Posts Tagged ‘Brad Duguid’
Wind Welfare Warriors Just Don’t Get It (But Thank God They’re Losing)
I would be lying if I said I was surprised the Ontario Liberals and their paid for lackeys at the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association and Environmental Defense had conniption fits and went to the Twitter-verse to vent their spleens about how awful/ignorant/evil/cruel anyone who would dare get in the way of their access to our wallets must be.
That said, the number of folks who were tweeting for their jobs over the last two days, hammering Tim Hudak for standing up for those of us who don’t support giving these guys and their special interest partners the farm - has been a small but spirited bunch. Their utter lies and misrepresentations are frustrating to read. But it’s a good thing no one is listening to them anymore. Folks using the hashtag #comeclean are the equivelent of a handful of people standing in a circle screaming obsenities at the top of their lungs about someone who isn’t present and won’t hear them in front of an audience made up entirely of other participants standing in the same circle who hold the same view and are saying ‘I know, right?’.
Claiming that Samsung is investing $7 billion in Ontario for a mere $500 million in incentives is just plain untrue. No business would ever do that and considering wind energy is 100% subsidized by the taxpayer it will surely be costing us far more than $7 billion (this is a whole article itself). Suggesting their are thousands of jobs on the line isn’t true either. The jobs just don’t actually exist. Industry and government both admitted that today. Announcing employment does not a job make. Claiming we aren’t paying more for wind, but more for new energy is cute, but misleading. Wind is new energy and we are paying more for wind then we are for other new energy.
It was interesting to see however is how the media has handled this.
These same folks who are spinning away on Twitter all day and their organizations aren’t being quoted in any of the papers around Ontario. Why? Because Environmental Defense, the Ontario Sustainable Energy Association, Canadian Wind Energy Association and the other ‘Wind Welfare’ recipients who formed the ‘save wind welfare’ orgy of special interests – comeclean.ca are no longer relevant to the conversation. They have no credibility left, because their claims aren’t believable. They are now a parody of themselves. Fodder for laughter. Walking, talking lampoons.
(If you’d like to force these folks to find honest employment please visit http://endwindwelfare.ca and tell party leaders to stop funding their lies and hysterics.)
The special interests that brought you the Green Energy Act and have used it as a weapon to attack and tear apart the fabric of local communities have lost their place in the public debate. For the most part so have the industrial wind developers who benefit from the very programs Hudak is promising to end. This is a battle we’ve been waiting for, and fighting for the right to fight and are both ready and motivated to win. By coming out with a citizen focused, easy to understand pledge, Hudak has signaled to tens of thousands of concerned Ontarians that campaigning for the blue guy will mean change the Liberals won’t offer.
That’s good news for us, and Hudak, but not Dalton McGuinty or his whiney wind welfare brigade.
Ontario is still a democracy, and there is nothing Dalton McGuinty, dirty money or wind pimps can do about that.
The same folks whose voices no longer matter are the folks who were behind a $300,000 public relations fiasco put on by Sussex Strategy to ‘confuse’ the public, media and politicians to stop talking about the cost of electricity and renewables.
Remember how that went?
Well first – we all got to read the document (smooth move folks).
And since that $300,000 campaign of misinformation was leaked, Wind Concerns Ontario has won an offshore moratorium that has effectively ended any chance of offshore wind development in Ontario’s Great Lakes, and now has a clear commitment from Tim Hudak that should he become Premier there won’t be any more financial incentives for industrial wind developers.
There are 145 days until Ontario’s election, and these folks ought to be scared because we’re just getting started and as many have noticed – this current announcement that has seen these groups sidelined doesn’t even involve their sacred cow – the Green Energy Act. We are still advocating for and waiting to hear specifics on that file as well.
I was proud to see that this debate is largely being waged between the Progressive Conservatives and the Liberals with Wind Concerns Ontario and our local groups playing a key role in providing citizen response to the announcement. Especially our groups in Liberal held ridings. Seeing that an end to Samsung’s deal and FIT get implemented into law is something we will fight tooth and nail for and can do in ways buying another botched strategy from Sussex Strategy simply can’t even begin to compete with.
