On November 13^th 2009 you wrote a mass email to residents of Ward 43 in which you stated:

“Unfortunately the Province did approve the testing process which will be done via an anemometer for a two year duration. I will be doing everything I can as your City of Toronto Councillor to ensure we receive regular updates on the data being collected by Toronto Hydro. This project is a huge waste of the hard earned money we provide to Toronto Hydro through our tax dollars!”

Where have you been for the last fifteen months while residents have been working tirelessly to oppose this project?

Guildwood has had virtually no representation from you on this issue at City Hall or, for that matter, even in the press. You’ve failed to engage the community or take any meaningful action. What’s more, on a number of occasions you’ve hurt the cause of residents who oppose the turbines.

In 2006, while you were on Council, Toronto City Council approved funding ($100 000) to test offshore wind speeds in order to develop a wind farm. As a member of Council and a Budget Committee member you should have both known about this, and alerted residents to the possibility of a project in the lake. That same year the Toronto Atmospheric Fund, which you were a member of, also approved funding for this research ($150 000). All told this issue was put before two boards and twice before Council, giving you four opportunities to know what was happening and at the very least tell people about it two years in advance.

Instead, you chose inaction and in August 2008 residents found out about the proposal through an advertisement in a newspaper. At that point, a Guildwood resident contacted you seeking your help in order to organize a meeting about this. You chose to ignore that request for nearly two months, and a month after the comment period had closed. Even then, and until now, you have failed to hold a single public meeting on this issue to listen to residents.

With no consultation from residents fighting the proposed turbines, you drafted a motion that not only failed to win the support of Scarborough Councillors, but also made residents appear ‘NIMBY’ because you cited ‘visual impacts’ and ‘beauty’ as the reasons for reconsidering the project. Anyone involved in politics knows that you don’t introduce a motion of this importance until you’re certain you have the votes to pass it, because failing to pass it demonstrates support for Toronto Hydro among a voting majority of Scarborough Councillors.

In November 2008 you asked Toronto Hydro publicly to commit to building no more than sixty turbines off the Scarborough Bluffs. That position is not supported by anyone I’ve spoken to in Guildwood, and what’s worse, even when you were asking them to commit to build 100% of what they wanted and no more, they still refused. It takes a special kind of negotiator to fail to get someone to agree to take 100% of what they want.

By January 2009 you decided not to speak at the community meeting and instead sat silent. Similarly, you were silent when Guildwood residents came under fire from the Premier and Deputy Premier who were vowing to take our rights away, name calling and essentially using the arguments from you used in your motion to label us ‘NIMBY’.

While members of Save the Toronto Bluffs and I were publicly defending the community, you were introducing a motion with Councillor Stintz to help have the City of Toronto help implement the Green Energy Act – a bill that was stripping Toronto of planning control over renewable energy, and residents of their right to participate in decision making.

You have not participated in any of the elevation requests to try to ensure no environmental damage will be done by the anemometer installation. You have failed to use your position on the Toronto Region Conservation Authority to try to protect the lake from this project, or your role on the Atmospheric Fund, the Budget Committee or City Council to do anything to stop this.

Based on your media exposure since January 2009, your failed attempt to take over the Toronto Zoo Board, and subsequent battling over Zoo Board matters, it appears that the Zoo is more important to you than Ward 43 residents.

Your comments that opposition to Toronto Hydro’s project represents a minority opinion in the community, or that George Smitherman calling residents ‘absurd’, and saying residents have worked themselves into an ‘artificial lather’ were both funny and amusing to you, are not the least bit helpful to the cause of residents opposing this project.

You consistently fail to recognize that Toronto Hydro is owned by the City of Toronto and at any time the City could prevent this project from going forward. Yes the province did approve it, but you have had at least a dozen options to kill the project at the City level and time and time again failed to even try. Even if you don’t like it – this is a live municipal issue.

I believe that this is the single largest issue Guildwood residents have ever faced. Being represented by a Councillor who doesn’t live in the Ward or have an interest in local issues is proving to be extremely detrimental to the community.

It is for this reason that any sentence you start with ‘I will be doing everything I can as your City of Toronto Councillor’ must be met with a grain of salt by residents who have seen how unable you’ve proven to be to at handling tasks as simple as writing a letter of support or planning a community meeting.

