By Doug Draper
A bill Tim Hudak and his Ontario Conservatives put forward this past December 1 to allow local communities to have more in where facilities for generating wind energy should be located was defeated by the NDP and governing Liberals.
Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak at recent gathering in front of Queen's Park. Photo courtesy of Tim Hudak's office.
“Local residents have more say over where a Tim Hortons or a chip truck goes in town than they do over the location of an industrial wind farm,” said Hudak during a recent interview with Niagara At Large. “To centralize that decision making (with the provincial government) is an injustice ad it is wrong, and it should be fixed.”
Hudak said the purpose of the private members’ bill his party hoped to get passed this December 1 was to restore the right of local residents to have some say in deciding where wind farms should go, not to say no to wind energy altogether in Niagara.
However, the Conservative leader said he’s concerned about how much the government seems to be willing to subsidize wind farms, compared to other sources of information, and he believes more information is needed on the health and environmental impacts of wind facilities.
Niagara At Large is posting the following December 1 media release the Ontario Conservatives circulated on wind farms. You can also view Hudak at a recent gathering in front of Queen’s Park on the same issue by clicking on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XEhNemkCYY .
McGuinty Government Rejects Ontario PC Billto Restore Local Decision Making Powers on Industrial Wind Farms
NEWS:
QUEEN’S PARK—Efforts by Tim Hudak and the Ontario PC Caucus to give local residents a voice on the construction of massive industrial wind farms in their community were thwarted today, as Hudak as his Caucus colleagues stood alone in voting in favour of legislation to restore local decision making powers to cities and towns.
Those powers were stripped when the McGuinty government passed The Green Energy Act in 2009, allowing industrial wind farms – the height of 40-storey buildings – to be placed in communities across the province without the approval of local councils or residents. A proposed 77-turbine project planned for West Lincoln and Wainfleet is being described as the largest wind farm in all of Canada. Despite strenuous objections from local families and municipal councils, those plans continue to plough ahead.
Todd Smith, Ontario PC MPP for Prince Edward-Hastings brought forward legislation this week – called The Local Municipality Democracy Act – that would have ensured local families’ concerns on industrial wind farms were no longer ignored. Regrettably, both the McGuinty Liberals and the NDP voted against letting local residents, businesses and municipal councils have a say in where these massive construction projects are located.
QUOTES:
“I believe in local decision making. I believe that local families, businesses and municipal councils know what’s best for you and your neighbourhoods – not Dalton McGuinty and a bunch of bureaucrats.”
–Tim Hudak, Ontario PC Leader
“Dalton McGuinty’s approach is arrogant. It’s unfair. It’s undemocratic. And we’re going to continue to fight to put a stop to it. We will continue to be the voice of concerned communities until they once again have a say in what happens in their own neighbourhoods.”
–Tim Hudak, Ontario PC Leader
QUICK FACTS:
Earlier today, Ontario PC Leader Tim Hudak and members of the Ontario PC Caucus joined concerned Ontarians and the Mayors and Aldermen from West Lincoln and Wainfleet at a rally in front of Queen’s Park to call for the restoration of local decision making authority on industrial wind farms.
There are currently two wind turbine projects planned for West Lincoln and Wainfleet, including the Niagara Region Wind Corporation plan to install 77 turbines between the two municipalities.
It is being referred to as the largest wind farm in all of Canada.
To date, 79 municipalities across Ontario – including West Lincoln and Wainfleet – have passed resolutions calling for the restoration of local municipal powers, or passed moratoriums on wind farm projects in their communities.
(Niagara At Large invites you to share your views on this post in the comment boxes below.)
Niagara At Large 
I know there are jurisdictional isues at play here, but all the same, it is a bit ironic that “mysterious” fracking brews are to be discharged into the Great Lakes, the toxic Tar Sands industry is thriving, while people are outraged that turbines pose a health or environmental risk. Any legitimate health organization or health study can point to the dangers of the previous two offenders. Not one (as yet) can point to adverse health or significant environmental effects associated with turbines.
