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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 2014-06-25, Page 5Wednesday, June 25, 2014 • Lucknow Sentinel 5 iT''ff 11 111:. www.lucknowsentinel.com letters to the editor Be Aware of Construction Practices Dear Editor: Access laneways are now being constructed in the K2 Wind project area in Ash- field Colborne Wawanosh (ACW) for the proposed 140 turbines. Cement dust is being used in the con- struction of these laneways. Large amounts of cement dust are blowing around during construction includ- ing onto neighbouring properties. This dust is toxic to plants to which it adheres and is not good for people or animals. The inis- try of the Environment (MOE) has confirmed that they consider it a contami- nant and that they will be monitoring and investigat- ing complaints regarding the transmission of this dust onto neighbouring properties in the K2 Wind project area. If there is construction close to your property, and you believe K2 is using the cement construction method, you may want to take action. Take pictures of the dust blowing in the wind and of where it is landing. If you can collect samples of the dust from. your property they can be provided to the MOE. You can call Mr. Scott Gass at the MOE office in Owen Sound at 519-371-4409 or 1-800-265-3783, Extension 4277. Mr. Gass is now aware of the cement dust situa- tion and will investigate. You will know if they are using this method ff there are large LAIDLAW trans- port trucks. They carry the cement dust to the con- struction site. There will be a large piece of equipment which looks like a grinder. This is used to mix the cement dust into the soil and create a hard base for the laneway. I spoke with K2 Wind about an access laneway near my property. They were planning to use cement dust. I voiced my objection. As a result, they will not be using cement dust on the laneway beside my farm. You may also want to monitor the situation if K2 Wind is pumping water from a turbine site. Keep records and take pictures if possible. Record the day, the amount of time pump- ing was going on and where K2 was pumping the water to. They do have a limit to the amount of water they can pump each day across the turbine project. If there is a piece of equipment at the turbine site which looks like a small generator on wheels it is more than likely to be a water pump. If pos- sible, take lots of pictures or videos of what is appening. Unknown but huge vol- umes of water have been pumped off the K2 Wmd substation/switchyard site over the past six months, unknown quantities of ground water to be pumped at turbine base sites and toxic cement dust. Any thinking person can see the irony here. - George Alton On Behalf of Concerned Citi- zens of ACW letters to the editor Obsolete Electoral System CHEATS Voters Again! That probably is not a headline or commentary you heard on election night when the media was blath- ering about "Liberal Massive Majority" or "Big Wm for Wynn': The reality is the peo- ple of Ontario voted for a minority Liberal Govern- ment with the NDP holding the balance of power, the Green's having a small cau- cus and the Conservatives a reduced official opposition. What they got from our out- dated "first past the post" electoral system was a phony Liberal Majority with no rep- resentation outside Toronto sitting in the government or at the cabinet table. The first past the post sys- tem of elections was devel- oped when only gentlemen owning property had the right to vote and there were only two parties both of whom served this wealthy elite. When women and the rest of the men got the right to vote new political parties formed. First past the post ensured that their voices were rarely heard in the leg- islature and that power remained firmly in the hands of parties serving the elite. First past the post has been inappropriate for serv- ing Ontario voters for at least 100 years. In 1914 the United Farmers of Ontario was formed because of rural frus- tration with the Liberals and Conservatives. In 1917 "first past the post" actually gave them enough seats to form the Ontario Government. In 1920 when they came sec- ond in seat count the Con- servative government refused to recognize them as the official opposition pre- ferring to recognize the Lib- erals. The United Farmers along with independent labour and social gospel reli- gious leaders went on to form the Cooperative Com- monwealth Federation (CCF) during the depres- sion. The CCF became the NDP in the 1960's. First past the post does not produce legislatures that reflect how people voted in a multiparty democracy. Ontario and Canada are multiparty democracies. It is time we had an electoral process that worked. Over 85 modem democra- cies use some form of pro- portional representation (PR) so that the seats a party holds in the legislature or parliament are proportional to the popular vote they received in the election. This shouldn't be a scary idea. This is the basic tenant of democracy - that we each get a vote and it should count toward representation. First Past the post means that over Half the votes cast in each election eam no representa- tion - This is absurd. If Ontario had PR the 2014 Ontario election results would be 40 Liberal, 33 Con- servative, 26 NDP and 5 Greens. This would be a Legislature that could actually represent the people and the diversity of Ontario. The Liberals did not get a stunning endorsement, or a massive majority from the Ontario Voters. Tim Hudak and strategic voting tilted the "First Past the Post" roulette table just enough so that the Liberals were the big win- ners and collected the Phony Majority chips. The table got tilted the other way in the 2011 federal election which is why Stephen Harper has a phony majority in Ottawa. First past the post is a sys- tem that may be acceptable, even desirable, for Liberal and Conservative insiders but for the rest of us who would like our votes to count equally and every election it is a system that has been stale dated since 1914. It is time to throw it out and get a proportional system that works. Yours sincerely, - Tony McQuail And the Winner Is. • • The judges have made their decision in Bruce County Tourism's 1st Butter Tart -Off. Elk & Finch Coffee Pub & Bistro of Southampton were declared the winner at the Explore the Bruce Adventure Passport Lanch Party at Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre on June 14, 2014. 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