Waiting until it’s too late to try and look like you’re doing something is very disingenuous and, as someone who has had to get involved to the degree that I have to try to make up for your lack of support or representation for Guildwood residents, I feel the need to make sure that others are aware that your record and your words don’t jive.

I would be pleased to speak to you about real action a City Councillor could take if they were serious about stopping this project, but I have to say, your record would suggest you aren’t.

Sincerely,

John Laforet

He’s even allowed to cite ‘landscape’ – read aesthetics in opposing this plan and gets away with saying, he thinks its a great idea to build nuclear plants, so long as Sudbury does not have to deal with spent nuclear fuel. What a totally ridiculous proposition. Meanwhile in Scarborough there isn’t enough wind to create energy, and yet we’re still expected to live with the health and environmental impacts without proper review and tolerate a law breaking, totally ignorant proponent that doesn’t have a clue what it’s doing. 

The opposition of Guildwood residents to Toronto Hydro’s breaches of law, and total disregard for health and environmental impacts saw us insulted by the Premier and his Deputy and a law passed with a clause the Premier said was designed to block communities like mine from participating in democratic decision making.

What’s more – that Nuclear power Bartolucci so willingly supports being built on the shores of Lake Ontario – hundreds of miles from his precious home, kilometres from mine, and with legitimate impacts on the Lake my community lives on, and receives its drinking water from. Could anyone be a more irresponsible in pushing public policy than this? 

Liberal friends in Scarborough Guildwood, including those very close to Minister Best – who was publicly silent on our community’s behalf and failed to even attempt to publicly represent our views – tried to convince me that she couldn’t because she was in Cabinet and didn’t have the ability to speak out against the government. I said I thought she could, and offered to help her and her office develop the messaging that would allow her to stand between government and community to see our issues heard publicly, without getting her thrown out of Cabinet. They didn’t disagree, they just never took me up on it. Liberals were afraid big bad George would get her if she did.

Smitherman has come out in defense of Bartolucci’s blatant NIMBYism – even though Smitherman doesn’t believe Bartolucci has valid points. 

‘Energy Minister George Smitherman said he doesn’t share Bartolucci’s reservations, but defended the comments, saying his colleague “is allowed to be a local MPP” as well as a cabinet minister.‘ Critics question Liberal’s energy plan – CTV May 26 2009

It was made quite clear to me that under this Liberal government Scarborough Guildwood is not entitled to a local MPP who also serves as a Cabinet Minister. My Liberal friends in Scarborough Guildwood can continue to get upset when I raise this point privately, and now very publicly in the face of total hypocrisy, but voters don’t care of their MPP gets a car with a driver, a bigger staff and more money – they want a voice and if the incumbent won’t provide it, elections will change who that representative is, and the perks of Cabinet will be lost anyways.   

If the opposition parties get candidate selection and fundraising right, this will be the case in Scarborough Guildwood – and George Smitherman’s ‘playing to the crowd’ approach to public speaking will continue to serve up gems to seal the fate of those who cowered when it came time to vote for or against the Green Energy Act, a vote Margarett Best, Lorezno Berardinetti and Wayne Arthurs – spent hiding in the hall so they didn’t have to go on record either way.

I’ll never understand how it feels to hop into bed with folks whose ethical backbone is so weak they are OK knowingly killing family pets because it would be inconvienant to solve the crux of the problem, and so ignorant of their own equipment they assure parents children are safe – a couple days before electrucuting a dozen small children. Ladies and Gentleman this is the corporate mentality at Toronto Hydro Energy Services (THES Legal Department – again feel free to fact check and request any inaccuracies be corrected. Naturally we know these things are provable… so same deal as before? you read, you fume, and don’t reply?) vampire Personally, I couldn’t do it literally or figuratively – yet I know quite well there are folks in Dalton McGuinty’s government who are quite comfortable with this, including George Smitherman, Toronto Hydro’s prime defender and ‘knee capper’ (George, your swipes at mine didn’t take). 

Toronto Hydro’s illegal application, lies and attempt at scientific review that would probably not meet the rigor of a primary school science fair is now under review of the Ontario Minister of Environment and the officials at the Ministry of Natural Resources. They have the opportunity to end it here and force Toronto Hydro to do a real review and recognize they are going to cause significant environmental damage and regardless of how dense Joyce McLean and Jack Simpson are – something will have to be done to address it. 

