Communities on Georgian Bay are beginning to express opposition to the pumped storage facility proposed by TC Energy to be located on the grounds of the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre, in the Municipality of Meaford.
Two Georgian Bay area municipal councils have recently approved motions expressing opposition to the proposed facility, the Township of The Archipelago, near Parry Sound, on November 17, and the Town of the Blue Mountains during their December 18 council meeting.
The resolution passed by the Township of The Archipelago’s council in November states that the proposed project “would cause irreparable harm to the environment and would have significant negative impacts on the local animal, plant, fish, and human populations,” and that the project “would irreversibly alter and damage the unique ecological, cultural, and historical features of the area, putting at risk the important tourist industry, sport and commercial fishing that relies on these natural benefits.”
The Township of The Archipelago’s council said in their resolution that they “vehemently oppose the TC Energy Pumped Storage Project on Georgian Bay and urges DND to immediately implement measures to remediate the military base to ensure that the area is fit for human and animal habitation,” and they called upon the Ministry of the Environment to “cease their support of the Project, accept the IESO recommendations that the Project should not be approved, and therefore avoid placing an unnecessary financial burden on Ontario taxpayers.”
A resolution passed by the council of the Town of the Blue Mountains on December 18, offered support in principle for the Township of The Archipelago’s resolution.
The proposed facility has raised concerns among many Meaford residents since it was first announced in 2019. Save Georgian Bay, a local advocacy group, has been working to raise awareness of, and opposition to, the proposed facility. The group has held a number of protest rallies, and has collected thousands of signatures on petitions opposing the proposed facility. Recently, Save Georgian Bay has been calling upon bay area municipalities to express opposition to the proposed pumped storage plant.
The concerns of opponents are many, ranging from fears that the facility would have negative impacts on the environment, including negatively impacting fish in the bay, to concerns that homeowners in close proximity to the site could be in danger of flooding should the reservoir fail.
TC Energy, on the other hand, says the proposal is a green initiative that would consume inexpensive off-peak power at night to pump water from Georgian Bay into a 374-acre storage reservoir located 150 metres above the Georgian Bay shoreline on the military base. The reservoir, which would hold 20 million cubic metres of water, would be emptied back into Georgian Bay during peak usage periods, driving hydraulic turbines to generate electricity.
In February of last year, in a 5-2 vote, Meaford’s council approved a motion offering conditional support for the project, subject to a number of conditions including confirmation with TC Energy that the municipality will be compensated for all costs incurred related to the proposal, development of an agreement with TC Energy for short and long-term community benefits, and subject to the approval of the proposed facility by all relevant jurisdictions including environmental impact assessments, and all other required regulatory approvals.
Over their holiday break, the Independent sought comment from the seven members of Meaford’s council regarding the resolutions approved by the two municipal councils.
Deputy Mayor Shirley Keaveney, who brought forward the motion of conditional support that Meaford’s council approved in February of last year told The Independent that the Township of the Archipelago and the Town of the Blue Mountains had insufficient data to approve their motions.
“It is important to note that Trans Canada Energy has not to date had any communication or engagement with the Township of the Archipelago, so I struggle to understand how their council felt well enough informed to support this motion. I believe it is always critical to understand all sides of an issue before making any decision. We are the most heavily impacted community yet no one from either municipality reached out to Meaford for our input or perspective. I do maintain that our council, staff, and residents are the best informed of any municipality since we have access to ongoing communication with T.C. Energy and we have the advantage of the excellent research completed by members of Save Georgian Bay,” Keaveney noted in her response. “With all of that knowledge our position as a council was established on February 27th , 2023 with the passing of a conditional motion outlining the terms of our support which are contingent on receiving confirmation from TC Energy that they will reimburse all reasonable costs incurred, ensuring the development of a regulatory plan which will outline our participation in the Federal Impact Assessment process, the adoption of a formal agreement between the Municipality of Meaford and TC Energy for Community Benefits and the approval of the Pumped Storage Facility under all applicable processes and assessments. I simply don’t believe either the Township of the Archipelago or the Town of the Blue Mountains had sufficient data or information to determine support or non-support for this motion at this point in time. The Township of Archipelago did not debate the language, nor did they ask any questions, they simply removed one statement regarding profit margins for TC Energy and passed the motion. TBM discussed the motion for roughly 15 minutes. How can a decision on such a large, important project be made in such a short time-frame?”
Councillor Harley Greenfield, who has publicly opposed the proposed project, suggested that if more bay area communities express opposition to the project, Meaford’s council should reconsider their own position.
