Coalition for a Nuclear Free Peel

"Beating Goliath"
Brampton Guardian
Friday September 22, 2006
Editorial

It was, in the words of one worker near Mississauga Metals & Alloys, a David and
Goliath battle. On one side, big business and a dispassionate federal regulatory agency,
on the other, a retired school teacher, some senior citizens, and a variety of other
Bramptonians.

The "little guys" banded together after seeing a small notice in The Guardian asking for
public input on a plan to build an incinerator for low-level contaminated nuclear waste
right in the middle of the city. They formed PARC (People Against Radioactive
Contamination) and set about trying to stop what they believed was an ill-conceived plan
that could pose a potential hazard to the city.
Their fight seemed futile. MM&A had been operating for years, the company was going
through the appropriate processes, and there didn't seem to be much standing in their
way.

Yes, local politicians got behind the cause. Mayor Susan Fennell, area councillors
Garnett Manning and John Sprovieri, and the rest of council, the local MPs supported the
group, including Gurbax Malhi who arranged a meeting in Ottawa for PARC to present
their case to the minister. However, the residents earned that political participation.
It was the organized, intelligent, carefully thought-out approach PARC took-- just 30
members in the core group who held strategy meetings every Wednesday night for the
past 14 months-- that really made the difference. They rallied more than 600 to write
letters to the CNSC, and they garnered support from thousands of residents from all
corner of the city.

They were relentless, but for the most part, they refrained from making alarmist
statements that weren't backed up by research and expert opinions. There are many sides
to a story, and PARC made sure their side was heard.
They did what they set out to do-- stop the incinerator-- and it is a prime example of what
individuals can accomplish when they work together and believe in what they are doing.