I’ll start making bets that come 2011 – Toronto Hydro Energy Services will be no closer to putting turbines in the Lake off the Scarborough Bluffs, and the three swing ridings that are currently in envy of the people of Sudbury’s representation, will be changing hands, proving that bad public policy is also bad politics. Hey if George Smitherman can just keep talking, he’ll practically write the flyers for opposition parties.

What was interesting to see however was who didn’t vote for this odious piece of legislation. Premier McGuinty wasn’t present to vote for his anti democratic, anti environment bill. MPPs Best (Scarborough Guildwood), Berardinetti (Scarborough Southwest), or Arthurs (Pickering Scarborough East) all had a case of the ‘legislative flu’ that saw them unable to attend. I have said very clearly before that the passage of this bill would almost certainly cost Margarett Best her seat in Scarborough Guildwood and could well cost Berardinetti and Athurs their Scarborough waterfront seats as well. If they think ducking is the same as standing up for their communities, they are sadly mistaken and I’m sure the opposition parties and voters will not let them off that easy for siding with their Party Leader and Deputy Leader’s attacks on our community. 

I left the Ontario Liberal Party over the Premier and Deputy Premier’s name calling, you figure they could have at least come out publicly to correct the distorted view of Scarborough residents. 

On the topic of distortion – Joyce McLean and Jack Simpson got a bit of a surprise last week as did Mark Patterson of the Ministry of Natural Resources who happens to be the bureaucrat who in his professional opinion found nothing wrong with a Project Evaluation Report that contained well over three hundred violations of law. He still approved it. You see Patterson and his friends at the Ministry of Natural Resources lost their ‘no’ stamps after getting so used to approving whatever industry sent their way. 

Approving this illegal application that contained more than three hundred violations of law was a mistake (To Toronto Hydro Energy Services – if this claim is untrue, please have someone in your legal department email me immediately and I will correct this. Naturally we both know it is a provable fact your Project Evaluation Report did in fact contain well over three hundred violations of law, so I don’t expect to hear from you on this.)

As could be expected Scarborough Bluffs residents pushed back and schooled Joyce McLean and Jack Simpson on their complete and utter ignorance of the environment and the legitimate risks they are blindly proposing for the platform they had hoped to construct. Their lack of knowledge or use of science is astounding. They think having a diver go into the water on a single day for a few minutes and look for fish is scientifically rigorous. That is the extent of their evaluation of habitat issues. No samples taken, no consideration for the proximately to wetlands or the impact of their artificial structure to form a reef for invasive species that are known to destroy habitat. No studies of the sediment they intend to stir up. No attempt to understand anything. 

Joyce McLean and Jack Simpson both lied repeatedly to members of the community about a number of the aspects of the project. Their report misleads the Province into believing they did things we can and will prove they did not, and frankly if they don’t walk away from this project, I would be surprised if either of them is able to stay employed with Toronto Hydro Energy Services. (Guys, same thing goes, if untrue, will gladly correct on advice of your legal department)

We’ve asked the Ministry of Environment to allow for a real environmental review, one that actually looks at impacts on the environment and not a report was based on one person’s morning ‘snorkel’. 

Normally the Ministry of Environment ignores those requests. But normally Project developers have IQ’s higher than Lake Ontario’s water temperature (Lake is approximately 42 F today). Normally project developers have experience developing projects like this. Neither can be said for Toronto Hydro Energy Services. We will take this fight as far as we can, we will stop at nothing that is within our legal rights to halt this process.

Joyce Mclean and Jack Simpson – you’re on notice from Scarborough Residents that we will fight you to the end and not let you get away with your illegal application, your lies, phony science, twisted facts and abuse of the good people of Scarborough. 

It started in Guildwood when Toronto Hydro Energy Services allowed folks who rely on grants to stay alive (and receive them from folks with a clear bias in favour of Toronto Hydro) to stack the meeting on a Class B Environmental Assessment and deny residents their right to participate. It turned a serious process into a circus and turned community concern into community action.

Franz Hartmann – the Executive Director of the Toronto Environmental Alliance was front and centre as were a number of other folks who know so little about Scarborough they couldn’t even read a bus schedule to see that their school buses were unnecessary as the TTC does exactly the same route they chose to take. He still defends his actions, even if Toronto Hydro recognizes how inappropriate it was. Hartmann made himself and his supporters the butt of many jokes about how little one can know about Scarborough while trying to get in the middle of an issue on the ground. 