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So, your argument is, irony aside, that because you support wind farms local jurisdictions should not have a say? A further comment concerning the pejorative “Tar Sands” is technically inaccurate. The product extracted is bitumen oil, viscous, yes, but still oil.
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And not one yet has fully proved them safe
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Great response from Mark Taliano . Kudo’s
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I was over at Lackawanna NY they have now added 3 more wind turbines on the old steel mill brownfields, nobody lives close and they have lot’s of wind from the Lake Erie, people living near Route 5 do not hear any noise, my daughter can see them but the road traffic drowns out any sounds. I believe location, location is important with these generators of clean energy., I wonder if the Dutch people 5 hundred years ago bitched about the windmills being an eyesore. and devaluing their property.seems to me they are less dangerous than the toxic spewing chimneys of the steel mills.
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So Hudak wants local municipalities to be able to say “no” to wind farms, yet he would have pushed through with his “Hudak Highway” despite the majority of municipalities being against it?
The WCO group (who censors comments that are pro-wind) claims people in Denmark are against wind energy. So I asked a friend who lives in Copenhagen if that’s true. Apparently over 90% are in favour of more wind turbines. People there don’t find them an eyesore either.
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It is easy for you, Tim Hudak, to be an armchair quarterback. I have yet to hear one original idea from you that would support job creation and protect the environment at the same time. You lost the election and yet you still have an opportunity to engage in the governing of this province. Quit bitching and start earning your pay by offering constructive and beneficial solutions.Failing this approach, you will always be an armchair quarterback.
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You’re lucky if a wind turbine kills 4 birds a year in one of the busiest migration paths in Northern Ontario. Sault to be exact. The reason PETA is quiet on this is because your numbers are way off!! Power companies which own turbines cannot promise a local resident power from the their turbine park or farm. That is your local power supplier, and they really don’t care where your power comes from. As long as your paying! Turbines do not emit sound waves or electrical disturbances which mess with brain activity, sleepless nights, ringing in the ears, dizzy spells and They don’t ruin the production of milk from dairy cows. The reason why people talk about them around the towers is because they’re curious. Yes it takes along time to fix one of these machines. If you’re lifting 40tons, with a crane, 262ft in the air, in a WIND FARM, the winds can be no higher than 18km/h.(give or take a few km’s) Typically the winds rarely drop below this speed for more than 3 days a week. Temperature also plays a big part. If it’s too cold out large cranes don’t like to work all that well. So yes a job of that magnitude is hard to plan, but that’s why you build wind turbines where it’s windy! Weird isn’t it? Talk about how much money the government makes off of wind turbines? How much do you think they make off of nuclear or that LARGE POLLUTING, CANCER FORMING, CHILD DEFORMING, ASTHMA INDUCING coal generation plant in Nanticoke??? Although I’m not a huge fan of DALTON, his government has the right idea in taking away the rights from the Regions and NIMBY’s(ATTENTION SEEKERS) in opposing these projects. I agree you shouldn’t have to have one towering over your house, I believe there was a law (bi-law or rule) passed that turbines have to be 500m+ from any dwelling and road. The right turbines actually shut down in the winter on ice days for public safety. Actually the turbines have a PLC controller in them to detect ice on the blades and it shuts itself down to prevent any damage and protect public safety. There are tons of windfarms all over Ontario. Go educate yourself and talk to the owners, not from a neighbour who’s P.O’d becuase they didn’t fall into the plans to have a lucrative turbine on their property. Go speak to the power companies who own the parks. They would be more than glad to give you a tour through the park to show you and educate you on the benefits of wind power. Go speak to a Farmer who is now happy that he doesn’t have to claim bankruptcy because that large annoying, brain melting whirly bird is making him/her some great income. Next time you see a child or newborn with breathing difficulties you’ll appreciate what the government is trying to do with the building of wind farms and the scrapping of COAL PLANTS!
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This was a comment from another site. I was tired of writing and defending turbines. You’ll get the idea!
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