EDMONTON: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today called on Alberta Justice Minister David Hancock and Mayor Bill Smith to negotiate a settlement to end a six-week trial. Alberta Justice is prosecuting the City of Edmonton for nine violations of provincial law, alleging that PCB-laden oil dripped from Commonwealth Stadium lights onto spectators during the 2001 World Championships in Athletics. If found guilty, the City of Edmonton could be sentenced to pay fines of up to $500,000 per offence. Any fines paid by the City of Edmonton will go into the Alberta Government's revenues.

The City of Edmonton's legal department has admitted it will spend "hundreds of thousands" of tax dollars to defend against this prosecution. Alberta Justice has not provided an estimate of how many tax dollars will be spent on the prosecution, or the cost of the judge's time and other court resources.

"Alberta taxpayers are seeing hundreds of thousands of dollars of their hard-earned money spent to stroke the egos of provincial and municipal officials who are too proud to sit down and negotiate a settlement," said CTF-Alberta director John Carpay.

"If Edmonton is short a million dollars because of fines, it will no doubt be looking to the provincial government to make up that shortfall. Dollars earned by the one-and-only taxpayer will be shuffled back and forth between two levels of government, but at great expense," added Carpay.

"As with any civil or criminal trial, nothing stops the parties from negotiating a settlement. The only thing standing in the way is pride. Edmonton's City Council and Alberta Justice Minister David Hancock should immediately instruct their officials to sit down and negotiate a settlement without wasting more tax dollars on a useless trial," concluded Carpay.

In a letter addressed to Minister Hancock and Mayor Smith, Carpay states: "There is no reason, legally or otherwise, which prevents your officials from negotiating a settlement, thereby preventing the waste of hundreds of thousands of tax dollars."