Toronto Hydro, their allies and hangers on have been totally dishonest in their representation of the merits of the project, it’s impacts and the sad thing is each of these organizations and people behind it survive on public money that they are using to attack members of the public. 

I’ve lost a lot of respect for a number of organizations throughout this process. 

Toronto Hydro is one organization I will always look at with mistrust due to the completely irresponsible and illegal approach they’ve taken so far, as a means to push this project forward. 

The City of Toronto as defined as Toronto City Council is one that I will have great difficulty believing has the best interests of Scarborough at heart, considering it is they who are pretending not to see what Toronto Hydro is doing to this section of the City. 

The Ontario Liberal Party – a party I’ve been involved in for years, but appears more interested in who donates than what is best for the Province and it’s people. 

The Toronto Environmental Alliance and the David Suzuki Foundation each had a moral obligation to stand up and protect our great lakes, defend the Scarborough Bluffs – one of Lake Ontario’s most defining geological features against the unknown, and unstudied risks of a possible wind farm. Instead they listened to their biased financial contributors (some of whom also are funding the project TEA is supporting), and who have a financial interest in proceeding without the protect studies and tests. For it’s part the Toronto Environmental Alliance tried to silence those of us who were forced to make a very difficult decision and oppose a renewable energy protect. 

The Premier – Dalton McGuinty. Someone I will not be able to vote for in 2011. Simply put, he trashed my community, and is sitting back and ignoring our concerns while those who are in favour of what is about to happen fill his re-election coffers. 

The Deputy Premier – George Smitherman. Simply a disgrace to this province. How anyone can listen to anything he has to say and take it seriously is beyond me. He damages the view of government each time he opens his mouth. I used to think he could be a neat mayor. 

Local Elected Officials. Both provincial and municipal representatives have a responsibility here. Neither have used even a fraction of the tools in their toolbox to help. Both have window dressed instead. As someone who has been involved in politics, I know how it works. I know what the limits are and neither Paul Ainslie or Margarett Best have done anywhere near what they could, if they chose to. 

We’re still greener than any other part of Toronto. We have the highest rate of waste diversion, we’ve protected more parkland per capita than anywhere else and our former City’s symbols, whether the Civic Centre, the Flag or even our name are based on that amazing, awe inspiring 14 kilometre stretch of shoreline that is so unique on this lake. 

Like Elizabeth Simcoe, the wife of Upper Canada’s first Lt. Governor, many of us have loved the bluffs since our first sighting of them. We will defend them, as countless generations going back to Canada’s first people’s who lived in their watershed and along their cliffs have dating back 8000 years. I wrote about Elizabeth Simcoe and Sir John Graves Simcoe in August. Here is the link to that. Scarborough Mirror: Scarborough has special connection to Simcoe Day

Scarborough residents have allowed a lot of NIMBY politics downtown see us host aspects of infrastructure that others didn’t want. We did so quietly and with the glass half full approach. But this is something many of us simply cannot stomach. Allowing someone to do untold damage to the Bluffs, the very core of Scarborough’s identity as a city is simply intolerable. 

Toronto Hydro must know there could be a devastating impact on the fish habitat the Toronto Region Conservation Authority started rebuilding under the old City of Scarborough. They must know there could be severe impacts on shoreline erosion and the Bluffs, on the birds and bats that live and migrate through the area. They must know there could be real health concerns for fish, humans and anyone else that interacts with the lake.

Why do I say this? Because something has them so scared they refuse to do a full environmental assessment to discredit me and the thousands of other Scarborough residents who are digging in and fighting what is quickly becoming an epic battle to protect our lake, and generations of nature conservation from the irresponsible destruction that comes when a few downtown politicians and some irresponsible executives get together and decide to do something this stupid. 

We’re standing up, we’re standing strong and getting stronger as we await the next number of battles with Toronto Hydro Energy Services and anyone else who is so mindless to think there are not consequences from something like this. 

I have never been more proud to be from Scarborough or Guildwood as I am now. Standing up with residents of my community and standing strong against moneyed interests who frankly don’t care what happens to us, is something anyone involved can and should be proud of. 

One thing is for sure, with two elections in the next two years or so, folks who support this idea can also expect some electoral consequences as well.  

