Editor,
I ask you, what thoughts come to mind when you read opinions from groups of people who “vehemently” assert as facts, things about which they know very little. They remind me of Climate change deniers, anti-vaxers and partisan political action groups.
We have our own subset of these types of groups in the Georgian Bay region. They make broad negative assertions, apparently without looking into the positives of the Pumped Storage Project. The final designs, environmental assessments, and financial impacts have not been completed and yet they seem to “know” that the project is “is a very bad financial deal for Ontario.” They can not possibly know that to be true.
The solutions we all face require determined, practical thinking by our leaders. I applaud the majority of Meaford Council members in this regard. They are reserving final judgment until all facts are known. The problems are much bigger than parochial, NIMBY, Georgian Bay group reactions.
The councils in the communities around the Bay would benefit from a better awareness of Ontario’s energy needs and specifically the role of the pumped storage project in meeting those needs. They need to start to do their part to work on the much larger issues of renewable energy and grid storage to help Ontario meet its energy requirements.
The Ontario government is overseeing the study of impacts regarding fish, water quality, construction, safety, tourism etc. We should trust those processes and have the facts before we pass any judgment.
All of Ontario needs reliable, proven grid storage to meet known future energy needs driven by global warming, climate change, charging electric vehicles, etc. Denying these issues won’t make them go away, just more expensive.
In my opinion, the majority of informed people understand the broader issues and support the pumped grid storage project. So should elected community council members.
A final thought a person confided to me. I thought it to be a very practical view. “Since it’s all underground or under water, I can’t see or hear the operations so why should I stand in the way of the project that could benefit all Ontario.”
Dave MacDougall, Meaford