Wind Concerns Ontario has been clear on that as well, and will continue to be during the ‘Truth about Turbines Tour’ that will be travelling six thousand kilometres to over thirty five communities in sixteen Liberal held ridings, eight PC ridings and one NDP riding. We are more committed than ever to winning this ‘winner take all’ fight that was forced upon us by the Wind Industry and it’s ‘wind welfare warriors”
If these wind welfare warriors continue to conduct themselves in such a blatantly partisan and dishonest fashion – our campaign to cut all public funds to these organizations will take on a new seriousness because I and others I am sure will be damned if we are to be beaten with our own money but a bunch of dishonest swines at the trough.
Folks like http://energyonthestreet.ca (Pearl Street Communications) can talk about ‘changing the channel’ and engaging communities better – but it’s beyond spending more time talking – it’s about being credible and telling the truth, something the wind industry just doesn’t fundamentally believe in doing.
No Comments »The ‘Truth about Turbines Tour’ Begins Next Week in Thunder Bay
As always, I am looking forward to going back to Thunder Bay to stand with the folks who volunteer countless hours with the Nor’Wester Mountain Escarpment Protection Committee (NMEPC) as they oppose Horizon Wind’s plans to clear cut and blast watershed protection lands to install industrial wind turbines. These turbines would tower 1200 feet over the community, when the height of the turbines and the escarpment are factored in and are irresponsibly close to humans.
The environmental devastation required to build this project is something not seen in southern Ontario and is something that I can only describe as shocking. Having seen the results of clear cutting and blasting for industrial wind development underway in Dorion Ontario near the Ouimet Canyon, and being able to visit the proposed site for Horizon’s project, I see no responsible way anyone can argue any environmental benefit with this kind of development. Each turbine site requires the clearing of a full hectare of land. In Dorion, the developer used something like four hundred dynamite blast caps per turbine location. Under Horizon’s plan they will clear cut and blast 150 acres of pristine, untouched, until now protected escarpment under a deal that will see the City and ratepayers financially hosed for the privilege of enabling all of this (as the land owner) to happen.
The Green Energy Act has gutted the environmental planning process, and fails to recognize the genuine environmental uniqueness and significance in the North that is threatned by irresponsible developers who intend on bullying their way through the process and blasting their way through the environment.
I’m really happy to be heading back to Thunder Bay to lend my voice and the support of Wind Concerns Ontario to resident’s fight up there. It will be my third trip up since December 2010 and the start of Wind Concerns Ontario spring tour titled the ‘Truth about Turbines Tour’. It’s an ambitious project that will see events, meetings, marches and rallies throughout Ontario to raise awareness and organize opposition to this government’s industrial wind energy proposals. Wind Concerns Ontario can only do these kinds of things because of the thousands of volunteers on the ground in communities all over our province. It’s their strength and support that makes this all happen and it’s something not even the best industry strategy can defeat.
As the election approachs, its becoming clearer and clearer that should the Liberals choose not to back down, they will lose a number of seats on this issue as concerned citizens take political action in defense of their homes. I continue to be amazed by the lengths folks will go to stand up for what they know is right and am thrilled to have the opportunity to learn from, meet and work with such an amazing range and diversity of people from all over our province.
Spending forty-four days on the road, travelling six-thousand kilometres, visiting thirty six communities, in sixteen Liberal, eight PC and one NDP riding is not how I intended to spend part of May and most of June, but is something I think is important, because of the hard work so many are doing to stand up for their communities. I look forward to doing my part to help, and to lay the ground work to defeat this government in the fall, should they decide to force a de facto referendum on this issue through their candidates.
No Comments »London Free Press: Anti-Wind Turbine Activists Take Aim at Ballot Boxes
By John Miner – London Free Press
After losing one round in court to the McGuinty government, anti-wind-turbine activists can sniff political victory in the air.
The wind energy issue has turned red hot in rural areas and there are enough people angry to bring down Liberal candidates, said John Laforet, president of Wind Concerns Ontario.