I am waiting to get my hands on a final copy of the amended Green Energy Act that made it out of committee and was reported back by said committee in near record time. Imagine this, the day after the amendments were agreed to the Committee report and amended bill were ready for introduction for third reading? 

Why? Because McGuinty and co. had no interest in listening to anything the opposition was going to say and therefore was able to write the report before the debate was had due to their majority. It’s the height of arrogance, but one thing these guys seem to OK with. 

Toronto Hydro Energy Services is currently being dragged over the coals for their attempt to install an anemometer in Lake Ontario. They’ve done a horrible job so far at following relevant legislation and seem not to be remotely worried about any of the detrimental environmental or geological realities of their plan. 

The Green Energy Act strips all kinds of rights for citizens, and the environment. It allows the Government to take sleazy developers by the hand and help them through the stripped down regulations for ‘renewable energy projects’.

An anemometer isn’t a renewable energy project. It tests the wind (and is partially powered by solar because Jack Simpson made it clear three turbines on the water wouldn’t be able to power something smaller than a fridge without the help of solar, for the purpose of testing and transmitting double top secret data. The fact that he can recognize this and still see merit to test the wind is in itself suspect, but so is everything else he and his team have done on this process so far). 

The Green Energy Act amendments seem prepared to fix the classification of anemometers so folks like Simpson and McLean can try to ram them through as well without any oversight, citizen involvement or environmental protection. 

Straight from Laurel Broten – Smitherman’s friendly Parliamentary Assistant:

“renewable energy testing project” is one of a series of amendments that will ensure that testing facilities are subject to the same approvals processes as the facilities themselves. This addresses an issue raised at committee.

By ‘same approvals processes as the facilities themselves’ she must be referring to that little ‘information hiccup’ she had in the House when the bill was introduced.

“Most significantly, green energy projects would no longer be subject to the requirements under the Planning Act or, in most cases, the Environmental Assessment Act.” Laurel Broten, addressing the Legislative Assembly (for reference click this link to Hansard and look between 15:50 and 16:00)

Laforet.ca was quick to report it (Green Energy Act Proposes Major Setback for Environmental Movement)

Peter Epp and the good people at http://www.chathamthisweek.com followed suit, quoting laforet.ca in ‘It’s David versus the Jolly Green Goliath’ 

My response to this development is simple. If George Smitherman is trying to stack the deck by legislating away our rights to citizen participation and environmental protection – he will fail because he hasn’t gone far enough to absolutely block the other rights citizens have, all he promises is civility is impossible. If Smitherman is purposely trying to turn every renewable energy project into a massive fight with a legal element, and is trying to set this industry up for vilification and legal positions that will have lawyers on both sides shaking their heads – he is succeeding. 

This bill is so twisted and lopsided no one in the Wind Industry or Government can reasonably expect residents to throw up their hands and walk away. They’ve hit us too hard with this abusive bill to not expect us to dig in. In a bizarre way, ridiculous legislation like this is what propels some of the strongest political activism in society and causes individuals to really understand the issues and rights that surround them. 

I have run for public office, been a Liberal party riding president, worked at Queen’s Park and have been involved in countless campaigns, but I have never been this involved in my community or politics, and for that I am thankful to Joyce McLean, Jack Simpson, Chris Tyrrell, George Smitherman and Dalton McGuinty. I have seen dozens of other Guildwood residents who can thank their involvement to the three amigos at THES and the two clowns at QP as well. 

Scarborough residents will defeat Toronto Hydro’s proposal. Not a single turbine will be built by these guys, off Scarborough’s shores in our lake, and frankly the longer they keep up the fight, the more damage the individuals and the corporation behind this process will receive. – That is my promise. We will continue to grow, branch out and offer support to others who are in the same situation.

It will be a good day if the only thing damaged by the end of this are a few sleazy politicians, ethicless, conscienceless, irresponsible project managers and a company that should get back to delivering electricity (a business they sort of know) and staying out of areas so far above their head and one where they have tried and failed miserably in past. 

They think by moving the Anemometer east of Guildwood – residents will go away. This is a highly cynical ploy by Toronto Hydro and part of a totally bogus process. 

We’re not going anywhere, we’ll get louder than ever and are growing with everyday. 

These folks are so ignorant to the what they’re doing that they’ve built holes big enough to run the massive barges it would take to construct turbines though. The errors and omissions are epic and demonstration these clowns behind the project haven’t got a clue what they are doing. 

