Posts Tagged ‘Wind Concerns Ontario’
Video: John Laforet’s Address to the Empire Club of Canada – Wind Generated Controversy
John Laforet at the Empire Club of Canada
John Spears of the Toronto Star covered the speech and wrote : Wind Foe Vows to Defeat Liberals
1 Comment »Thunder Bay Rally a Success!
As the Wind Concerns Ontario Truth about Turbines Tour kicked off in Thunder Bay last night, I began blogging at wcotour.ca It’s a site where myself and others will share their stories, photos, videos and audio from the province wide tour Wind Concerns Ontario is undertaking over the next six weeks. I encourage you to check out http://wcotour.ca regularly to see and hear what real Ontarians feel about industrial wind development in the lead up to the fall election.
Below is last night’s entry.
Residents against the proposed Horizon Wind Inc. wind farm have a message for Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and the city’s two MPPs – no Liberals, no turbines.
More than 200 residents attended the Wind Concerns Ontario rally at the Nor’Wester Hotel Monday night. The rally was a chance to give residents more information on the Horizon Wind development of a wind farm on top of the Nor’ Wester mountains.” From May 16th 2011 – Thunder Bay Newswatch - ‘Ready to Fight’ (A description of last night’s meeting in Thunder Bay)
What a great night in Thunder Bay! We couldn’t have had a better launch to Wind Concerns Ontario’s ‘Truth about Turbines’ than we had last night in Thunder Bay. I was amazed and the number of people who turned out on such a beautiful night to hear our message and organize in advance of Horizon Wind Inc.’s most recent attempt at ‘public consultations’ on May 17 and 18th in the Thunder Bay area.
We did a lot to raise awareness about the inappropriate proposal for the Nor’Wester Escarpment. I was fortunate to have some time on AM 740 to speak to Dale Goldhawk about the Wind Concerns Ontario ‘Truth about Turbines Tour’ and my visit to Thunder Bay, and had a couple of interviews with local Thunder Bay TV News, and other local media here. It is critical that we tell our stories and I was happy to tell Thunder Bay’s tonight and to stand with them to fight.
Resident’s of Thunder Bay made it clear they are ready to stand up to fight the developer and local MPPs to protect the Nor’Wester Escarpment from Industrial Wind development.
There was a defiant, upbeat crowd that understands more than anyone the importance of protecting the Nor’Wester Escarpment and the Loch Lomand watershed protection land from clear cutting and blasting – something local residents, the provincial government and the local municipalities have pushed for, for almost a hundred years.
We had school age children, teens, young adults, parents, grandparents and great-grandparents at our rally standing in common purpose. It was an amazing sight!
I was asked to judge the Nor’Wester Escarpment Mountain Protection Committee’s drawing contest for young kids that saw about a dozen entries. Children were asked to draw the Nor’Wester escarpment in it’s current beauty as a reminder of what their parents, and grandparents are fighting to protect for their future. The winner received a new bike that was generously donated by members of the NEMPC committee.
3 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.
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