Saturday, March 14, 2026

Letters

Reader Appreciates Committee of Adjustment Decision

Editor, I would like to begin by thanking Meaford’s Committee of Adjustment for the thorough preparation they did prior to the recent discussion regarding the proposed Minor Variance submitted by SkyDev. It was evident that members of the Committee had taken the time to understand what was being requested and to consider the broader implications the variance could have on the...

Concerns About the State of Democracy in Ontario

Editor, This past Saturday, I had separate conversations with two highly educated and well-travelled individuals, both originally from Poland but with no connection to each other. The first remarked that Canada—and Ontario in particular—were far from being democratic in policy and governance. The second, in a different conversation, argued that the actions of the Canadian government are perilously close to...

Residents Thankful For Community Engagement Regarding SkyDev Minor Variance Application

Dear Editor, We want to thank our neighbors, our community and the Imagine Meaford group that filled Council Hall on February 25th to oppose Sky Dev’s Minor Variance Application seeking an increase in height, that had a direct causal effect on the surface parking. The increase in height sought was to replace the underground parking with additional units amounting to...

Reader’s Thoughts on Pending Impact Assessment Process For Pumped Storage Proposal

To the Editor, I am writing in response to Scott Dunn’s recent coverage in the Owen Sound Sun Times regarding the upcoming federal Impact Assessment for TC Energy’s proposed pumped storage project, titled “Federal impact assessment of Meaford pumped storage plan starts soon.” The article highlighted the growing public interest in the start of the IAAC process and referenced commentary...

Ontarians Should Investigate Energy Costs Going Forward

Editor, As time goes by the continued silence from TC Energy with respect to their proposed Pumped Storage project continues. Mr. Clark’s last letter to this newspaper and Sara Beasley’s recent communications provide no answer to serious questions: just false information with regards to Battery Storage. TCE cannot yet let us know the final plan for this boondoggle! It has...

Doug Ford & Basket Weaving

Editor, Doug Ford mentioned that ‘basket weaving’ courses for university students is not what will be productive in the Ontario job market! I was appalled that he used an outdated prejudice term to refer to an unacceptable job. I’m appalled CBC Radio made no comment in quoting Ford. Has Doug Ford woven a basket himself? Baskets are essential for storage in...

Popular this week

Reader Opposes Dissolution of PSAC

Editor, I was disappointed to learn that Meaford Council is considering a motion to dissolve the Pumped Storage Advisory Committee (PSAC) before it has had a real opportunity to do the work it was created to do. Regardless of where residents stand on TC Energy’s proposed pumped storage project, most would agree on one thing: decisions of this scale deserve transparency,...

Reader Shocked at Proposal to Disband Pumped Storage Advisory Committee

Dear Editor, It was shocking to learn that Meaford Council was even considering disbanding the Pumped Storage Advisory Committee (PSAC) at its meeting on Monday. That committee became the only body attempting a modicum of the due diligence on TC Energy's $7 billion pumped storage project that Council totally failed to undertake before its 'willing-host' vote three years ago. That 5-2 vote...

Concern About Motion to Disband Pumped Storage Advisory Committee

To the Editor, I am writing out of deep concern regarding Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney’s motion to disband the Pumped Storage Advisory Committee (PSAC). This decision would silence the only structured mechanism Meaford has to evaluate the TC Energy pumped storage proposal and to bring community concerns to Council — at the very moment those concerns matter most. The justification offered...

Reader Expresses Support For Pumped Storage

Dear Editor, Who would try to sell a bunch of Honda Civics to do the work of a twenty-six-foot box truck? Well… Imagine that I open a furniture store. My customers can’t transport their purchases home themselves. They need me to deliver them. A tiny amount of research (I look at what’s delivering big stuff everywhere on the roads) tells me I’ll...

Conflicted About Pumped Storage

Dear Editor, I will probably die not deciding on the PSP but at least my indecision will be because of facts, not innuendo. Again today I read about what MIGHT happen or WHAT IF this happens. Most are letters written by people who have not asked the people who know. Because the council neglected their duty years ago, I wrote the...

Reader Questions Ultimate Cost of Pumped Storage Proposal

Editor, In a recent letter printed on February 12, 2026, a very well respected project engineer and director of TC Energy's Pumped Storage Project submitted a standard corporate description of the need for energy storage and the "advantage" of a century old technology in solving this challenge. He and myself agree that pumped storage systems have, that is "have" been...

Readers Oppose Minor Variance Application For Waterfront Development

Dear Editor, Thank you for allowing our neighbourhood to share our concerns regarding Sky Dev’s Minor Variance Application, in which a Public Hearing is to be held at 3 p.m. on February 25, at Council Chambers 157859 7th Line, Meaford. For over 100 years, Knights’ owned a hardwood manufacturing facility next to our harbour. They sold the land understanding that the...

TC Energy Says Pumped Storage Project Grounded in Need For Long-Term, Sustainable, and Dependable Energy Solutions

Dear Editor, Thank you for the opportunity to contribute to this important discussion about Ontario’s future energy system. TC Energy is proposing the Ontario Pumped Storage Project (Project) because Ontario is facing rapid growth in electricity demand and needs reliable, clean, and flexible solutions to meet long term needs. Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator projects electricity demand will increase 65 per...

Reader Offers Thoughts on Council’s Ludington Visit

Editor, It was informative to read in the Independent (Feb. 4) that Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney and Councillors Harley Greenfield and Tom Bell had such a good time on their TC-Energy-sponsored trip to Ludington, Michigan, to assess the effects of its 53-year-old pumped storage project on the local landscape. Unfortunately, in the report from Meaford’s CAO Sean Everett, who also tagged...

Reader Calls For Seniors Helping Seniors Initiative

Dear Editor, I am writing on behalf of the Council on Aging Grey Bruce (COAGB) in response to the article, Grey County Receives Age-Friendly Community Recognition in the January 29, 2026 edition of The Meaford Independent. Councils on aging across Ontario promote age-friendly community principles through actions such as education, advocacy, inclusion, and engagement. They are represented provincially by the Ontario...