March 10, 2012
Ontario

MPP vows not to give up

By Denis Langlois, The Sun Times, www.owensoundsuntimes.com 9 March 2012

Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson says a full gallery of spectators in the Ontario Legislature literally “turned their backs” on the Liberal government Thursday after her motion for a wind turbine moratorium was defeated.

“It was such a poignant, poignant visual,” the rookie Progressive Conservative politician said in an interview.

“There were people that travelled from Amherst Island, Haldimand-Norfolk and all throughout Huron-Bruce and they were there to support a caucus that was bringing their voice forward. The picture that spoke to me was, here’s a government turning their back on the people of Ontario that made time to exercise their voice, so the public gallery turned their back on the government.”

Thompson’s private member’s bill called for a moratorium on further wind turbine development until third-party social, physical and economic health and environmental studies have been completed.

She tabled the motion, her first as an Ontario MPP, in December.

More than 1,500 signatures had been collected on petitions in support of the motion.

Liberal and NDP MPPs voted against it.

“I’m very disappointed in the coalition that came through again to vote down a very good initiative,” she said.

But she said she is “buoyed” by the support shown to her motion.

“We’re going to keep this fire going,” she said.

Thompson said industrial wind farms “were created by the McGuinty Liberals in haste, without proper planning and without proper science.

“Ontario right now has a surplus of power and we are exporting excess power to other provinces and states for pennies on the kilowatt hour, while Ontario families are paying through the roof for Dalton McGuinty’s poorly planned out industrial wind energy projects. It’s simply not fair,” she said in a news release.

Thompson noted the Liberals have commissioned a $1.5-million “taxpayer-funded” study by the University of Waterloo into the health effects of wind turbines.

But they are continuing to approve “massive industrial wind projects” without the results.

“We need to slow down, hit the pause button on these industrial wind projects until we know the true social, physical and economic health and environmental costs of wind turbines,” she said in the news release.

“If the McGuinty Liberals have commissioned their own study, I question why they are rushing through the approvals process. It makes me wonder if the Liberals are serious about finding out the health and environmental effects, or if this is simply a $1.5-million taxpayer-funded public relations move.”

[rest of article available at source]

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2012/03/10/mpp-vows-not-to-give-up/