Hello Mark, It seems to me as a case where someone can’t see the forest for the trees.
Sure, there are problems with the Act that need to be addressed, but the overall benefit is to help open the way for a cleaner healthier environment for our and our children’s future!
And, this needs to be made especially clear, this Act is not only about wind, even though most of the opposition is to large commercial wind farms. It is about solar power, water power, biomass, tidal power – everything that is sustainable and does not pollute!
To override the power of municipalities in this Act is the consequence of addressing narrow-minded politics in exchange for the common good!
And, does the power generated from renewable energy systems affect water quality? I thought that was the main concern of Waterkeepers!
Isn’t clean, safe, renewable energy generation supposed to replace dirty coal fired generation and eventually phase-out nuclear power generation with all its fish kills, tritium leaks and thermal effects??
I am quite surprised at LOW’s stance on an Act that was long overdue and that so many concerned citizens worked on!
Sincerely,
Ziggy Kleinau.

[...] I was pleased to join Mark and Krystyn on Living at the Barricades last week to speak about the Green Energy Act, and it’s impact on environmental protection, especially as it relates to the proposed wind farm in Scarborough. Here is a link to that show. [...]

Hi Ziggy – Thanks for your comments. We support all the same renewable energy goals that you describe, including wind power. We are concerned whenever laws create special rules for certain industries – we learned from the nuclear industry that special rules lead to special relationships with regulators, inconsistencies between communities, and decision-making out of the public eye.

The Green Energy and Green Economy Act wasn’t the only path to a renewable energy future for Ontario. In many cases, the legislation is an attempt to do through law what could easily be done through policy. In the process of changing the rules to promote renewable energy, a lot of important principles were sacrificed – like the right to an appeal, independent decision-making, transparency, and the principle that government works for all people, not just specific industries.

You are absolutely correct when you note that attention has been diverted from those very serious concerns that you raised – fish kills, tritium, and thermal pollution. These are the issues that are killing our Great Lakes, and these are the issues we very much want to talk about. At the same time, thermal pollution, fish kills, tritium releases etc. are only possible because the regulators have developed a culture of secrecy and disdain for the grassroots. As much as it’s not fun being an environmental group criticizing a “green” act, we have to keep reminding people that the best decisions are made in the light of day, with all the facts on the table, and by independent decision-makers.

Keep up the excellent work that you do, Ziggy. For everyone else, Ziggy’s website is here.