I don’t normally criticize Jan Harder much. She is one of the Ottawa City Councillors that, typically, is on the ball when it comes to what is right or wrong. And I was pleased to hear that she was cleared of issues surrounding inappropriate aid to her daughter’s campaign. Today, Susan Sherring is reporting on an upcoming trip to Spain for four city employees, including Harder.
And why are they heading to Spain? To see an operational Plasma Waste Conversion facility in Castellgali in light of the Plasco pilot program going into the Trail Rd. Waste Facility in Harder’s riding.
Now I am all for PGP or (plasma gasification processes) that convert biomass to burnable gases which are then used to create electricity, but this is an unwarranted and not necessary.
| At the end of the month, Kirkpatrick, Harder, acting deputy city manager Richard Hewitt and director of utility services Ken Brothers will go to Spain on Plasco’s dime. Plasco Energy Group, owned by Rod Bryden, has inked a contract with the City of Ottawa for a pilot plasma waste conversion project at the Trail Rd. facility The Spanish plant located in Castellgali is owned by Plasco, and operated by HERA Holdings, in which Plasco has a 40% share. The four leave on Feb. 25 and return to the nation’s capital on March 4. |
Why would four senior level city employees head off to Spain for a week to view a facility we will have a pilot program for locally? The deal for the pilot facility has already been inked? Why not just drive a few miles down the road once it is built and see how it is going?
Don’t mistake my disdain for this trip as some slight against Rob Bryden. On the contrary, I think he has been an exceptional businessman in the city and built up some of the most interesting, socially responsible organizations. But I do question public servants, (and that’s just what these four nation hoppers are) with inappropriately accepting gifts/donations which they cannot reciprocate. This is the rule for our City employees.
Now, the only ways this trip could be done would be to say either 1) yes we can reciprocate, which puts us on the hook for carting four businessmen around the world, or 2) having the city pay it’s own expenses, which defeats the purpose and was already discounted as a reasonable expenditure above.