Citizens of Prince Edward County were stunned when, just a few days before Christmas, the Ontario Ministry of the Environment announced it had approved the Ostrander Point wind power project.

Ostrander Point is at the southern tip of Prince Edward County and is considered an “Important Bird Area” which, according to Nature Canada, is “globally significant” for the number of migrating birds passing the area each year in the spring and fall.

The Ontario Government doesn’t care.

The Ministry of the Environment doesn’t care.

They don’t care that Ontario’s own Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller not too many months ago, advised the government not to locate wind power generation projects near the 70 or so Important Bird Areas in the province.

Stunning.

Of course, groups are lining up to file an appeal (how contemptuous is this government of democracy? The 15-day appeal period comes at the most holiday-intensive time of the year and actually only affords EIGHT business days for citizens to respond) including Prince Edward County itself.

And of course, the Legislature is pro-rogued so that not even our MPPs can stand up in the House and object.

What can you do?

Learn more about the project and Prince Edward County at

http://www.windconcernsontario.ca

http://appec.wordpress.com/

http://pointtopointpec.ca/

Write to the Minister of the Environment, Jim Bradley and complain. You can email him at:minister.moe@ontario.ca

and write to Ontario’s Environmental Commissioner Gord Miller at commissioner@eco.on.ca

Consider joining one of the community groups in Prince Edward County (see the link to APPEC, above) and join Wind Concerns Ontario (link above)

and donate to Ottawa Wind Concerns.

PO Box 3, North Gower ON  K0A 2T0

Email us at ottawawindconcerns@yahoo.ca to join our (confidential) email list for bulletins.

South shore, Prince Edward County