For whom does Caplan speak?

RE: 'NEC wants assessment of new highway' (Sept. 19).

So Marvin Caplan says the mid-peninsula corridor is a done deal. Which group of Hamiltonians is he talking about when he says we don't oppose the building of another highway? His friends at our new super airport?

What is so upsetting about Caplan's comments is that he seems to believe it is the duty of an NEC commissioner to give up, give in and then tailor the unfortunate situation so that Hamilton can reap the maximum economic benefit. The purpose of the NEC is to provide for the maintenance of the Niagara Escarpment as a continuous natural environment and ensure that any development is compatible with that natural environment. Is it only a coincidence that a commission stacked by the Tories with members from the aggregate industry and real estate has given the thumbs up to the highway over the advice of its own staff? The environmental assessment process will only mitigate the damage to the escarpment, not stop it.

Caplan doesn't seem to be able to separate local politics from being an objective member of a larger decision-making body.

From the hijacking of school boards to the stacking of commissions, the Conservative government is thumbing its nose at Ontarians who really care about their future.

-- Jim Koegler, Dundas.