Now – we have 29 days to read through over 900 pages of their project evaluation and respond. And respond we will. 

It will mean however I will once again be ducking under the radar for a couple of days to get through all of this. 

See you Monday!

I need to start by saying it was not lost on me that the individual who prepared this report has ‘BS’ as his initials. While his name may not be Bull Shit – the report and process to date certainly have been and it would be a fitting name for Blair Shoniker’s (Environmental Planner at AECOM) version of fact contained in the Illegal Project Evaluation Report.

Public ‘Consultation’ begins again… Toronto Hydro style of course. You know how that goes by now, they lie, we get furious and respond with facts, our local politicians try to look busy doing other stuff and the bought and paid for Liberal government at Queen’s Park rubber stamps whatever crosses their desk, from an industry that has chowed on more rubber chicken at political dinners than anyone should have to tolerate. 

Guildwood residents, myself included, were hopeful that our Provincial ‘representative’ would rise to the occasion and stand up for our community. I went to great lengths to try to work with her and her office to make that happen and in the end, it appears she sat back and stuck to the party line – the one the wind industry bought with it’s tens of thousands of dollars in kick backs to the Ontario Liberal Party. I say kick back because when someone receives a public subsidy and then turns around and donates the legal maximum to the political party that the Minister who made the decision represents – it is for all intents and purposes a kick back and an attempt at influence peddling. 

Guildwood residents will not lay down. We’re in this fight and are continuing to find new support within the community as residents wake up to the rank process THES has led. Expect hundreds of residents to be pouring over the documents made available as part of this process for the next couple of days with more to come once it has been digested.

If you’re anyone who is remotely interested in this process, and would like any assistance at all in writing the Ministry to condemn this sham process and help us force a proper environmental review – contact me. john.laforet@laforet.ca is the best way of doing that. Unlike Joyce Mclean, David O’Brien, Chris Tyrrell or Jack Simpson at Toronto Hydro – I do actually answer my emails. 

I’m including links to the documents:

Toronto Hydro Energy Services Illegal Application – Project Evaluation Report

Toronto Hydro Energy Services Illegal Application Appendices 

What a remarkable display of democracy in action. Residents came together to talk about an issue important to their community, share knowledge, concerns and solutions to what has become a serious problem. Our elected officials may not listen, Toronto Hydro may continue to ignore it’s legal obligations and the Government of Ontario may be fixing to limit our right to participate in decision making – as Ontarians have been allowed to for generations, but Guildwood residents are holding strong.

The cafeteria at the local high school was turned into a meeting place where residents could drop in, go to different stations and talk to others who’d been researching specific issues for some time. What was most interesting was to see the number of residents who came out to talk to members of Save the Toronto Bluffs, and then speak with each other in the middle of the room to evaluate the information they had received and to share their concerns with others. It turned into an excellent opportunity for neighbours to see friends they may not have seen during all the snow, to talk about our community, to connect with others, but most of all – to strengthen their resolve to keep fighting this proposal.

I was thrilled to meet so many of the people I’ve been emailing back and forth with, and have the opportunity to share some of the more candid tales of this whole process, including commentary of how the actions of our opponents both created and fed a movement that would have otherwise been difficult to get off the ground.

It was a great event, one that saw everyone treated with respect, honest words spoken, and a robust conversation had. Even for a community with such vast variety of concerns what became clear is that engaging in dialogue is the only way issues like this can be understood and addressed.

And finally – on a more personal note, I was thankful to see so many members of the Guildwood community I’ve grown up knowing, meeting the individuals who’ve written me and shared their stories, concerns and kind words. Meetings like this are great for reminding those who devote their time to causes, what the stakes really are, and who it really impacts. I will take the positive energy from Sunday’s meeting and use it as my personal ‘renewable energy source’ to keep up my efforts, along with the thousands of Guildwood residents whose position I share, and together we will stop Toronto Hydro and can only hope Minister Smitherman recognizes how wrong this project was from the start.

The Ministry of Natural Resources now holds all the information they need to decline Toronto Hydro’s application. It was clear to everyone it failed to meet the legal requirements for such an application, but as we’ve seen, the truth, decency and law don’t appear to matter to these folks. – I know these values are shared by the members of the Ontario Public Service, and it is my hope they will find the courage to tell Toronto Hydro that they cannot choose not to comply with environmental laws (as they are attempting to do).

