Archive for March, 2009
Update on the Green Energy Act, Toronto Hydro's Antics and the Great Work Happening on the Ground in Guildwood
Citizen’s Voices Will Be Heard But Will Smitherman Listen
It worked! There will be public committee hearings on the Green Energy Act. Residents from across our province sent emails to the opposition House Leaders telling them to force the Standing Committee on General Government to go out into the Province and listen to the real voices of citizens, and not just the paid voices of the wind lobby.
Setting the committee agenda is about the only place in the legislative process where the opposition has a majority. Folks from across Ontario called on the opposition to refuse to make deals with the government that would shut down our voices. Once again, both the NDP and PC caucuses stood up for residents of our province in the face of the ‘bought and paid for’ advice, the wind industry has provided the Liberal government through massive amounts of donations and their paid lobbyists.
As residents we now must take advantage of this opportunity, and head out to the hearings, send in submissions and tell the government ‘residents’ won’t lay down’. It’s clear Smitherman and his staff prefer listening to donors and lobbyists over the people of Ontario, and they will be out in full force trying to keep straight faces as they praise a bill they all but wrote. We need to join them and shame their lack of concern for the environment or democracy. Just like the oil industry, these folks are out to make a buck – regardless of the damage they do.
Toronto Hydro’s Latest Trick
Toronto Hydro Energy Services is without a doubt the most disgusting example of sleazy decision making I’ve ever witnessed. Joyce McLean and Jack Simpson have run such a totally dishonest process both they and Chris Tyrrell should be fired. McLean and Simpson have abused the public trust through absolutely unethical tactics, allowing the ‘affected public’ to be abused by their allies who receive funding from the same folks who fund their research. Chris Tyrrell has demonstrated he doesn’t have the guts to stand up to the bizarre, twisted and irresponsible actions of these employees of his – so he too must go.
For her latest stunt, Joyce McLean has decided to submit an application, she must know does not meet the requirements for the Class B Environmental Assessment, to the Ministry of Natural Resources in the hopes of receiving the permit to go ahead with the Anemometer before the Green Energy Act is through committee. Anywhere else submitting a factually inaccurate paperwork would be legally frowned – but at Toronto Hydro it’s just another day’s work.
We will prove they have not completed the steps in the Class B environmental assessment and we expect the Ministry of Natural Resources to stand up to Toronto Hydro and tell them they need to follow the law like everyone else and also run a fair, open, legal process. Guildwood is ready for a fight and is not going away. Should MNR accept the application, I promise to make the bureaucrat, who we’ve begun sending evidence to via registered mail, famous. You will know his name, where he works, and what we showed him prior to the decision being made.
Guildwood Takes Action
I had an amazing day delivering flyers to Guildwood residents, informing them about our community meeting. With a lack of political representation, Cabinet Minister’s attacking our community and Toronto Hydro lying their way through the process – we are standing up. I am thrilled to be working with dozens of volunteers who have been speaking to their neighbours about what is at stake here and educating each other.
Many are looking forward to a meeting where they can come with questions, collect information and answers and do so without a restrictive process, abusive paid eco-bullies like the ones the Toronto Environmental Alliance bussed to our last meeting.
Although it is horrible to see a community railroaded and treated this way, Guildwood residents are working together to demonstrate the real strength behind democratic ideals that is alive and well in our community. It is heartening to see so many residents out of necessity getting involved in the political process, to stand up for their rights where those who have been elected to do so have failed to.
6 Comments »Guildwood Residents Fight Back – Plan Their Own Community Meeting to Share Information Hydro Refuses To
Guildwood residents are sick and tired of the treatment they have been receiving from Queen’s Park and the folks at Toronto Hydro Energy Services. The amount of bogus statements coming out of each organization warrants residents taking matters into their own hands and organizing an informative, open, meeting where folks with questions can come to find answers. Members of the community who have spent months researching this to help make an informed decision, can now share their concerns with folks who will be more apt to listen.
Not a single politician will cross a stage, no paid activists will be able to shout residents down and Joyce McLean and her friends at Hydro will not be given the opportunity to lie to residents or deny them the very basic information they have been seeking out.
The lesson here is, if you try to stifle debate and deny your opponents an equal footing – they will get louder, stronger and work outside the system for the change they seek. Bill 150 denies us our democratic rights, but the Constitution of this great country protects freedom of assembly and expression. Not even Dalton McGuinty and his paternalistic approach to complex government policy or George Smitherman’s bully tactics can take that away. The government has decided to listen to the wind companies that donate tens of thousands annually to the Ontario Liberal Party, their lobbyists and interest groups, and opted to deny us our right to participate. We’ve taken note, and if the Green Energy Act passes as is, I promise that folks like us will most certainly deny some current and prospective Liberal MPPs the privilege of participating in debate at Queen’s Park. Unlike moneyed interests, it is the citizens this bill steamrolls that have that enjoy Suffrage, and we intend to use it if necessary.
