Editor,
We all face many practical issues:
- CO2 pollution that is a major contributor to climate change and extreme weather
- Protecting our environment
- Maintaining our infrastructure to enable affordable housing
- Jobs, housing, health care, education
- Transition from gas and diesel vehicles to electric vehicles
- Transition to fully renewable energy sources for the electric grid
- High cost of living
- Taxes
Our council and the Ontario government and our partners, the SON and the OPS project, have been working hard to find ways to deal with these realities. We must take a long view, for the well-being of future generations.
Our TMI editor, who has been doing a good job of tracking 2025 budget issues, (in November) reported that: “Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney suggested that ratepayers could ultimately be facing a 21 percent increase in 2025”.
These tax increases are driven by aging infrastructure (water, sewage, roads, bridges, arena, etc.) All need maintenance and improvement. We need to find new approaches and solutions. Traditional Conservative thinking will not get these things done. You can not save your way to prosperity.
Meaford and all of Ontario is very fortunate to have an excellent opportunity to affect these issues. The Ontario Pumped Storage project (OPS). It touches on many of my concerns.
OPS Benefits:
- As a renewable energy storage facility it will help to stabilize Ontario’s Energy Grid as we transition to electric vehicles. (a CO2 reduction)
- It will reduce the need for gas-powered peak electricity use generators. (a CO2 reduction)
- It will provide local jobs and business investment both during construction and long into the future. (a tax revenue enhancement)
- It is a respectful use of Indigenous lands. (a legacy obligation)
- It is a safe, proven investment for our energy storage needs that will provide long term returns for 100+ years.
- These investments are mostly in Canadian dollars spent with Canadian companies. (assist Canadian economy)
- It is NOT based on short-lived battery technology that is toxic when damaged and that has unproven life expectancy beyond 10 years. (how many times do we want to buy a grid storage solution)
- Most of the project infrastructure is underground, or under water. It will not be seen or heard and will not interfere with existing uses of our beautiful bay. (A positive environmental impact)
- The partner (TC Energy) is offering incentives to offset disruptions during construction and long term. They project $450 million in social value contributions from the Project. I’ve heard $1,000,000/year in lieu of taxes! That kind of financial assistance can’t be ignored by our councillors and taxpayers. It will go a long way towards helping to reduce the proposed 21% tax increase.
Considering all the above, I find it very disappointing that a small, loud, group (Save Georgian Bay) is doing all they can to stop the project.
SGB gentry are concentrated on generationally owned shoreline properties. They live on roads, isolated from commercial traffic and heavy trucks. They have no water lines, sewers, gas lines or bridges so they are unconcerned about aging infrastructure. Many are retired so they are not concerned about jobs. Some do not live in Meaford area full time. Climate change and the energy grid is a distant issue to them.
But they feel empowered to adamantly say “NO” to those who are concerned about those issues and who are interested in the project’s benefits.
SGB leaders have publicly spent the last several years raising concerns they think that non-shoreline citizens will rally around. But it seems they have been unsuccessful at getting a majority of the citizens to align with them.
Because SGB are not getting the results they want, the “impartial” SGB affiliated members of the Meaford Pumped Storage Advisory council are trying a new approach. They are pushing arguments that Ontario Environmental assessment teams are incompetent and can’t be trusted. A Trumpian tactic.
The SGB group have not proposed solutions that will address any of Meaford taxation or infrastructure issues or Ontario Energy issues. Because they are largely isolated from all that, they simply fall back on their conservative instincts and simply say “NO”. It seems that SGB simply does not care about Meaford’s tax issues, jobs, economy or Ontario energy issues or climate change impacts.
Those who do care about such things support the OPS project and want to learn more about the revenues and benefits that will help relieve our tax burden while improving our infrastructure, local economy and fight climate change.
Dave MacDougall, Meaford
