National Wind Watch: Wind Energy News » MPP Smith to hold meeting on windmills

Prince Edward County residents are being invited to voice their views on the wind issue as MPP Todd Smith has announced a town hall meeting to address the matter.

The meeting, scheduled for Feb. 2 at 6 p.m. at Picton’s St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, is intended to allow residents to sound off but, as well, to hear from the Ontario Conservatives on the matter.

The provincial government, Smith said, has failed residents when it comes to the public consultation process on wind energy projects.

In particular, he pointed to the project scheduled for the County’s south shore. Such projects are often posted to the environmental registry site for a 64-day public consultation period, but many third party groups have criticized the process.

Criticisms range from the lack of publicity surrounding the announcement of public consultation periods to a lack of serious consideration of concerns raised by members of the public during the process.

“If the Liberals were interested in more thorough public consultation, they’d have extended the comment period.” Smith stated in a press release. “But we were the ones who had to get that done for Prince Edward County.

“If they were serious about having more local input, they’d be in Picton setting up meetings like this. It’s difficult to tell how the Liberals intend to conduct a public consultation without consulting the public.”

Smith has invited ministry officials responsible for overseeing the project and his caucus colleague and Opposition Energy Critic, Vic Fedeli, to the meeting.

Fedeli, the former mayor of North Bay, is well versed when it comes to the Green Energy Act and its effects.

“Vic Fedeli has quickly become one of the most respected voices in the Legislature on this issue. As a former mayor of North Bay, he knows what it means to have local control taken away on issues like this. As our Energy Critic, he’s an intellectual force to be reckoned with on the careless policy that is the Green Energy Act,” Smith stated in the release.