I’d like to invite all Scarborough Bluffs residents the opportunity to join us at our informal session on March 29th 2009. The details are below.
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
Community Round Table on Wind Turbines
Sunday, March 29 from 1-3 p.m.
Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute
145 Guildwood Parkway
A group of volunteers will provide information collected from doctors, engineers and other experts to give people a better understanding about wind energy and the issues surrounding the controversial proposal to erect an industrial wind generation development near the Scarborough Bluffs.
The public is invited to learn more and ask questions on topics relating to wind turbines. Information will be available about:
- Health Issues
- The Economics & Engineering Behind Wind Energy
- Ontario’s Proposed Green Energy Act
- The Local Wind Study (Anemometer) Proposal and Existing Wind Information
- How Turbines Affect Wildlife and Ecology
- Wind Turbine Experiences – Living Near a Wind Farm
- Alternative Renewable Energy Sources
This is an informal, drop-in event organized by concerned citizens and the Save the Toronto Bluffs Association.
More details at www.savethetorontobluffs.com
No Comments »The Toronto Sun Knows How To Have Fun – Impeach Miller Petition Hits 1401 signatures
I received an email that included a link to a petition to impeach David Miller (before you pull out the City of Toronto Act or the Municipal Elections Act – there is no re-call provision) that the Mayor himself apparently attempted to be-little in Council for having just 24 signatures. While I could not find Miller’s comment on it specifically and can’t verify that part to be accurate at this point, I did find a Toronto Sun article on the petition. The Toronto Sun very cleverly used the issue of a 24 signature petition to get some shots in on the Mayor – something the Toronto Sun has made a hobby of in many ways. In doing so, they garnered attention for the petition, and since writing about it on March 10th (when it had 24 signatures) by March 12th at press time it had 785 signatures. At 11:45pm on March 17th it had 1401 signatures on the nose.
When it was a 24 person effort the Mayor’s Deputy Communications Director “described the online petition and other similar groups on Facebook as an example of democracy at work.” Online petition calls for mayor’s ouster – Toronto Sun, March 10th 2009 I honestly wonder what the Mayor’s office thinks about a petition with 1401 signatures and at what point an online petition like this has the potential to impact the Mayor’s political agenda and questions like will he run in 2010.
Take a look at the wording of the petition, and click on the link to view the comments folks have been leaving when they sign.
“To: Mayor David Miller & Toronto City Council
It is time to leave office as Mayor; your services are no longer required.
The people of Toronto are taking a stand to Mayor David Miller’s endless abuse of OUR hard earned money. Giving the city of Toronto employees a 2% raise increase during a global recession is absurd! Raising property taxes and your reckless spending will no longer be tolerated.
It’s time that Mayor David Miller and his gang of thieves are thrown out of office. Mayor David Miller and the Toronto City council are out of touch with our community and our city.
We are Torontonians who love our city. We will ensure that a responsible leader is put in office, one who is in touch with our city, our province, and our country.
Impeach Mayor David Miller from office now!
Sincerely,
The link to the petition itself is here: IMPEACH TORONTO MAYOR DAVID MILLER NOW!
My primary interest in this effort is watching the relationship between online activism and new media evolve with traditional political structures and traditional media. It’s a really dry topic if you’re not into that stuff, but if you are like me, stuff like this is fascinating.
In many ways something like this can be easily dismissed (as many opposition groups are by government) because the powers that be will look at something like this and say “It’s 1400 people. The Mayor had 333 000 votes in the last election.” I guess for me though, when you consider how few people sign petitions, I begin to wonder if the signatures of 1400 possibly represent the making of a political force, something that could become a legitimate problem by November 2010.
To the Mayor’s credit though, he has more friends on Twitter than this petition has signatures.
One thing is for sure, the impact social networking tools and the internet will continue to have on politics moving forward is immense. I suspect especially at the operation level of campaigns, online tools are going to continue to have a major influence on how we do our politics. For me at least, the use of the internet as a political tool is a very neat thing to watch unfold. In many ways, I think this petition demonstrates how much less control our politicians have over the system compared to the pre-internet days.
Just imagine for a moment what happens if each of these 1400 people (whose email address the petition administrator is likely storing) makes 100 phone calls during the 2010 election, donates 100 bucks or drops 100 flyers. No one can say they will, or that they will be coordinated in any political effort, but the potential is there, and sure is interesting to watch.
Comments have been turned off after this post became the target for pornographic and pharmaceutical spam. Should you wish to comment – email me at john.laforet@laforet.ca and I will manually post it.
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