by Patti Kellar,  published  London Free Press in 2012 

1. Spend a lifetime believing you were living in a society where democracy was a fundamental right of every citizen.

2. Buy and sell the concept that wind and solar energy sources are free, will save the planet, resolve the energy crisis, create employment and do so all with minimal disruption to the environment.

3. Ignore all evidence globally to the contrary.

4. Read about scandal after scandal; policies developed with out due diligence; politicians making back door deals and shaking hands with the most corrupt business in the world – further contributing to the growing economic crisis.

5. Try not to believe that the people you trusted to govern were creating programs and laws that quietly and effectively destroy democracy, increase energy costs, driving businesses out of the province and branding anyone who questions those changes as selfish, environmentally unfriendly and too stupid to understand the greater good.

6. Start doing your homework, listening to real people’s experiences, and realize that there are enough contradictions in information out there that at the very least, the pause button needs to be hit NOW.

7. Watch people turn into ‘receptors’ , be ignored and bullied while the people paid to govern create more rules, pay lip service to any and all concerns that are being heard in public arenas across the province and continue to develop practices and policies that rip apart families and communities and further contribute to the growing rural /urban divide.

8. Watch the pain in someone you love who realizes that the land that was cleared and settled by their forefathers is about to be irrevocably changed; realizing that all they have worked towards their entire lives will be disseminated and know that should we be unfortunate to be part of the 3 – 30 percentile of people who suffer negative health effects – there is literally no recourse other than to abandon the home we have worked towards all our lives.

9. Wonder how people you have smiled and waved at – who farmed next to you can go for years, watching you work and never mention how their decision to increase their own wealth – will change everything – all the while wondering how you can be called a selfish supporter of fossil fuels because you want to stop what is happening to your life and to the environment which you love. Feel guilt when you realize others have already experienced this loss and you were unaware.

10. Make a conscious choice to remove your head from the sand, move WAY outside of your comfort zone, put up a sign, replace it when someone steals it, start talking to people and have difficult conversations, start writing letters, start attending meetings, start carrying your sign around, stop attending businesses that support wind leases, walk in protests, drive your friends a little crazy (and yourself) and VOILA – someone calls you an activist and to your amazement – that is exactly what you have become.

An Elgin County community that stands to gain a wind farm it doesn’t want has told regulators they should count native endorsement of a project only if the bands have claims near the planned site.

Dutton Dunwich says any future renewable-energy rules should also require municipal support before any contract can be awarded.

Still steamed by a 20-turbine project awarded to Chicago-based Invenergy this month, Dutton Dunwich wants the province to do more than just tweak rules for Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) for wind, solar and water power. The Independent Electricity Systems Operator has asked for corporate and municipal feedback for the next two LRP rounds.

Under current rules, a company needs to prove it has engaged the community if it wants to win a contract. But that doesn’t mean what Dutton Dunwich thought it meant. “They talk about community engagement. All that means is public meetings,” said Mayor Cameron McWilliams.

His council has unanimously passed a resolution saying a municipality’s no should mean no and only a municipal ‘yes’ can place a project in the running.

In Dutton Dunwich, in a referendum answered by 56 per cent of voting-aged residents, 84 per cent said they didn’t want turbines.

NCC Developments — a green-energy partnership among six Northern First Nations groups — has a 10% ownership interest in the Invenergy Strong Breeze project in Dutton Dunwich.

In a letter to The Free Press NCC chief executive officer Geordi Kakepetum said the proximity of native partners should have no bearing on a project’s value.

NCC’s revenue from this project will help First Nations develop remote solar microgrids and reduce dependence on diesel, it says.

Dutton Dunwich also wants to know why some projects were selected and others rejected. “As elected officials, we are supposed to be transparent . . . but it doesn’t seem to work at a provincial level,” McWilliams said.

The six northern First Nations are hundreds of kilometres northwest of Dutton Dunwich.

But there is precedent for green-energy contracts with aboriginal support far from where the power would be generated: A solar project in Ryerson Twp west of Algonquin Park is backed by Missanabie Cree First Nation near Sault Ste. Marie; a hydro-electric project on the Trenton Locks near Belleville has backing from Dokis First Nation west of North Bay; and Invenergy’s solar contract at Lake Simcoe Airport also has support from the NCC in Ontario’s northwest.

NCC says Dutton Dunwich should be proud to be part of the greening of Ontario.

And, it notes, Dutton Dunwich will see economic benefit from the $150-million development: 150 construction jobs, plus local suppliers providing many of the materials; and tax revenue in excess of $4 million during the 20 years of the contract.

McWilliams said the province limits tax assessments of turbines to about one-fiftieth of their actual value. “I’m not disputing there’s some tax revenue but it’s not significant.”

Neighbouring Malahide Township offered to be a host site to turbines but the bidder there was unsuccessful.

IESO has said bidders were chosen based on a formula that includes native involvement, pricing, nearby energy needs and proximity to electrical connections.

Turbines have been a flashpoint in Southwestern Ontario, where opponents have criticized a process that minimizes local decision-making. Others worry about possible health effects of turbines on people and migrating birds.

dvanbrenk@postmedia.com

READ ARTICLE:   http://www.lfpress.com/2016/04/28/no-means-no-for-wind-farms-says-council

Tuesday May 10, 2016 closing date for applications.

Notice:  Notice-Township-Seeking-Members-for-New-Committees-April-2016

TOWNSHIP OF WEST LINCOLN INVITATION TO APPLY AS A MEMBER ON VARIOUS COMMITTEES

The Township of West Lincoln is seeking names of residents of West Lincoln who would be interested in being appointed to the following Committees:

(1) Public Advisory Committee – Industrial Wind Turbine Projects

(2) Mayor’s Youth Advisory Committee (12 to 18 years of age)

(3) Active Transportation Advisory Committee

The term of the appointment will not exceed the term of Council (ending November 30, 2018) and will last for a period of time as deemed appropriate. Meetings will be held on an as needed basis at the call of the Committee Chair.

Interested residents may submit their application to Joanne Scime, Deputy Clerk. A copy of the application form and/or the Terms and Reference for each of the above noted Committees may be downloaded from the Township’s Web Site at www.westlincoln.ca, refer to front page under “Trending” or under “Notices”, “Public Notices”, or may be picked up from the Township Office during regular business hours, Monday to Friday from 9 am to 4:30 pm.

Completed application forms may be dropped off at the Township Office, mailed (address noted below), emailed (jscime@westlincoln.ca) or faxed (905-957-3219), by no later than 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 10th, 2016. Applications may also be dropped off after hours using the white box located beside the entrance doors off the parking lot.

Please be advised that applications/submissions will be dealt with in an Open Session Meeting and all information submitted will be considered and distributed as public documentation as part of our public agenda process.

Please note that successful applicants will be subject to the Township’s Purchasing Policy as it relates to Conflict of Interest and the Township’s Code of Conduct for Members of Council, Local Boards and Advisory Committees. These policies can be found on our web site as noted above.

If you have any questions,

please contact either:

Carolyn Langley, Clerk or Joanne Scime, Deputy Clerk Township of West Lincoln

P.O. Box 400 318 Canborough Street Smithville, Ontario, L0R 2A0

Application Form:  Application-Form-for-New-Committees-April-20162