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community engagement wind farms, IESO, LRP, Ontario government, Ottawa, Ottawa wind concerns, wind farm, wind farm leases, wind power contracts
“Overwhelmingly fraudulent”; “we were ready with a team of lawyers”; “property values are decreased because of forced wind turbine projects” … and more.
Ontario community groups, municipal representatives and individual citizens responded to the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) request for feedback on its renewable power bid process.
The IESO published a summary of comments received in its online survey, yesterday.
Ottawa Wind Concerns was among the community groups responding to this survey.
Key issues were the fact that the process was difficult to understand, unfair to individuals and communities, and that so-called “community engagement” was a false promise, given that community support (or lack of it) was just one of the rated criteria in the bid process, not a mandatory requirement.
Municipal governments are forced to determine whether they support a power project with very little information, representatives said. The rated criteria activities to indicate community support were ineffective, said most of the municipal government representative responding: 70 percent said the activities prescribed were “somewhat” or “very” ineffective.
| The mandatory meeting was set up in a format that was to leave everyone with the least amount of say as possible. There were large displays set up showing the project. There was no intention for any real interaction with the participants. We had to basically demand a question and answer period. Questions and answers in a public format is the way these mandatory meetings should be set up to ensure that the correct info is actually being presented. |
| The mandatory community engagement requirements and optional rated criteria community support activities were neither clear nor successful in raising awareness within the Project Community. How can a requirement to consult members of a community (and having owners sign a support form) on an existing line that had already been fully and duly permitted and that represents no new or additional impact for them be considered mandatory and successful in raising awareness or support for the project? The Rated Criteria points associated with obtaining a support resolution from the municipal council gives too much negotiation leverage to the Municipalities. Rated Criteria points should also be allocated following a prorated basis instead of a all or nothing basis, especially the ones associated with abutting landowners support. |
Some respondents questioned the municipal support process, saying that councils ignored community wishes and/or had pecuniary interests in the proposed power projects.
| I was part of the General Public who attended meetings and proposal meetings. Our elected officials were not responsive to the general public opinion which was 80% plus against the proposal so we had to fight our representatives. The process was very poor and at least 1 of our political persons refused to withdraw from voting and would directly benefit from the projects if approved. I felt like I lived in a 3rd world country. |
Other respondents decried the loss of good Ontario farmland for power projects, and the social impact on communities when some landowners took out leases or accepted payments for support of abutting power projects.
Another concern was the communities and neighbours to power projects had no idea the bid was coming until it was put together.
| Very simple. Let communities decide whether they want these projects or not. Let neighbors know from the very outset that their communities are being considered. Holding a propaganda session once the project is ready to be submitted is not community involvement. |
The IESO document is available here.
House and wind turbine at Brinston, just south of Ottawa. Propaganda meetings are not ‘community engagement’ says an Ontario citizen
Ottawa Wind Concerns 
Reblogged this on Patti Kellar.
Well at least this is a start . And to the person in Ottawa that stated that propaganda meetings are not community engagement should have a Wynne Turbine on his street to look at and hear for 25 years with the inability to move away.I really think that the whole Wynne Turbine project in Ontario should be moved to the Big cities instead of to the rural areas. After all where is the most Power needed? IN THE CITIES! And where are all of these high rise buildings where a wind turbine could be installed? IN THE CITIES. The Liberal government doesn’t see the opportunity to bring more green energy to where it is needed. This is the areas that pay 140% less in Hydro Costs than the rural people do. These people in the Ottawa Area don’t all have smart meters so they are on a fixed rate of approximately $.104 cents/KWH all costs included(delivery ,Tax. Theft.etc.) and the rural pays$.24/kwh( including the Chiarelli stick it to the people tax).
NOW the Liberals will tell us that it would affect the people too much and that would mean they would be voted out of office where they don’t have to listen to the rural people and they don’t care about their vote because if they pander to the Syrians,. All Gays, All Terrorists, all Muslims, ALL women etc they don’t need the rural vote. So they feel that that can do what they want to us Rurals
And as for the local politicians and councils they see the provincial government as the teacher for them as to how to get money they can spend on their pet projects and how to ignore the will of the people in their area.I went to a meeting in my township concerning support for the WYNNE TURBINES that was postponed from the evening meeting to a special meeting at 2:30 in the afternoon on a weekday.The council talked about the support for the Turbines then immediately called for a vote without any public comment and they OLD mayor cast the deciding vote so the township would get MONEY from the support. Why did they put a post in the Local Paper for residents to comment when they had already decided and this meeting was just a SHAM. These people have to be removed from the money train. These Wynne Turbine companys come in a spread the money all over the councils all of which like to spend the big bucks on their own pet projects without any long term thinking. I thought that they worked for the people that voted them in instead of the WYNNE TURBINE companies. All of these people have to be voted out of office. Its about time we get people that are in touch with what the voters want instead of people that just want to spend money
You have misunderstood the “propaganda meetings” remark, which is important. The LRP I process required one community meeting which turned out to be poster displays, not real meetings (or “dog and pony shows, as U of O professor Stewart Fast and others wrote in their paper earlier this year). The commenter was saying that, simply holding one of these events, which was merely to display the, in his/her words, ‘propaganda,’ does not constitute true engagement of a community.
It is very hard to have True engagement when you are dealing with a government of WYNNE Turbine Wyne that has lied to the people concerning their direction of the province in the future. The Premier and Energy minster( lying for the Premier) have repeatably lied to the rural residents concerning all Wynne turbine projects . They were considering that a phone call was engagement enough that the projects should move ahead and this type of engagement was a favorable response to the project.
And from this kind of deceit and lies is further being committed by the local Councillors in townships so they can claim their share of the BLOOD MONEY dealt out by the project constructors deamed as negotiation rewards. Being a reserved Canadian citizen believing that the provincial government is looking out for the rural people will not work with these liars that are holding office at this point in time.They are destroying our future and the childrens futures. We already have surplus hydro generation and they are still approving WYNNE TURBINE projects against the peoples wishes. What ever happened to the WILL OF THE PEOPLE. Are we going to allow them to take all of our rights away from us. The time of them knowing whats best for the people is over. The province is paying BILLIONS of DOLLARS to producers not to produce Hydro and that number will be increasing exponential as more TURBINES go on line. The providence debt load will be increasing over $300,000,000,000.00 in a couple of months or almost $22,000.00 for each person in Ontario. How can we as a rural citizens afford to pay the high Hydro prices that are just getting higher due to the Liberal Government poor energy decisions. We have to get more people involved to stop the tyrant K Wynne and her stooges.
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