Archive for Portlands development

Lana MacInnes has sent a link to an online petition requesting a full Environmental Assessment on the Portlands power plant as well as the gas pipeline reinforcement that it requires.  You can find this petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/PECPipe/petition.html.

Councillor Fletcher and our provincial and federal representatives, Peter Tabuns and Jack Layton, have also prepared a paper petition.  Paper petitions have greater credibility than online petitions, so if you have time to print one out and collect signatures for it, it’s worth the trouble.  If it troubles your Green conscience to have their names on the top, you can just take that part out.

Thank-you, Lana!

I met with the Toronto Energy Coalition Steering Committee last night. David Donnelly, a lawyer who has done a great deal of work for environmental causes, was there to offer his advice. There is some momentum.     Read more »

While the Portlands Energy Centre has not had a full environmental assessment, it turns out that building the gas pipeline to supply the power plant may require more public consultation than the plant itself.

This is Ontario, where you need an EA for a speed bump, but not for a nuclear power plant.  Your government, at work for you.

So this is a public meeting to discuss the impacts of the pipeline.  Let’s get a crowd out there. Get enraged.  As this is one of the only meetings that actually involves a public consultation, it is imperative that we make a scene.  Call any friends you have who might be interested.  Let’s show some real opposition if we want to kill this plant.

Portlands Energy Centre Public Meeting.
Wednesday, 2006 September 6 at 6pm.
Matty Eckler Community Centre, 953 Gerrard St East
(at Pape, opposite Gerrard Square).  Free.

Stop the Plant, the website for the Toronto Energy Coalition, is up and running.

Minister Cansfield suggests that “It takes time to change a culture” when explaining why the Liberals believe that the people of Ontario can not conserve energy. I am sure that this has little to do with virtually no government investment in helping the economy become more efficient, nor would the active manipulation of electricity prices to manage political sentiment create disincentive to conserve.  It’s “the culture’s” fault.

If it is in the culture I would suggest to the Minister, the candidates in Toronto-Danforth, journalists and energy users to recognise that responding to peak electrical demand in the summer in Toronto has little to do with keeping lights on. It’s all about keeping air conditioners running. So let’s change the language and alleviate the fear of blackouts. At least that way, the culture can start to make an informed decision about turning their houses into refrigerators when it’s 25 degrees outside.

Greg Bonser
Toronto, Ontario