Perspective—Rural North…

Perspective—Rural North-Eastern Ontario:

 

My point of view comes from my experience of living in rural north-eastern Ontario, in the Algoma District. Like many Ontario residents, my electricity bill has soared in the past two years. In January and February our bill reaches $850.00 for a 2000 sq. ft. residence heated primarily by electricity which, when we built our home 25 years ago, was a sensible and affordable cost. As we now are retired, this is a stretch on our pensions.

 

Like other rural residents in Goulais River, we have back-up heat derived from wood. We are reluctant to resort to this method because burning wood may not be, strictly speaking, “carbon neutral.” Every time that I drive to Sault Ste. Marie, I encounter several heavily laden lumber trucks headed south. From what I witness, the forest industry in Algoma is booming. And herein lies a problem. Much of the logging is done on private land which is not subject to the forestry regulations supposedly enforced on Crown Land. Often there is clear cutting and the remains of the trees are left in a tangled mess.

 

If the cost of heating continues to rise and residents in northern Ontario increasingly resort to wood-burning, then the Ministry of Energy in conjunction with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) must require that:

 

- forestry regulations be enforced on private land as well as Crown Land,

 

- clear cutting is banned, and

 

- where clear cutting has occurred, the owners of the land must replant the forest for the next generation.

 

Energy derived from wood is only “renewable” if harvested and planted responsibly. “Carbon neutral” presupposes that when tree is cut another will grow naturally or be planted to generate oxygen and so balance the CO2 in the atmosphere. Further, the MNRF must be vigilant in assessing the extent to which the forests are being depleted and regulate the licensing to harvest trees accordingly. This is a primary source of conservation which is critical to sustain life. It must be made clear that using living trees as a

 

source of energy to heat homes is as risky as using up all the coal, gas and oil supplies. It is a critical factor in Long-Term Energy Planning. Not because burning wood increases CO2 in the atmosphere, but killing trees impacts the production of oxygen—our life-support.

 

Living as we do on the shores of Lake Superior, we are intimately acquainted with the majesty and beauty of the watershed highlands which are the backdrop for this magnificent lake. In the past few years, the Lake Superior Watershed Conservancy has worked diligently to develop a network of smaller communities from Sault Ste. Marie to Thunder Bay to establish a Trans-Canada Trail Ontario (TCTO) recognized water trail which has 17 landing parks for canoeists, kayakers and boaters. (See: http://www.superiorconservancy.org.) The water trail is a significant piece of eco-tourism economy currently being developed in the Algoma and Thunder Bay Districts.

 

To date in Algoma, there are 126 turbines (Prince Wind Farm) plus 11 turbines (Goulais Wind Farm) and 26 turbines (Bow Lake Wind Farm). The combined turbines from Prince and Goulais can be seen from both Lake Superior and the trans-Canada highway. They are an intrusion into the wilderness experience that tourists who camp, hike, bike and boat come for in Algoma. The turbines can be seen for a radius of 90 kms and blink unceasingly through the dark to the detriment of Algoma’s premier tourist attraction – the night sky.

 

The rural residents of Algoma have vigorously opposed the erection of the Goulais and Bow Lake wind installations. They have made submissions to previous comment periods and come forward as appellants, participants and witnesses in the Environmental Review Tribunals related to each of these wind projects. They have voiced their concerns and they have not been heard.

 

In southern Ontario, there are some 113 municipalities which have passed the NO resolution to further wind development in their regions. They have been heard: Premier Wynne has curtailed the building of further projects in this area and has admitted publicly her mistake in creating hardships for the rural areas of southern Ontario. But here’s the problem: Goulais River and Montreal River (Bow Lake) are located in unorganized townships. Residents who live here have no “municipal voice.” They can only appeal directly to the Government of Ontario and the appropriate Ministries to hear their objections. Organizations such as Save Ontario’s Algoma Region (SOAR) (see: http://www.savealgoma.org/) are alive and well. They are not convinced that the current inability of the transmission grid to take more wind/solar-generated power will prevent the Ontario government from continuing its plan of off-shore and on-shore wind development on the Lake Superior shoreline. This is especially so as the Batchewana First Nation has indicated its potential for further wind development in Algoma. Rural Algoma will continue to resist the development of wind power on and off the shore of Lake Superior.

 

There is evidence now that the Government of Ontario via the Ministry of Tourism, Culture a

 

and Sport did not protect the Group of Seven painting sites which were impacted by the Bow Lake turbines. These painting sites are also a major tourist attraction for artists and art lovers who come from all over the world.

 

At a recent Community Liaison meeting (December 6), Capstone Inc. revealed that their 2015 stats show that the threshold of bat mortality has been exceeded at the Goulais Wind Farm. Although mitigations are now in place, residents of Goulais River were assured that no serious/irreversible environmental harm result from the construction of these 11 turbines.

 

Quite simply, the Ontario Government did not do its “due diligence” in researching the bat populations in both Goulais and Bow Lake. Allowing the developers to conduct these investigations was an abdication of the Ontario Government from its responsibility to the fundamental rights of Canadians to enjoy an unspoiled wilderness which characterizes much of Ontario’s northern landscapes.

 

Suggestions:

 

In planning for the future, the Ministry of Energy must:

 

-  Conduct serious and meaningful consultation regarding further renewable energy projects with residents of unorganized rural areas;

 

-  Develop a mechanism to allow rural residents to vote on whether or not they support further development of renewable energy in their areas;

 

-  To accept the vote of the people in decisions regarding renewable energy projects;

 

-  Conduct third-party responsible data regarding the populations of birds, bats and endangered species in rural areas such as Algoma prior to any further wind development;

 

-  Focus on economic development based on conservation of energy;

 

-  Educate the educators as well as the students about the critical need to be frugal, responsible users of energy in a world which is dependent on electricity as a primary need;

 

-  Rethink renewable energy economy as a major means of economic development in Ontario;

 

-  Invest heavily in research to discover new means of generating energy which is affordable and does no harm to the environment and to humans;

 

-  Generate present forms of energy production close to the areas both rural and urban for which it is needed.

 

Gillan Richards

 

Goulais River

 

Algoma District

 

[Original Comment ID: 207116]