New dump sites signal Toronto preparing for long strike: union

TORONTO – A union official says the opening of 19 temporary dump sites in Toronto signals that the city is preparing for a long strike.

Mayor David Miller says there is some progress in negotiations and the union says it’s more optimistic about the Toronto talks than the stalled situation in Windsor, where a garbage strike hit the 10-week mark Wednesday.

But Canadian Union of Public Employees Ontario president Sid Ryan says the temporary Toronto sites, which opened at 3 p.m. today, imply the city is “digging in for a long strike.”

About 24,000 inside and outside municipal workers walked off the job in Toronto on Monday, bringing garbage pickup to a halt and shutting down city-run daycares, parks and recreation programs, swimming pools and ferry service.

A key issue is the payout for unused sick days, a concession the city says it can no longer afford.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty says people in Toronto shouldn’t assume their garbage strike will last as long as the walkout in Windsor because each situation is unique.

McGuinty says each community has its own characteristics, and it’s not fair to assume that because the Windsor strike has lasted so long that he’s also prepared to let the same thing happen in Toronto.

But he adds the strike isn’t “the end of the world,” and both sides should be allowed to come to an agreement at the bargaining table.

In Windsor, roughly 400 outdoor workers walked off the job April 15 – with another 1,400 indoor employees joining them several days later.

The key issue is retirement pay for future employees.

Talks broke down last week when the union walked away from the table, citing information leaked to the media.

Windsor member Sandra Pupatello, the minister of economic development and trade, apologized Wednesday for jokingly suggesting that people in her city seemed to be coping better with their garbage strike.

McGuinty continues to call for patience and goodwill, saying he understands people’s frustration as the garbage piles grow in sweltering heat in Toronto.

McGuinty says he’ll pay close attention to any advice he receives from medical experts in the event the exposed trash becomes a hazard.

He hasn’t specifically asked the province’s chief medical officer for an opinion, but says he’ll be on the lookout for anything Toronto’s public health officer has to say.

Dr. David McKeown, Toronto’s medical officer of health, says there’s no public-health threat at the city’s dump sites.

He says he does not believe the temporary sites, stationed at parks and arenas around the city, will create a health hazard either, but illegal dump sites pose more of a threat.

Seventy people in Toronto have been fined for illegal dumping and another 500 warnings have been issued.

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The locations of the 19 temporary garbage drop-off sites in Toronto:

-Ted Reeve Arena; northeast corner of Main St. and Gerrard St. E.

-Villiers St.; paved roadway between Saulter St. and Cherry St.

-Sunnyside Park; parking area south of Lake Shore Blvd. W., between Ellis Ave. and Colborne Lodge Dr. (must be eastbound on Lake Shore to access)

-Sir Casimir Gzowski Park; parking area south of Lake Shore Blvd. W., west of Sunnyside Park (must be eastbound on Lake Shore to access)

-Eglinton Flats (1); enter off Eglinton Ave., east of Jane St.

-Eglinton Flats (2); enter off Emmett Ave., west of Jane St.

-Etienne Brule Park; Old Mill Rd. at Catherine St., east of Humber River

-George Bell Arena; 215 Ryding Ave., south of St. Clair Ave. W., east of Runnymede Rd.

-Christie Pits; enter off Crawford St., north of Bloor