Posts Tagged ‘Save the Toronto Bluffs’
Today Will Be My First Time at UTSC Since McGuinty Tried to Have Me Arrested for Protesting; This Time I Will Be Delivering a Guest Lecture
This time it’s to give a guest lecture to an Environmental Science class on the Environmental Assessment process. I am going to explore the flaws with environmental planning in Ontario, the process and the negative impact this has on democracy, the environment and project planning. These are essentially the beliefs I was fighting for when I organized a protest to meet Dalton McGuinty on his first visit to Scarborough since coming out swinging against residents when he announced a law to take our rights away.
We were fighting to participate in a fair and open process when we lost the rights to participate at all. The Green Energy Act also removed the requirement for an environmental assessment for renewable energy projects; in addition to denying local municipalities the right to issue building permits for projects or develop local planning controls of renewable energy projects, the roads, transmission lines and other infrastructure pieces they impact.
What you will notice is opposition has strengthened since the Premier tried to legislate our rights away, and in Scarborough we’re stronger now than before he tried to have me arrested for planning a protest against his undemocratic, donor written attack on democracy. голова болит секс
There are consequences to denying citizen participation, ending environmental protection, outlawing local planning and gutting oversight. These are topics I have discussed publicly and privately since February and I am honoured to have the opportunity to deliver a guest lecture to an upper year Environmental Science class on these themes, especially on a campus where these views had me threatened with arrest less than two months ago.
The fact that I’ve been invited to deliver a lecture on this demonstrates there is a willingness within the academic community to understand the process failures that exist.
I’ve spoken to high school students about active citizenship, the need to participate in decision making and stand up for the things you believe in. Recently I’ve participated in thesis work by two Masters students exploring the cause of opposition to Toronto Hydro’s proposal, and another who was exploring the impacts of the Green Energy Act on planning, assessments and participation. It is clear this is an issue that isn’t going away, and one that I am proud to be continuing to push along.
3 Comments »Save The Toronto Bluffs Granted Intervenor Status at Ontario Energy Board Hearing into TO Hydro's Streetlight Asset Sale
I have been granted Intervenor status on behalf of Save the Toronto Bluffs at the Ontario Energy Board hearing into Toronto Hydro Energy Services (a 100% owned subsidary of Toronto Hydro Corporation) proposed sale of it’s streetlight assets to a numbered shell company owned 100% by Toronto Hydro Electric System (which is 100% owned by Toronto Hydro Corporation) for $60 Million dollars. Basically Toronto Hydro Corporation is looking to sell itself something it already owns, and with that ’sale’ $60 million dollars will move from Toronto Hydro Electric System, the regulated entity that distributes power in the City of Toronto to it’s unregulated, financial loser arm, Toronto Hydro Energy Services.
Toronto Hydro Electric System employees and trucks already service these lines, but Toronto Hydro Corporation claims safety enhancements can be made by selling something they already own to themselves and continuing to use assets they already own and employees they already employ to continue to service these poles, they too already own.
You may remember these poles from those horrible incidences over the winter where family pets and small children were being electrocuted, and Toronto Hydro Energy Services failed to respond for months, until publicly humiliated into doing so.
Originally the poles were owned by the City of Toronto, for decades in fact, until David Soknacki as David Miller’s first budget chief ran out of money needed to balance the budget and decided to sell the front lawn of the Ontario Science Centre to the Provincial Government and sell the City’s streetlights to Toronto Hydro Energy Services for the remaining $60 million he needed. The best part was then too, even though it was already Toronto Hydro trucks servicing this infrastructure enhanced safety was cited as a benefit. That was before the tragic death of family pets, and the electrocution of small children brought on by poor maintenance, a lack of understanding of the infrastructure and a denial of the problem.
Moving these poles into Toronto Hydro Electric Services and licensing them as part of the distribution system for Toronto (which they are not) would move the liability directly onto the shoulders of rate payers, in addition to allowing the City to cease paying for the upkeep of these poles or their energy usage and instead passing those costs directly onto residential, commercial and industrial customers of Toronto Hydro.