“Wind is a far hotter issue on the local level than anything else. The government did it to themselves because they took away local control,” Laforet said on the weekend during a break at Wind Concerns annual meeting in London.
Formed as a coalition in October 2008 with 22 organizations, the group that opposes wind farms now has 57 members.
“Our members are in 35 counties. We think we can play a significant role through direct political action,” Laforet said.
Wind Concerns Ontario is calling for a moratorium on all industrial wind projects until a health study is completed on their impact.
Once that’s done, the coalition wants the McGuinty government to return authority for approving wind turbine development to municipalities, something it stripped in the Green Energy Act.
That was a political blunder, according to Laforet, who was a Liberal party member and former Liberal riding president.
“I resigned to fight them on this issue,” he said.
Ontario Progressive Conservative Leader Tim Hudak has pledged to return control over wind farms to municipalities.
Laforet said the coalition hasn’t endorsed any political party and won’t until platforms have been released.
“We are in talks with the Green party, the NDP and the PCs,” he said.
The anti-wind-turbine activists lost a court challenge in March over how close wind turbines can be from homes.
The court ruled the Ontario government had followed the proper process when it decided the turbines could be 550 metres away.
That ruling may be appealed.
While wind-turbine opponents met Saturday, the Canadian government announced it was investing $117,000 in a start-up company in Middlesex that will build foundation bases for wind turbines and solar installations.
DrillTech Canada is expected to create eight full-time jobs in its first two years of operation.
E-mail john.miner@sunmedia.ca, or follow Johnatlfpress on Twitter.
No Comments »Ontario Liberals Being Blown Away in Scarborough
Ontario Energy Minister Brad Duguid’s re-election hopes in Scarborough Centre threatened by plummeting Liberal support in Scarborough brought on by Green Energy Act opposition and his failed industrial wind strategy.
A recent poll released by Forum Research showed some very interesting numbers for the City of Toronto. When voters were asked to indicate which political party they’d support in the October 2011 election, the Liberals held a 26% to 24% lead over the PCs among Toronto voters. This is a statistical dead heat and critical because the Liberals currently have 18 of 22 seats in Toronto, while the NDP hold the remaining four.
The field work on this poll was conducted days before Mayor Rob Ford threatened to unleash ‘Ford Nation’ on Premier Dalton McGuinty if the Premier doesn’t give in to the City’s financial demands. Taking a look at the breakdowns among Toronto voters, it becomes clear, the move away from the Liberals isn’t be driven by Mayor Ford, at least yet.
Take Etobicoke for instance. Not only is this Mayor Ford’s home base, but it also represents his strongest part of the city by way of percentage of vote. The Liberals hold all three seats in Etobicoke at present and are leading the PCs by 10% (34% to 24%) making Etobicoke the Liberals strongest pocket in Toronto. These two facts combine would suggest the Liberals slide in independent from Mayor Ford’s strength with voters.
In Scarborough – my home town and an area I’ve been politically active for years as a former Liberal organizer and now in a grassroots issue based capacity that has me attacking the Liberals, the Ontario Liberals hold six of six seats, and are currently 8% behind the PCs (22% to 30%). By way of percentage of vote and real seat count, this probably represents the PCs largest opportunity for a break through in the City of Toronto.
Brad Duguid (Scarborough Centre – Minister of Energy), Margarett Best (Scarborough Guildwood – Minister of Health Promotion), Lorenzo Berardinetti (Scarborough Southwest), Wayne Arthurs (Pickering Scarborough East) each represent ridings that have elected a member of the incoming government in 1987, 1990, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007. That’s a six election run, and in the 1985 election when the PCs won a minority, but the Liberals governed with the support of the NDP Scarborough Centre elected a PC member, Scarborough East (now Guildwood and Pickering Scarborough East) elected a Liberal and Scarborough West (now Southwest) elected a New Democrat.
Besides having a tendency to move with provincial trends, the Ontario Liberals in Scarborough have been on the receiving end of growing attacks in response to Dalton McGuinty’s decision to name call Scarborough residents, – attacking our community by name in bringing down the Green Energy Act to deny our rights. Brad Duguid, Margarett Best, Wayne Arthurs and Lorenzo Berardinetti have all been hearing from angry constituents, who I’m proud to say we’ve been effectively organizing around a very simple message – ‘defeat those who don’t stand for you’. Incidentally none of these party whipped Liberals have been.
