Rhino’s Ramblings - Thursday’s Garbage Meeting
By Robert Thomas OpinionCommentary
This Thursday evening at 6:30 pm at the Temple Gardens Centre the City of Moose Jaw will be holding a public meeting regarding the potential annexation of two land locations north of the city for a new solid waste facility.
There will be a public meeting for Site 7 and immediately afterwards Site 8. Questions and concerns from attendees will be dealt with. as part of the annexation process.
The present landfill has hit its capacity as allowed by the Province and its time to move elsewhere with a new site.
Predictably there is opposition out on the farms about the impact such a facility will have. Nobody wants a landfill near them including city dwellers.
A file photo of the present landfill
To help shine some light on the subject MJ Independent filed a Freedom of Information (FOI) request into the proposed landfill and what has been going on at City Hall.
The documents deal with the initial denial of a discretionary use application by the City of Moose Jaw for a landfill by the RM of Moose Jaw.
The documents Administration was following the events closely.
The City’s first attempt to construct a new landfill in the RM dealt with a land agent negotiating a land sale followed by notifying the surrounding land owners.
The City literally used the nice neighbour approach to informing the surrounding land owners about Moose Jaw’s intentions for the land. The land is now part of Site #7 that the City is considering as part of an annexation plan.
A copy of the letter is below.
Letter sent by the City to area landowners
The discretionary use application was turned down by the RM of Moose Jaw council after lobbying by RM residents.
The City first heard of the news in an article on MooseJaw Today by then city manager Maryse Carmichael.
The documents point to there was no City attendance at the RM’s vote.
The RM would later write to the City with the news asking that the relationship between the two municipalities stay cordial.
Letter from the RM of Moose Jaw informing the City about the failure of the discretionary use application
The FOI documents show the RM participated in more than one weekly TEAMS meeting about the landfill project.
A latter document from the RM to the City spelled out the RMs’ participation should not be interpreted as the RM endorsing the landfill project.
One of the major problems the City has had over the last number of years is communication. The City has had more than one communication breakdown and it appears they had one with a “neighbour”.
Called the one minute and three second voicemail the call was the subject through emails exchanged by those in Administration working on the project.
The voicemail talks about rumours and the lack of facts and upfront information from Administration provided by the large landowner just south of the proposed landfill.
The transcript of the one minute and two second voice mail that was part of the FOI documents
The voicemail was seeking facts other unsolicited opinions were in opposition and should have in my opinion the City ready for opposition to the proposed landfill no matter what site was selected.
Called Site #1 or the lands adjacent to the sewage lagoons there was opposition by city residents on the most likely garbage hauling route.
In an August 21, 2025 email from an unnamed Moose Jaw resident whose name has been redacted the proposed sewage lagoon area site is decried as spoiling the Wakamow Valley and not leaving campers happy.
The email is emotional pointing out the following argument:
“If you put a landfill there ppl won't respect this and alongside campers and families will be trucks with garbage trekking through the valley.”
Email from an unnamed South Hill resident opposing the rumoured new landfill adjacent the sewage lagoons
Other sites such as simply expanding the existing landfill - approved over a decade before - is turned down. The reasons given is the site is not far enough from residential housing and the need to meet other environmental rules.
Following the mid June 2024 denial of a discretionary use permit by the RM of Moose Jaw to construct a landfill the City has yaken a different tack.
This time it is an annexation and then expropriation strategy.
From sources within City Hall MJ Independent asked city manager Maryse Carmichael if annexation was off of the table.
She wouldn’t rule it out.
As part of the process of building a new landfill the City employed the services of a consulting firm Wallace Insights out of Saskatoon.
Yes if you’re wondering they helped out the city with the Official Community Plan and now they are into the city’s trash.
Below is an example of one of the invoices from Wallace to the City of Moose Jaw for services rendered on the proposed landfill project.
One of the invoices submitted to the City of Moose Jaw by Wallace Insights out of Saskatoon
Wallace has provided a step by step guide to annex land from the RM of Moose Jaw for a new landfill.
And that takes us to the meeting on Thursday night.
The meeting is to hear the concerns of landowners affected by the two proposed areas to annex and construct the new landfill.
Those with concerns or opposed to the annexations must appear and state their concerns.
According to the documents from Wallace insights, there will be no discussion in the conversation then.
The city only needs to hear the concerns as it is not a hearing, but just part of the process to annex the land.
Letter from Wallace Insights about the structure for Thursday’s meeting
What those concerns are and how they be articulated we’ll have to wait until Thursday evening.
It could prove to be interesting.