Almost a year ago we requested the demolition permits that the city granted to Bayshore at the former GM site on Ontario St. Something obviously went horribly wrong in the demolition, and we want to know what it was. How is it that the citizens of St Catharines have come to be left with this unsightly toxic burden. The demolition of that site has only made the toxic conditions worse because the process was not done correctly, we need to see how we got into this mess.

Under provincial law we have a right to see those documents and the city is not compelled to charge any fee for citizens to see them. There are specific clauses that encourage them not to charge a fee for documents that pertain to public health and safety. Regardless, the city wants us to pay $1120 if we want to see the documents involved with the demolition permits. We don't have that money, but we feel it's vitally important to see the documents.

The former GM site represents a danger to all of us. The debris piles have not been tested for toxins like asbestos or silica which can easily become airborne and cause cancer, and as far as we can determine there have been no on-site inspections of anything since the demolition worked stopped 3 years ago.

Help us raise the $1120 we need, and consider letting your elected representative know your opinion on charging $1120 for the public to see documents that belong to all of us.

When we receive the documents we will post them on our website for everyone to examine.