33% of Scarborough voters are undecided, which is significant because it’s the highest undecided rate in the City. This also indicates the Liberals are going to have a real problem getting Brad Duguid, Margarett Best, Lorenzo Berardinetti and Wanye Arthurs re-elected. With the industrial wind issue alive and well on the ground I’m certain this will only get worse for them as we get closer and closer to the polls.
In conclusion, I agree with Former Liberal Finance Minister Sobera who said he didn’t believe Ford was the cause of the Liberals position in the polls, and former Progressive Conservative Minister Elizabeth Witmer who believed the Liberals energy policy is killing their chances of re-election all around the province. Between now and October 6th 2011, Brad Duguid and members of the government are going to have a choice – continue to stand for industrial wind until the dying hours of this government, or abandon this failed energy policy, put in place a full moratorium on all wind development and hope the government can survive it’s date with democracy.
No Comments »Is the Air Out of the Industrial Wind Lobby Sails in Ontario?
The announcement that the Ontario Liberal Government recognized the merits of the position Wind Concerns Ontario and its member groups from Lake Superior to Lake Ontario, on Lake Huron, the Georgian Bay, Lake Erie and Lake St. Clair had been advancing is good news. It vindicated our arguments and recognized the flaws in the government position.
By agreeing with our position, the government recognized all these ‘wind welfare’ special interests and industry representatives the government either funds or that receive money from special interests tied to the wind industry, just aren’t credible and can’t be relied on for reasonable, responsible advice. Simply put, the Government of Ontario acknowledged by backing down that all of those who irresponsibly convinced them they didn’t need to do science in the first place were wrong and not credible for setting policy going forward.
Is it any wonder then that groups like Environmental Defence found out about the announcement from a reporter – not the government? Frankly, if I were the Minister of Energy and had been receiving such bad, self interested, incomplete advice from an orgy of special interests who came together to become the “Green Energy Act Alliance” I wouldn’t want to talk to them either as I cleaned up their mess.
The fight on land continues and will be won there as well, because these same special interests who were anti science, anti democracy and pro corporate welfare offshore hold the same views on land and offered even worse bad advice there. We will continue to fight for those who are being harmed on land, to restore local democracy and end the bizarre notions put out by pro industrial wind special interests.
Wind energy isn’t green, it isn’t reliable and it shouldn’t be considered a genuine form of power production because it can’t stand on its own and virtually every form of power production in the grid today besides wind and large scale solar can and don’t need subsidies to do it.
Electric generation from wind dates back to 1887 and scientists have been saying since 1865, that wind is an admirable form of energy production and favourable to coal, but the matter of storage (reliability) needs to be sorted out if it is to be a viable alternative. This is a problem that has been worked on and studied for the last one hundred and forty years with no meaningful improvement. Instead, the game plan is to pay for the power even when we don’t need it at multiples of what it’s worth, to back up 100% of wind energy’s capacity with fossil fuels to make up for the dips and surges and build them dangerously close to people because it’s convenient. The jobs arguments are just lies. The economic impact of wind energy is absolutely negative because of the harm it does to real, private sector, unsubsidized honest work.
In short, instead of becoming a viable form of energy production, industrial wind is an expensive PR statement government’s make, that has nothing to do with generating clean energy – because wind turbines can’t on their own without fossil fuels burning in the background. The negative effects on people, the environment and economy are unconscionable and cannot be allowed to stand.
Those who push industrial wind can’t honestly claim they care about the environment. They support fossil fuel expansion, oppose environmental assessments, local democracy and refuse independent science on the impacts and benefits of the technology. They are mere puppets for someone’s profit – incidentally those who often fund their misinformation campaigns.
This has become a losing battle for the industrial wind industry and its special interest groups. It’s a battle we need to continue to fight, if our province is to have a bright future and citizens, not special interests and corporate welfare seekers are to control the destiny of our province.
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