I live close to the…

I live close to the industrial park along Coronation Drive in Scarborough and am alarmed by this proposal.

We've been plagued with consistent, ongoing and extremely disruptive noise at night from a number of facilities along this stretch. The culprits include a food processing plant that runs a very noise cooling system 24/7/365 days at very high decibels, which are believed to be well above the Ministry guidelines. They've recently started building a barrier around the unit to try and minimize the noise, it seems to be helping a bit but hasn't eliminated it by any means.

There's also ongoing nighttime noise with the Waste Water Treatment Plant and from the recycling plant at 633 Coronation Drive. The latter is a 24/7/365 operation, which pushes materials around with construction equipment, subjecting residents to very loud back up beepers and often crashing, banging, dragging and vibrations related to the loading and unloading trucks. The constant noise can be unbearable at times, and is even worse this time of year as we lose some of the sound barrier from the leaves in the trees.

Since Covid hit, I've been working from home full time. I usually go out for a walk around lunch time and then after work. I'm shocked by how many trucks pass me on a daily basis. I can't walk down Beechgrove and to the lake without at least a handful of 18-wheelers and other large trucks whizzing by me. And to make matters worse, many of these heavy vehicles travel up and down our residential streets all hours of the night. I've had to start wearing earplugs to try and block out the noise between the trucks and 24/7 industrial operations on Coronation. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn't even help. And for the past week, my ears have been bothering me immensely, likely from sleeping with earplugs or having earbuds in listening to music to block out the noise. I've lived in my house for 30 years and it's been increasingly unbearable the past few years.

There are already significant environmental risks and compromises to the health of nearby residents. To make matters worse, our hands are currently tied by the Government of Ontario's 71/20 regulation, which has removed the City's authority to regulate noise. We simply have no recourse to deal with these current disruptions. It feels like we're sacrificial lambs at times.

The proposal to change the Municipal Act, 2001 and City of Toronto Act, 2006, to limit municipalities from regulating noise related to the delivery of goods, needs to clearly define the term "goods." This terminology must clearly state that "goods" refers ONLY to retail establishments, restaurants including cafes and bars, hotels and motels, which I believe is the original intention of the regulation.

On top of all this, me and my neighbours are terrified of the additional noise that'll be inflicted on our community if the proposal from 2683517 Ontario Inc. for biogas/anaerobic waste digester processing plant, the largest of its kind in Canada, is approved. Few would agree that transferring rotting waste, diapers and other "organic" refuge, or cans, bottles, glass could be defined as "goods."

I strongly urge the Ministry to seriously consider and investigate the issues facing our residential community, and reinstate the City's authority to regulate noise polluters adjacent to our community. These facilities aren't transporting or processing "goods" for restaurants, cafes and bars. Municipalities should have the right to regulate the noise these businesses produce as part of their day-to-day operations.