HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2011-03-31, Page 16PAGE 16. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 31, 2011.Huron East to reconsider turbine policy
I’ll start this week with a quiz.
What do Moammar Gadaffi,
downtown Brussels and the
environment have in common? I
could add ‘peak oil’ and climate
change to the list, but I figured
things are confused enough as it is.
The answer, by the way, is the price
of gas.
All of this is taking a look at
where the rather curious idea that
the environment is something quite
separate from the economy or
culture has led us.
Most of us have seen those
wonderful little Venn diagrams with
three intersecting circles. The ones
where the three big circles labelled
environmental, economic and social
overlap, leaving a little triangular
blob in the middle labelled
‘sustainable’.
Despite the fact that the
environment is everything around
us, it has somehow become just one
third of the sustainability equation.
The economy, our society and
culture, indeed everything we are as
a species, exists within the
environment but we accord it 33.3
per cent of our attention and much
of that lip service.
The disconnect is relatively recent
and I believe happened because the
‘environmental movement’ (a term I
heartily dislike) began by
concentrating on the picture
postcard aspects of the
environment – tropical forests and
seal pups and the contents of pretty
mountain vistas.
They are all important, but to be
frank, we don’t live near a tropical
forest and the number of seals in the
Maitland River is limited. What we
do live near is the human-built
environment of our downtowns, and
like it or not, that is an important
sector of any rural community’s
environment.
At this point I should probably
drag ‘Moammar the Madman’ back
into the column and explain where
I’m headed.
Small town downtowns started to
die when the car became king. Small
towns were no longer hubs for a
wider community.
Small retailers, the previous heart
of the village business district,
began to fade away when it became
easy and cheap to drive to the mall.
Well, to quote Bob Dylan, “the times
they are a-changing”. Unstable
Middle-Eastern regimes (that’s
where Moammar comes in), the
acknowledged reality of peak
oil and the increasing costs of
accessing what oil is still out there
all mean that the price of gas is
going up.
When gas is $3, $4, or $5 for a
litre, the built environment of our
downtown is suddenly going to be
very important to our lives. (As an
aside to the person I bet $20 that gas
would be $5 a litre in 10 years – it’s
already well over $2 per litre in
Europe.)
Towns such as Brussels and Blyth
were built as walkable communities.
The small environment of the village
downtown fit into the larger
environment of the whole town and
that in its turn fit into the overall
rural landscape. We don’t need to try
to turn back the clock, but we can
look at the environment we used to
live in for some answers about our
future.
As the percentage of seniors in
Huron’s villages increases, as it
surely will with the school board’s
decision to close small town
schools, the ability to walk
downtown to access services, buy
groceries or borrow a book is going
to become crucial to the survival of
these rural communities. We will be
well served if we can manage to
work out how to restore the built
environment of our downtowns
because they are our once and future
community heartland.
Huron East Council has decided to
reconsider a bylaw that would
almost certainly open the
municipality up to legal action from
wind turbine companies and perhaps
the Ontario government.
After a lengthy closed-to-the-
public session, council decided that
they would put a bylaw pertaining to
wind turbines on the floor at the
April 5 council meeting for a third
and final reading.
The exact wording of the bylaw
has yet to be determined, as
councillors were waivering between
their own wording and the exact
wording of a similar bylaw passed
by Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh
(ACW) Council earlier this year.
The actual motion passed at the
March 22 meeting of council stated
that the municipality’s wind turbine
development agreement bylaw,
which had already received its first
and second readings, be considered
for third and final reading at the
April 5 meeting.
There were, however, some
additions that councillors wanted to
see, including the support of a
mandatory 2,000-metre setback,
which would directly counteract the
province’s Green Energy Act and its
550-metre setback, which was just
upheld in a recent legal decision.
Another portion of the proposed
bylaw was a site plan that would
have to be approved by themunicipality in order for a developerto construct wind turbines in Huron
East. This was something, however,
that councillors said they felt they
did have control over after much of
their control regarding renewable
energy was stripped with the Green
Energy Act and put in the hands of
the provincial government.
While the vote to return the bylaw
to the council table for discussion
was passed unanimously (with
Councillor David Blaney and Mayor
Bernie MacLellan declaring
conflicts of interest) the actual
passage of such a bylaw did incite
discussion regarding the potential
legal implications that the bylaw
could have.
Several councillors voiced
concerns about putting the entire
municipality, and its taxpayers, on
the financial hook while attempting
to protect residents who may be
affected by wind turbines in the near
future.
