Ontario Pumped Storage
On December 13, 2021, members of the Save Georgian Bay (SGB) group presented Meaford Council with a copy of a 3,300-person petition tabled in the House of Commons this past spring by Conservative MP Alex Ruff, Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound. The petition included names of residents from Meaford to Barrie who oppose TCEnergy’s (TCE) proposed $4.3 billion, 1,000 megawatt Ontario Pumped Storage project to be located at the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre on Department of National Defence (DND) lands in Meaford, if approved.
To our shock, we heard that the signatures were destroyed following the federal election call back in August 2021. Apparently the dissolution of parliament removed the federal Liberal government’s responsibility to respond to the concerns of thousands across the region.
While the government may have destroyed the petition, it hasn’t broken our determination to fight this unnecessary, inefficient, and environmentally harmful project that will ultimately cost Ontario electricity consumers.
As well as presenting the petition to Meaford Council, we asked it to denounce the project publicly, and to consider the safety of close to 1,000 people who reside directly below the proposed site, where a 375-acre reservoir (equivalent to 284 football fields) and a 20-metre-high dam will be constructed to hold back 23 million cubic metres of water that will be pumped from and returned to Georgian Bay each day.
The TCE project will also have great environmental impacts. It entails boring into the Niagara Escarpment, a national treasure and a UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve, to bury water pipes, turbines, and a pumping station. High-voltage transmission lines will be placed under Georgian Bay from Meaford to Wasaga Beach, emerging on land in a residential area and requiring an underground corridor to Stayner.
Over its four-plus years of construction and beyond, the project will kill fish and wildlife, destroy spawning areas, aquatic ecosystems, and 500 acres of forest, cause water turbidity, and spew CO2 emissions and other contaminants that pollute the air and water.
TCE continues to “greenwash” the project in its aggressive bid to win federal and provincial approvals and secure a 50 to 100-year contract to supply Ontario’s electricity needs. And, despite repeated vows to be transparent, the company has not responded to any of SGB’s requests for the project’s pro forma, so that we can gain insights into its costs, funding, and revenues. Nor has it shared any of its preliminary water and land environmental studies.
The DND is more than a year overdue in responding to our Access to Information Act request about communications between it and TCE regarding the project, yet it gave TCE the green light to proceed, pending environmental and other regulatory assessments, just shortly prior to the federal election call.
Numerous professional engineers and environmentalists participated in the preparations of our July 2020 Environmental Assessment that was presented to DND. Both the Ontario Society of Professional Engineers and the Ontario Clean Air Alliance have weighed in on the TCE proposal, deeming it unnecessary. Earlier this year, the Alliance suggested that twice the energy can be acquired from Quebec Hydro for $80 million, compared to the TCE’s proposed facility for $4.3 billion. Perhaps Ontario ratepayers should have a vote on which of these two options they would prefer!
We also know of several advanced and emerging technologies that could readily meet the province’s electricity needs with far-less-damaging repercussions by the time TCE’s intrusive Ontario Pumped Storage plant is operational in eight to ten years.
In the meantime, we are encouraged by MP Ruff’s commitment to table in the House of Commons any new petitions of verified signatures we provide to him.
Yours respectfully,
Tom Buck, Joseph Leung, Bruce Rodgers – Save Georgian Bay
www.savegeorgianbay.ca
Closure of County Road 91
Dear Editor,
Clearview and Walker Aggregates’s plans for Duntroon have never made sense – now it’s time for them to face the facts. For over a decade, residents have told their elected representatives that closing County Road 91 is not viable and upgrading Sideroad 26/27 is unnecessarily destructive – yet they continued, along with Walker, to force their proposal forward.
Clearview has spent nearly a million dollars on lawyers and engineers to gain approval for their road plans – but those funds seem to have been wasted. This fall, Ontario’s Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks asked for additional information from Clearview over questions about their environmental assessment classification. As it turns out, the development of 26/27 that was originally expected to cost $500,000 is now expected to be around $4 million. For almost two years, residents voiced concerns over what appeared to be a misclassification of the project by the township to avoid a proper environmental assessment. And it seems that the Ministry is concerned too. With the lack of clarity around the environmental assessment, Clearview was compelled to delay the hearing set to evaluate the development application.
To date, almost 2,000 people have signed our petition asking Clearview not to close Country Road 91. And it’s not just local residents who oppose the scheme. The Niagara Escarpment Commission has twice rejected Clearview’s proposals. The Town of Blue Mountains and Grey Highlands have both indicated they are not supportive of closing 91.
It has become overwhelmingly clear that Clearview’s project is irresponsible and unsuitable for the region. And it’s time to go back to the drawing board. We’re calling on Clearview Township and Walker Aggregates to work with the community to develop a safe and responsible alternative to their plans. It’s time that they listened to the concerns of our community, and evidence regarding the many issues with the proposed projects.
While it’s encouraging that the Ministry is beginning to take these issues seriously, Clearview and Walker Aggregates have not stopped pushing their proposal forward. We need to continue in our efforts to protect the natural heritage of our community.
Join us at save91.ca to learn more about how you can help us oppose Clearview and Walker’s unnecessary and destructive plans.
Kind regards,
Wendy Franks
Sale of Talisman Lands
Dear Editor,
Many in our community have fond memories of skiing and gathering at the old Talisman Resort in the heart of the Beaver Valley. While the ski hill is gone for good, the site still boasts world-renowned, environmentally significant features, including the Niagara Escarpment, an UNESCO-designed biosphere reserve, and the Bruce Trail, Canada’s longest marked footpath, as well as the Beaver River and the complex water system that feeds it.
We now have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ensure that this spectacular site can be enjoyed by generations to come. But only if we stop the Municipality of Grey Highland’s misguided conditional sale of 133.8 acres of public land.
The ski hill at Talisman closed 10 years ago. Two years ago, Talisman owners defaulted on water and tax bills, and ownership of 133.8 acres, about half the site, shifted to the Municipality of Grey Highlands (MGH). In March 2021, the municipality and the owner of the remaining privately-owned lands (which include the buildings and the ski hill) entered into a joint venture agreement to market both properties together in
order to “maximize profits” and development.
At this point the community mobilized, arguing for an alternative vision of the public lands, one that would enhance environmental protection and public access. The Escarpment Biosphere Conservancy made an offer for the public lands to accomplish this, but in July, behind closed doors, the municipality decided to sell the public land to private interests for development. Council went ahead with the conditional sale without even waiting to hear the results of a consultation study it had commissioned to obtain the citizens’ views for the future of the Beaver Valley. This report endorsed enhancing those features of the Valley that make it a great place to work, live, and visit — the rural character and natural features of the land, the wildlife, amazing outdoor activities, and diverse local businesses.
The community has written letters and emails, appeared in front of council, submitted a Freedom of Information Act request, and organized petitions to stop the sale of public land at Talisman. Now, the Protecting Talisman Lands Association has filed an application to the Ontario Superior Court to stop the sale. The application alleges that the Municipality has failed to comply with certain provisions of the Municipal Act and its own policy concerning the sale of surplus lands.
It is not too late to help create a truly visionary plan that will benefit all and leave a legacy for future generations. We welcome your support and interest. To learn more, go to protecttalisman.ca.
Donate by email transfer (email below) or by going to our gofundme site: https://gofund.me/21b749f0. All contributions will go towards our legal and public engagement campaign.
Sincerely,
Kate Lazier for Protecting
Talisman Lands Association
TalismanLands@gmail.com
