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).

The link below will allow you to download the unedited tape of the question and answer portion of the Toronto Hydro Energy Services meeting in Guildwood on January 20th 2009.

I won’t say too much except the meeting did not comply with the City of Toronto act, nor did it comply with the requirements of a Class B Environmental Assessment. Unfortunately for Toronto Hydro – this meeting isn’t the only reason their application is bogus.

Joyce McLean, Jack Simpson and Chris Tyrrell all lied at this meeting. Each made statements they knew (based on Toronto Hydro’s own materials) was simply untrue. None of these individuals has any credibility as so much of what they said can and has been (in many cases) disproved. They should all be ashamed of themselves, and if they had any integrity, they would resign from their positions with Toronto’s public utility, before they do anymore damage to this entity. Joyce McLean should lead the way as her actions have been by far the most irresponsible of the bunch.

Feel free to take a listen, and to share with me the most ridiculous whopper or laugh line any of these folks threw out for public consumption during the meeting. I will post the best on my blog.

http://www.laforet.ca/media/hydro_meeting.mp3 (right click and select ‘save link as’ to save the .mp3)

Personally, my favourite part was when Jack Simpson twice said no public money was being used to finance the research (how this is even possible considering they are entirely publicly owned I don’t know) and then McLean later admitted to recieving public funds from outside Toronto Hydro’s profits, then got confused regarding sources and amounts and Jack Simpson (who had previously lied about this) stepped up and provided her clarification on the details of outside public funding.

As always, I welcome Toronto Hydro Energy Services to refute any claim I’ve made here. As we all know, unanswered claims become a matter of fact to the public with time. Toronto Hydro’s refusual to refute any of the claims I’ve made in past demonstrates a willingness to accept what I’ve said to be true. While I appreciate their agreement of facts, it is frankly unusual for these folks to not offer at least a misleading weasel word laden statement in their defense.

Toronto Hydro Energy Services has contempt for local democracy, the right of the citizens who own their corporation and the basic principles of democracy. Their actions made that clear. When this disgrace of a corporate citizen first decided to warn residents they were about to file their application for permission to install the Anemometer, their President, Chris Tyrrell – probably the least slick individual I’ve watched try to mislead a crowd, disclosed that this application was part of a Class B Environmental Assessment. Joyce McLean and Jack Simpson – had failed to mention in any, yes any, written, or spoken communication anything about a Class B Environmental Assessment. Apparently their botched, stacked and illegal meeting were all part of the process. But how could they be? No one was ever told they were participating in a Class B Environmental Assessment and Toronto Hydro Energy Services failed to do any consultation on the Environmental Assessment. Period. Full stop. No clarifications. None. Zip. 

They were to file it in the first week of February, but the good people of Guildwood wrote to everybody and their cousin advising them this was not a legitimate process, that Toronto Hydro had failed to comply with the required legislation and should scrap the application. Toronto Hydro Energy Services curled up into a ball – and hid under McLean’s desk while Premier McGuinty tried to play tough, and Smitherman who is as loud as he is ignorant did their bidding. 

For the last two months the media has been slamming McGuinty and Smitherman, our story is getting out and Toronto Hydro et all are still hiding under the desk. 

I asked Joyce McLean to send me the coordinates of the lake bed lease between them and the Ministry of Natural Resources. It is a reasonable request and a matter of public record. She does not dispute it is public information but is refusing to disclose it because while totally incapable of defending her twisted actions to date. It seems she wanted another fight where she was clearly on the wrong side of the law. This is the third time in three months Ms. McLean’s actions have seen Toronto Hydro Energy Services in violation of law. The City of Toronto Act, The Environmental Assessment Act, and the Freedom of Information Act are the three she doesn’t seem to understand.  

McLean told me that THES would be submitting their application and the information I sought (although not related to their application) would be included their and I could see it once they’re project was approved. It isn’t the first time McLean has demonstrated complex issues are too much for her, but under the Freedom of Information Act – one has to provide information that is publicly available, so long as it won’t be published within 90 days of the request being made. McLean thinks their illegal application will be approved. I know legally it can’t be. I advised her of this, she has yet to respond. 

Her expectation was that the Ministry of Natural Resources would approve their application by the end of March and residents would have a 30 day comment period to reply. Our expectations are that the Ministry of Natural Resources will not approve an application that failed to comply with the legal framework such applications are required to. We’ve sent many letters – we await replies, but I can tell you as of April 3rd 2009 – Toronto Hydro’s application has not been approved. 

Should it be declined or otherwise blocked for failing to comply with some of the most basic provisions of the Environmental Assessment Act – I would call on Joyce McLean and Jack Simpson to be terminated from Toronto Hydro Energy Services. Failing to comply with the law is a serious matter, especially when an organization’s failures are based on ignoring Environmental Assessment provisions. These individuals have demonstrated they have no respect for environmental protection, the rights of citizens and each lack a basic level of decency required to operate in tense situations. Their actions to date are unconscionable and should MNR stand up to them, THES should remove them and apologize to Guildwood residents. 

I get that these folks don’t even recognize people like me as having rights, so while I don’t expect a response, I once again invite Joyce McLean, Jack Simpson, or Chris Tyrrell to respond to any of the allegations above.