I am looking forward to using the opportunity to be an Intervenor at these hearings to seek evidence from Toronto Hydro Energy Services, Toronto Hydro Electric System, the shell company and Toronto Hydro Corporation to determine the merit behind the enhanced safety claims, the merit of an internal wealth transfer, and the impacts this could have on customer’s bills.
Members of Save the Toronto Bluffs will be seeking to represent the interests of all Torontonian ratepayers at the Ontario Energy Board hearing and will be fighting to keep unnecessary increases to your bills from happening in addition to forcing transparency on a corporation in desperate need of an airing out.
Comments OffSave The Toronto Bluffs Demand a Voice for Toronto at Queen’s Park – Endorse Sue Ann Levy
Below is a press release issued by Save the Toronto Bluffs after a discussion of next steps this weekend. It is important to note that 90% of members of the Save the Toronto Bluffs steering committee, myself included, do not hold any provincial party membership. This isn’t about being partisan, this is about being represented. Sadly, we’ve seen how badly Liberal MPPs fail to represent communities when it is a choice between party line and community consensus. When elected officials fail to do their jobs and represent their communities, they get replaced.
Members of Save the Toronto Bluffs will actively participate in Sue-Ann Levy’s election as MPP in St. Paul’s in hopes of sending the Ontario Liberals a message, and finding a voice at Queen’s Park that will stand up for the City, where the Ontario Liberal’s Toronto caucus has so badly failed.
I anticipate criticism from Ontario Liberals for this move, but my response is simple – we were participating in a bureaucratic process for months before the Premier and Minister Smitherman decided to come to the public aid of a law breaking, irresponsible developer (Toronto Hydro Energy Services). The Premier and Deputy Premier chose on their own to attack residents, resorting to name calling and distorting our arguments and we’ve stood up and will continue to, until they are defeated or back down. Considering John Gerretsen personally signed off on Toronto Hydro’s illegal application, it’s clear the Ontario Liberals still aren’t listening, so residents will once again turn up the heat and continue to, until Scarborough’s waterfront MPPs find their spines, stand up for residents, or are defeated.
Members of Save the Toronto Bluffs frustrated at the lack of representation Toronto’s timid Ontario Liberal MPPs have provided, are calling on St. Pauls voters to heed their warning and elect someone who will stand up for their community and our City at Queen’s Park.
‘We’ve seen first hand how poorly Liberal MPPs respond to community concerns that don’t line up with the ‘party line’. Toronto doesn’t need an 18th Liberal MPP who won’t stand up for their constituents or our City. Said John Laforet. ‘Sue-Ann Levy has a proven track record of being outspoken, and her election can only help Torontonian’s voices to be heard at Queen’s Park.’ Laforet continued.
On August 11th, members of Save the Toronto Bluffs staged a protest of Premier McGuinty’s visit first visit to Scarborough since he and Minister Smitherman attacked Scarborough Bluffs residents for opposing Toronto Hydro’s Lake Ontario wind proposal. Last week, the government, ignoring all community concerns, accepted Toronto Hydro’s application.
‘Members of Save the Toronto Bluffs have tried for a year to convince the Provincial government a project like this does not belong in our drinking water, so close to a sensitive natural shoreline and especially without an environmental assessment.’ Said Barry Matthews, Vice President of Save the Toronto Bluffs, a group representing thousands of Scarborough residents who oppose Toronto Hydro Energy Services proposal to install a wind farm 2km off the Scarborough Bluffs. ‘Our pleas have fallen on deaf ears, have been met with indifference from local MPPs and have seen members of Cabinet resort to name-calling while passing legislation specifically intended to deny residents a voice.’ Matthews continued.
The Progressive Conservative Party is the only party that stood up for Scarborough Residents during the debate on the Green Energy Act, a law that stripped environmental assessments, community participation and city planning legislation from renewable energy projects.
Save the Toronto Bluffs is endorsing Sue-Ann Levy in hopes of sending a clear message to Dalton McGuinty ‘listen, or be defeated.’
Members of Save the Toronto Bluffs are planning to go canvassing in support of Sue-Ann Levy in hopes that an upset win for her could see all Torontonians with a voice a Queen’s Park.
-30-
Comments Off
