In early March 2020, I…

In early March 2020, I received a rather harmless-looking envelope in my mailbox, a "notice for all adjacent residents and property owners." What seemed "harmless" was quite alarming.

I immediately spoke to my next-door neighbour, who had the same reaction I did -- what the heck was this? It sounded like it could potentially wreak havoc on our neighbourhood. My neighbour started making calls immediately, and then the world shutdown about a week after the letter was dropped off. Once he gave me the update from people he had spoken to, we started sending emails. I sent one to our local MPP Vijay Thanigasalam but never received a reply (my neighbor did receive a reply).

At a high level, we have concerns about the impact this facility will have on our neighbourhood, specifically the air quality/smell, noise and traffic pollution. I've included two links that detail all of our concerns and potential problems as it relates to this proposal, including a petition via change.org and news article that recently appeared in The Scarborough Mirror.

As of today (May 26), the petition has over 3,200 signatures (first link). Councillor Jennifer McKelvie has also been trying to help, please refer to her comments from the news article (second link) as well as to her letter to Minister Jeff Yurek (PDF attached below).

We were happy to learn the deadline for submitting comments was extended, as was the area for informing neighbours (originally within 100 metres, extended to 500 which is still well short of area that would be directly impacted). At the very least, we're now seeking a public meeting to express our concerns and to hear directly from the company planning this project.

My husband has lived in our house since 1967, I've been in the neighbourhood since we were married in February 1992. It's always been a mostly quiet, peaceful neighbourhood. The noise pollution has definitely increased over the years, companies have come and gone on Coronation Drive. Last summer, we noticed an increase in noise during the night, and my neighbor tracked it down -- it was being produced by a bitcoin-like company. We contacted the owner directly to complain and it helped reduce the noise but not eliminate it entirely. That only happened when the company closed up shop -- the current plant proposal is for the same location.

When we first received the letter, we tried doing some research on the company to learn more (since the letter didn't provide any contact information, website addresses, etc.). This type of facility is designed for rural areas, not urban areas immediately adjacent to homes, schools and parks. If you visit the company's website, their images depict exactly that (third link).

Coronation Drive isn't in the middle of nowhere, it's a street many people drive, bike and walk through each and every day. It looks nothing like the images shown on the company's website. In these days of self-isolation due to COVID-19, I’ve been taking daily walks along Coronation Drive to avoid more congested sidewalks and public paths by the lake. I’m more terrified and concerned than ever about this proposed site – the traffic, smell and noise along my walking route is already bad enough. I can’t imagine how horrible it will be if this site is built.

And finally, the lack of transparency and direct contact information CH Four neglected to provide in their original letter, as well as ongoing reluctance/failure to provide additional information, is a concern and red flag for our entire neighbourhood. It should be a concern for the Ontario government as well.

Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.