Letter to the Editor
Dear Editor:
Councillor Ross Kentner’s letter, published in the The Meaford Independent last Friday, May 1, accurately reflects our view at Save Georgian Bay: Release the Pumped Storage Proposal report now!
We appreciate Councillor Kentner’s public requests, in the April 20 council meeting and now, to The Independent, seeking to allow the community adequate time to review and react to the report well in advance of the July 31 comment period closing date for the Department of National Defence.
The report should be released no later than the end of May. This allows for the reading of what could be a long report; discussion among community members of the identified implications (good and bad); and then for a period during which community members can enter or vocalize comments to council or the DND.
The reason offered by staff to council appeared to be that sharing the report is delayed to allow the community, including the Save Georgian Bay group, to attend the review with council in person. On behalf of Save Georgian Bay, we are far more interested in releasing the report NOW, with ample time to study it and discuss it in the community. We will attend the meeting on Zoom and read the online, pdf, or printed versions of the report. Granted, we are hopeful that the threat to the environment, the bay, and the community are fully expressed in the report. We hope that the report recommends setting high standards for performance and shares specific expectations to protect the ecosystem, the bay and our community members. We look for council to take whatever actions possible to protect our community and environment from TCE’s history of poor environmental performance.
We applaud Councillor Kentner’s leadership in promoting the release of the report promptly. He is stepping out in front of our many elected leaders who continue to hide behind comments like, “I don’t know enough yet.” Thank you, Councillor Kentner, for shining the light on the proposal and the process.
Tom Buck for Save Georgian Bay