Members of Save the Toronto Bluffs are stepping up to do what Toronto Hydro was legally obligated to and failed to do as part of the Class B Environmental Assessment. We will be providing honest and accurate information to members of a community legally defined as ‘affected public’ under Environmental Assessment legislation. The fact that Joyce McLean – a former NDP partisan and political staffer at the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, in addition to being the former Greenpeace Great Lakes Campaigner, either couldn’t or chose not to find her way through the legal requirements of an environmental assessment process is alarming to say the least. Especially considering she had the help of Anne Mometer at AECOM to help her out.

The irresponsibility of Toronto Hydro’s actions has caused great concern in the community and left residents without answers to very legitimate questions that should have been answer, had Toronto Hydro Energy Services properly completed the legal requirements of the Class B Environmental Assessment, which they failed to. 

Once again, I’d like to invite all Guildwood residents to come out to our drop in meeting, share your concerns and ask any questions you may have about what is going on. I know everyone involved in this meeting is hopeful that we’ll be able to educate each other about the valid concerns and process issues. 

Below is the text from the article:

Wind power information meeting slated

Save the Toronto Bluffs group to host event at Scarborough high school

By DANIELLE MILLEY

Fed up after two information meetings where they were able to “find out nothing,” concerned Guildwood residents are holding their own information meeting about wind power.Jacques Lupien is one of the organizers of the meeting, which takes place Sunday, March 29 from 1 to 3 p.m. at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Collegiate Institute on Guildwood Parkway.

He said the two information meetings held by Toronto Hydro regarding the installation of a wind testing device, called an anemometer, off the coast of the Scarborough Bluffs at Guildwood have not answered residents’ questions or addressed their concerns.

“They had a meeting at which we’d been able to find out nothing,” Lupien said.

After the Jan. 20 meeting, the Save the Toronto Bluffs group began planning for its own meeting.

Toronto Hydro attempted to hold its first information meeting Oct. 27, but it underestimated the community interest and had to reschedule as the room wouldn’t accommodate all those in attendance. The second meeting took place Nov. 24 with more than 1,000 people attending, including a lot of supporters of the project from other areas of the city.

Local residents complained the meeting was hijacked so a third meeting was held for local residents in January.

But residents still weren’t satisfied as questions around the economic impact and specifics of a wind farm remained unanswered.

So Lupien and others, including John Laforet, began planning their own community meeting.

“A lot of Guildwood residents are frustrated at the lack of information Toronto Hydro is providing,” Laforet said. “We’re in a position to share legitimate information with those who have questions.

“It’s members of the community taking a leadership role to share information with other members of the community.”

He said they’ve gathered information from government and industry sources around the world, such as the European Wind Energy Association and Greenpeace, about health and environmental impacts, for example.

At its meetings, Toronto Hydro officials pointed out they couldn’t answer some questions as they are still at the investigation stage to see if this is a viable site and it would do further environmental and economic studies depending on the results of the anemometer. If Toronto Hydro’s application to the Ministry of Natural Resources to conduct wind testing is approved, the anemometer would be installed this summer at a cost of $1 million. The research phase would take two years.

If a wind farm is erected there would be up to 60 turbines installed two to four kilometres offshore from Ajax to the Leslie Street Spit. This has many Guildwood residents concerned.

“It’s a huge threat to our lives. Those of us who live near Lake Ontario will be affected by this,” Lupien said.

“It’s a huge threat to health and environment.”

Lupien said members of the group, including doctors and engineers, have been doing extensive research about wind farms in other areas in order to provide those who attend Sunday’s meeting with information.

Lupien said the format will be different than the Toronto Hydro meetings as it will take place in the cafeteria with different stations set up where people can find information on specific topics such as the Green Energy Act or the anemometer.

While much of the information has been gleaned from the Internet, which Lupien admits isn’t always the most reliable source, much of the research has come from independent researchers and studies.

“We’ve gone deep into this,” he said.

Laforet said if there is something they don’t know, they’ll say so.

“If someone stumps us we’ll take their questions and go back and research the answer,” he said.

Lupien said this is also an opportunity for the Save the Toronto Bluffs group, which has 1,000 member, to recruit more concerned individuals. “

The link to the Scarborough Mirror Article ‘Wind Power Information Meeting Slated‘ can be found here.