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The City of St. John’s is still waiting for explicit permission from the federal government to dump its mountains of snow in the harbour.
More than 165 cm of snow has accumulated in the city throughout February, and many people in the metro region say they have nowhere left to put it.
The harbour could solve that problem, according to Mayor Danny Breen.
“It does help us clean up faster. It’s more efficient if we have access to the harbour,” Breen said Tuesday evening.
The City of St. John’s used to dump snow in the harbour freely before Ottawa banned the practice in 2019 due to environmental concerns. (CBC)
However, he said the city needs approval from the federal government to dump snow in the harbour.
St. John’s used to have that access until the federal government imposed a ban in 2019 due to environmental concerns. Special permission was given during Snowmageddon in 2020.
St. John’s East MP Joanne Thompson told CBC News in an interview Tuesday afternoon that she understands the need to dump snow in the harbour in order to clean it up quickly for public safety, but she said the decision lies with Environment and Climate Change Canada.
WATCH | MP Joanne Thompson explains harbour dumping request:
The City of St. John’s wants to dump snow in the harbour. Here’s what Ottawa has to say about that request
After multiple snowstorms, St. John’s Mayor Danny Breen wants to clear some of the mountains into St. John’s Harbour. St. John’s East MP Joanne Thompson, who is also the federal fisheries minister, explains the status of that request.
Later Tuesday evening, Thompson’s office said federal permits were not required.
“The federal government is not going to stand in the way of the city’s operations, they can and should do whatever is necessary to make sure the roads are passable,” press secretary Ira Khedkar told CBC News.
But Breen said the city does require Ottawa’s approval. He said the city was still in discussions with Thompson’s office Tuesday evening, and the number of departments involved was complicating the situation.
“It is taking a bit of time,” said Breen. “We’re going to continue those discussions this evening and hopefully tomorrow we can have this straightened out.”
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