Fort McMurray residents worry proposed bylaw could delay return
CBC News | Posted: June 14, 2016 3:12 PM | Last Updated: June 14, 2016
'Prove the science. I mean, how far would you have to walk on this planet until you're toxin free?'
Tom Bonner's home in Beacon Hill is undamaged, but it could be weeks before he can live in it again.
That's because his neighbourhood, along with Abasand and Waterways, hasn't been cleared by health officials.
"I was up there the last two weekends, cleaned the place up and down," Bonner said. "The few neighbours that I've talked to are of the same opinion. Why can't we move back into our homes?"
To Mayor Melissa Blake, the answer is simple.
"The homes do stand and they appear completely liveable, but we have a chief medical officer in Alberta who has said until the debris is moved, people cannot live in their homes."
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That's why Tuesday evening is so important, when Wood Buffalo councillors hold their first meeting in Fort McMurray since the city was evacuated at the beginning of May.
On the agenda is a bylaw that could give council control over when residents are allowed to return to the hardest-hit neighbourhoods, Beacon Hill, Abasand and Waterways.
Blake said council needs the bylaw to take over legal authority once the provincial state of emergency expires at the end of this month.
"If you can imagine the massive debris field with a lot of construction happening to do the cleanup, I think everything that we do is about maintaining safety for people," she said
"Ever since June 4, we've been allowing people to go into their homes from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m., to take out anything essential that they're interested in having.
"But we still have to have that placeholder that says, until that debris field is clear, we want to honor the intended order from the chief medical officer.
"For us to be able to enforce that, we need to have something in place that would allow that."
But Bonner doesn't buy the argument.
"Prove it," he said. "Prove the science. I mean, how far would you have to walk on this planet until you're toxin free? How do you measure this area?
"It was just, the sky is blue, fresh air and it's greened up beautifully," said Bonner who has mowed the lawn on his lot.
Another bylaw would give the Wood Buffalo Recovery Committee the responsibility to oversee aspects of the rebuild.
Tuesday's meeting is open to the public, and residents will be able to ask questions about items on the agenda.
The Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo council had been meeting in Edmonton during the evacuation.