“I find it interesting that two of our neighbouring Georgian Bay municipalities, one very close, and the other ‘across the bay’, have expressed concerns about the TCEnergy pumped storge project on the DND property,” Greenfield told The Independent. “As you perhaps know, I voted against what I perceived to be premature support for the TC proposal. Should other municipalities surrounding the beautiful shores of Georgian Bay (i.e Collingwood, Tiny Township, Georgian Bluffs) join in voicing negative opinions about the TC initiative, I truly believe our Council should undertake serious additional discussions pertaining to this behemoth project.”
Councillor Brandon Forder, the other member of Meaford’s council who has publicly opposed the project, said that council should be open to hearing opposition from fellow municipal councils.
“As an elected official, I believe it is essential to approach community matters with an open mind and a continual readiness to assimilate new information. This mindset becomes particularly relevant when considering the opposition from the Township of Archipelago and Town of Blue Mountains regarding the TCE pumped storage project. I believe this presents an opportunity for the Municipality of Meaford to demonstrate leadership by fostering open and constructive dialogue on the matter,” Forder told The Independent. “While I respect the decisions of my fellow council members, I must state that I did not support Meaford’s decision to adopt a conditional willing host status for this project. I continue to scrutinize this extensive multi-billion dollar infrastructure project with a highly critical lens. It is essential that we thoroughly evaluate the implications of such a significant undertaking to ensure the best outcomes for our community, and all communities that share Georgian Bay.”
Councillor Tony Bell told The Independent that Meaford has positioned itself to be part of the regulatory process.
“I support this position of council (regarding council’s February 2023 resolution offering conditional support). Now after three and a half years we have placed ourselves into being part of the regulatory process in order to take the many dynamic concerns directly to TCE,” Bell offered in his comments to The Independent. “As for other municipalities, after only short presentations on this very important proposal they may if they feel they must or should make statements about it. For myself fostering economic, social, and environmental well being for the whole municipality is critical throughout this lengthy process. I am glad to know that first nation’s are included, as input from them is highly important for approval. As stated many times this project represents one of Canada’s largest climate change initiatives. And yes we happen to be the next door neighbour’s working our way together through it all.”
Councillor Rob Uhrig said that he was surprised by the resolutions passed by the Township of the Archipelago and the Town of the Blue Mountains.
“I cannot speak for my fellow Councillors but frankly, I am surprised by the manner in which these motions were hastily presented and accepted. I watched the video of both Council meetings and noted, particularly with the Township of Archipelago as architects of the motion, that there was no report providing the background or research that was undertaken to support a strongly worded motion that uses the phrase “vehemently opposed”, or discussion to approve the same,” Uhrig told The Independent. “I understand the opening line of the motion that relates to financial concerns as it is directly based on an IESO recommendation. However, I am curious what reports or information the remaining points in the motion are based on. I asked local TCE representatives as well as Meaford Staff if either the Archipelago or Blue Mountains Municipalities had reached out for information regarding the pump storage project and was told that they had not. Meaford Council, after much deliberation and guidance, specifically only granted “conditional” support for the project based on a wide ranging set of criteria including most importantly, Point 4 of that motion: Approval of the proposed facility by all relevant jurisdictions under all applicable environmental energy, and land use processes, including any applicable environmental and/or impact assessments, and all applicable regulatory approvals, authorizations, licenses, and permits. While I respect the rights of Municipalities to offer opinions on projects in other Municipalities, my hope is that they would reach out to those Municipalities that are directly impacted, or the Principals of the projects they are opposing, for relevant information before doing so.”
Councillor Steve Bartley agreed with the comments offered by Councillor Uhrig, adding that “I do not understand why both councils would pass a motion without asking TCE, DND, our staff or our council the other side of the story. I have asked them that but do not have an answer.”
At the time of publication, The Independent had not received a response to its request for comment from Mayor Ross Kentner.
In July of last year, council approved the appointment of two consulting firms, StrategyCorp, and Ainley Group, to assist council and the municipality in moving through the process.
“StrategyCorp were engaged to work on the development and negotiation of a community benefit agreement with TCE, while Ainley Group were awarded project coordinator services,” noted the report to council. “Since that time, staff have had initial conversations with both organizations, in an effort to ensure that the municipal work related to this project move forward smoothly. Staff intend to provide Council with a quarterly update on the TCE Pumped Storage project, generally at the first meeting of each quarter, along with additional information as required.”
