Editor,
During our Federal Government’s ‘Question Period’, our current PM has a predictable behaviour of never providing a direct answer to questions from parliamentarians. We can be assured he will immediately waltz off on a tangent and announce how virtuous and selfless his party’s policies and performances are when asked a question, avoiding disclosure of facts injurious to his agenda.
So are the actions of Meaford’s uninvited contractor, TC Energy. They also refuse to answer directly, without ambiguity, questions relating to their Pumped Storage ambitions. Their response to such inquiry is evident in the March 7th edition of our Independent newspaper. On page 5, there is a full-page invitation “We Want to Hear from You” and on page 9, an ambiguous diatribe of meaningless sanctimony from their representative Mikkelsen.
On February 4, I sent 5 questions directly to TCE staff, Little and Mikkelsen which they refuse to answer. Whether you are in support of this project or not, you need to hear specific and factual answers to these questions from TCE so you may express a credible opinion as to the necessity and practicality of this multi-billion dollar, publicly funded project which will wreak havoc on a portion of the Niagara Escarpment Biosphere under our care.
Since TCE and our Council have not, and will not, answer these questions privately to me, I would urge every taxpayer in Ontario to demand specific and direct response to each of the following critical elements of this project:
- If the Barrie Ontario Transfer Station is to receive 1,000 Megawatts of regenerated electrical energy from Meaford, how many Megawatts of electrical energy must it deliver to fill the reservoir? …. (Just the Number!)
- Is TC Energy willing to provide a “Performance Guaranty” of the above efficiency number, the payout amount equal to the total cost of engineering and construction of the project and in so doing, post a Performance Bond of that value?….. (Yes or No!)
- How many liters of diesel fuel (+/- 20%) have been budgeted to be burned by equipment needed to construct this facility?…….. (Just the Number!)
- In 2035, Canada has a mandated the sale of electric automobiles exclusively. Accordingly, there will be millions of EVs requiring overnight charging using Off-Peak electricity. Do we need to be pumping billions of liters of Georgian Bay water uphill at night when these vehicles require charging? (Yes or No!)
- Canadian Law provides provisions for open, free-market public bidding practices for all civil projects to circumvent collusion, anti-trust and non-competitive procurement. Is TC Energy willing to compete with other E&C entities who may wish to quote energy storage facilities that may use alternate battery storage technology? (Yes or No!)
We have succeeded as a species because we are willing to ask questions, about “everything”. To refrain from doing so, is to surrender your ability to think and reason autonomously to those who are prepared to do this for you, which may not be in your best interests.
Remember, The Truth is the enemy of those who contrive to deceive.
Stephen Carr, Meaford
