.
Mayor Brad Whitcombe thought it was a “great” meeting.
“He was very engaged,” Whitcombe said of Gerretsen, noting the private, informal meeting with council was one of the most refreshing and productive he has ever had with a provincial minister.
Councillors told Gerretsen they wanted to know if there were specific reasons for the delay, and if so, what they could do to help speed up the process. Whitcombe said there was no explanation for the delay, but Gerretsen did express a desire to have the environmental assessment completed as soon as possible.
Fielding said councillors were told by Jamie MacDonald, Gerretsen’s senior policy advisor, that there could be some News on the environmental assessment by the end of last week.
