MP Lobb calls for halt to wind farm development until health study complete 

HURON COUNTY —Huron-Bruce MP Ben Lobb has added his voice to MPP Huron Bruce Lisa Thompson call for a halt to wind energy development until a recently announced health study by federal Health Canada has been completed.

Lobb said the announcement of a federal health study will not only help his constituents, but people across Canada who have been fighting to have their voices heard

“I am pleased that Health Canada has made the decision to study the health effects reported by those living near wind turbines,” said Lobb. “The people of Huron-Bruce have been asking for an independent study for years. There are real health related concerns from those living in close proximity to wind turbines and this study will shed more light on this emerging issue.”

“This is what we should be doing—working as a team for the best interests of our constituents,” Thompson said. “We are elected to stand up for our constituents and I am pleased to stand next to my federal counterpart, MP Lobb to fight for our constituents. It’s a shame that the McGuinty Liberals won’t stand up and do the right thing for the residents of Ontario.”

In March, a private members motion introduced by Thompson calling for a moratorium on wind energy development until third-party social, physical and economic health, and environmental studies have been completed was defeated in the Ontario Legislature. She said the Liberal government and the NDP “teamed up” to defeat her motion.

The Canadian Wind Energy Association says the calls for a moratorium are not warranted because scientific and medical evidence to date clearly concludes that sound from wind turbines does not adversely impact human health.

“The vast majority of Canadians choose wind energy as a top source for clean and safe new electricity. When discussing an issue as important as our energy future we must look at the facts. It is clear that the balance of research and experience to date – including hundreds of thousands of people living and working near wind turbines in 89 countries around the world – concludes that wind energy does not adversely impact human health,” said Chris Forrest, who is CanWEA’s vice-president of communications.

Health Canada has extended the comment period to Sept. 7.

The study is being designed with support from experts in noise, health assessment, clinical medicine and epidemiology.

The proposed research design and methodology is posted on Health Canada’s website. Feedback will be reviewed by the design committee, compiled and published on the website, along with the design committee’s responses.

The study will focus on an initially targeted sample size of 2,000 dwellings selected from as many as a dozen wind farms in Canada. In addition to taking physical measurements from participants, such as blood pressure, investigators will conduct face-to-face interviews and take noise measurements inside and outside of some homes to validate sound modelling.

The federal health agency, in collaboration with Statistics Canada, expects to deliver findings of the study in 2014.