Monday's discussion on the topic of Ridley Terminals came about from the last Council meeting, when the City Council requested that City staff provide a report on the current state of the proposed sale and compare it with council's thoughts on the topic when the issue last came up for discussion a few years back.
With the report read into the record by Rob Grodecki, Council was then invited to make comment on the findings of staff, which offered Councillor Thorkelson opportunity to make her case that a strongly worded letter of protest should be sent to the Federal Ministers responsible for Ridley Terminals. She also suggested that the letter should be forwarded to the provincial government and the local governments of the region.
She carried the bulk of the conversation on the topic, outlining her concerns over the potential disruption to the local economy that could come about with privatization. With the public and the City having no public oversight on developments at the Terminal.
Calling the idea of privatization to be inane, she offered up the scenario of private ownership in times of market downturns making a decision to close the terminal, with little recourse for the City to affect any decision.
Councillor Ashley joined in on the conversation, suggesting that the letter also be forwarded to the Prime Minister as well as to Skeena-Queen Charlotte Regional District.
Councillor Thorkelson also (perhaps more for dramatic effect) offered up the thought that perhaps the City should put forward a revenue sharing proposal for the Federal Government over operations at Ridley Terminals, a prospect that would seem rather unlikely with the Conservatives holding office at the moment.
You can review the report and the discussion that followed its delivery from the City Council video archive page, the Ridley Terminals question starts at the 1:34:00 mark and continues on until 1:44:00.
Cross posted from the North Coast Review
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