“They have more say than they did five years ago,” Premier says. She also says people “get used to” living near the power projects.
Kingston Whig-Standard, March 31, 2016
By Elliot Ferguson
Senior Ontario politicians are in no mood to consider giving municipalities more say in the approval and construction of renewable energy projects.
Premier Kathleen Wynne, in Kingston on Thursday, said changes were made to how renewable energy projects were approved that allowed municipalities more input.
The current rounds of Large Renewable Procurement have angered many rural politicians who say they have no say in projects proposed for their areas.
Last week, North Frontenac Township, which in 2015 declared itself an unwilling host to a pair of wind energy projects proposed for the municipality, passed a resolution calling on the provincial government to make municipal approval a mandatory requirement.
Since early February, more than 90 municipalities in Ontario have passed a resolution from the Township of Wainfleet that calls on the provincial government to cancel the request for proposals for new wind energy projects.
Of the 16 renewable energy projects announced in March, 13 were located in municipalities that had declared themselves willing hosts, Wynne said.
Wynne said the Ontario government changed the way energy project proposals are considered, making municipal support one of the criteria upon which an energy project is judged.
“I would say to them that they have a whole lot more say than they did five years ago,” Wynne said during a visit to Regiopolis-Notre Dame Catholic High School Thursday morning. “We never said there was going to be a veto for municipalities, but we put in place much more rigorous consideration of municipalities’ concerns.”
Wynne said the change motivated energy companies to work with municipalities to find solutions to challenges.
“What we’re finding is more and more proponents work very closely with municipalities to find a way to make it work in the local community,” added Deputy Premier Deb Matthews, in Kingston the day before Wynne. “The local voice does matter, but we are not prepared to give people a veto. …
Read the full story here.
10 Comments
ScepticalGord
More nonsense and insulting blather coming from Wynne, the bozo Premiere with the 20% approval rating:
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2016/03/29/just-20-of-ontario-voter-approve-of-job-wynne-is-doing-as-premier-poll.html
Worst premiere ever of the worst provincial government ever.
Pat Cusack
I agree!
Sommer
People do not get used to the noise of turbines, nor do they get used to being bombarded with infrasound radiation.
This Premier is grossly out of touch with reality.
Sommer
People become ill and are forced to leave their homes. They either abandon their homes entirely or leave them temporarily in the hope that the turbines that were placed too close to their home will eventually be turned off. Trying to sell a home that is too close to turbines is a losing proposition. This is absolutely wrong! Investment in a home is for many people the largest investment they have. Beyond this issue, some people absolutely loved living in their rural home. The grief they experience at the loss of the safety, security and pleasure of their home is depressing.
The despair and disruption of dealing with a government that has put on blinders to the damage they are doing to rural people, makes it very difficult to keep up the fight with this horrible government. Premier Wynne interprets their inability to maintain the vocal opposition as their getting used to it!
Even when a person becomes ill or if a member of their family does from infrasound and noise, the focus needs to be on protecting themselves and their beloved…not on trying to communicate with this ridiculous government that is doing its best to distance itself from this reality.
This is a dysfunctional government led by dysfunctional personalities who lack compassion.
Refusing to look closely at the mess they’ve made in rural communities with these industrial wind power stations is their legacy. This will not be forgotten.
The struggle to save rural Ontario from any more of this destruction is absolutely necessary to the history of rural Ontario. Before this was forced upon us, we were in the middle of revitalizing our towns and villages. Everything is on hold until we get this right and compensate the many people who were made victims of this government’s failed industrial wind experiment.
Barbara
And have these IWTs installed in Ontario ever been inspected prior to becoming operational?
If so, there should be inspectors reports on file somewhere.
How would Wynne like to live near giant machines that produce lethal amount of electricity without ever having been inspected?
Barbara
And what constitutes negligence?
Barbara
‘CSA Guide to Canadian wind turbine codes and standards’
Scroll down to the end of this Guide
The foxes running the hen-house?
http://www.csagroup.org/documents/codes-and-standards/standards/energy/CSAGuidetoCanadianWindTurbineCodes.pdf
Bert
I am so disappointed in the Ontario government. They lie and lie and take money from “the democratic process” which is the same as taking bribe money.
The only thing that was kick-started with the Green Energy Act, is the divide of urban and rural Ontario, and especially the divide of rural communities .
Raymond Beaudry
Ontario’s Liberal Premier is totally out of touch with reality and has no right to speak against those continually impacted by the industrial wind projects.Premier Wynne is a liar and belittles landowners, home owners and victims of wind to promote her own governments agenda.
Show us the studies that the key environment these projects are placed in get used to it also.