“If we pass this bylaw, we’re
going against the Green Energy
Act,” said Brussels Councillor Joe
Seili. “I can’t vote in favour, because
we would be on the hook for court
costs and loss of income for
developers.”
Seili said that while the concerns
of the members of Huron East
Against Turbines (HEAT) and other
residents who may be affected by
turbines, Huron East is also home to
residents who have knowingly
agreed to have turbines on theirproperty. He said that council issupposed to represent the entire
municipality, so that was where he
came into conflict on the issue.
“We have ratepayers on both sides
of the fence,” he said. “This is
something that we know will be
challenged and can’t be enforced.”
Seili then questioned why council
even bothered obtaining legal advice
from municipal solicitor GregStewart, saying that if council wasplanning on voting against the legal
advice, there was essentially no
point to the money spent.
“The government has tied our
hands with this. We’re in a no-win
situation,” he said. “To pass a bylaw
that’s going to result in a lawsuit,
why did we even bother bringing a
lawyer in?”
Other councillors, however, saidthat they have heard the cry of thosewho see wind turbines in their future
and know that something has to be
done, no matter the consequences.
“We are these people’s last resort,”
said Councillor Larry McGrath.
“These people have nothing left.
Just us.”
McGrath said that he had been
LORNE ALEXANDER
McCRACKIN
Mr. Lorne Alexander McCrackin
of Bluevale, passed away at Braemar
Retirement Centre on Thursday,
March 24, 2011. He was 86.
Lorne was the beloved son of the
late Alex and Mina (Fox)
McCrackin. He was the dear brother
of Vera Moffatt of Braemar
Retirement Centre, Wingham and
the loved uncle of Lois and Mel
McArter of Brussels, Ross Goll of
RR 4, Wingham and Paul and Karen
Moffatt of Point Clark.
He will be fondly remembered by
his great-nieces and great-nephews
and great-great-nieces and great-
great-nephews. He is also survived
by dear friends Keith and Marg
Moffatt of Bluevale.
He was predeceased by his sisters
Beth and Lila Goll and his niece
Marilyn Higgins.
Visitation was held at McBurney
Funeral Home, Wingham, on
Saturday from 1 p.m. until the
time of the funeral service at
2 p.m. Rev. Dr. Peter Kugba-
Nyande officiated. Interment is in
Wroxeter Cemetery, Howick
Township.
Memorial donations to Bluevale
United Church, Wingham
Hospital Foundation or a charity
of one’s choice would be
appreciated as expressions of
sympathy.
Online condolences may be left at
www.mcburneyfuneralhome.com
ANTON PASSCHIER
“I know that my Redeemer lives”
Job 19:25.
It is with sadness that we
announce the great loss of husband,
father and grandpa Anton Passchier,
who passed away Wednesday,
March 23, 2011 at Wingham and
District Hospital.
Anton was the loving husband of
Janny (nee van Ryn) for 58 years.
He was the dear father of Maria
Passchier of Blyth, Anna and Owen
Myers of St. John’s, Newfoundland,
Jo-Ann and Richard Pepneck of
Vauxhall, Alberta, John Passchier of
Kitchener, Anton Jr. and Rhea
Passchier of Pickering, Bernice and
Felix Weber of Palmerston and
Trudy and Mark Krahn of Clinton.
He was also loved by his daughter-
in-law Sylvia and Jim Parish of
Blyth, 21 grandchildren and five
great-grandchildren. He was
predeceased by his son Gordon
(1987) and daughter-in-law Sandra
(2006).
Friends were received by the
family from 2 - 4 p.m. and 7 - 9 p.m.
on Friday at the Schimanski Family
Funeral Home. The funeral service
was conducted at Brussels
Mennonite Fellowship on Saturday,
March 26 at 2 p.m. Pastor Brent
Kipfer officiated. Participating in
the service were son Anton
Passchier Jr. reading the obituary,
John Passchier with a remembrance
of his father, a musical tribute of It is
Well With My Soul by soloist
Stephanie Pepneck, an introduction
of the scripture by Trudy Krahn and
the readings of scripture by Caitlyn
Passchier and Jennifer Pepneck.
Honorary pallbearers were Jamie
Parish, Felix Weber Jr., David
Pepneck, Lucas Weber, Eric
Passchier, Liam Krahn, Michael
Passchier, Myles Krahn, Steven
Passchier and Brent Krahn.
Pallbearers were John Baan, Jack
Nonkes, Bert Buffinga, Corey
Passchier, Thys deJong and David
Passchier. Spring interment is in
Blyth Union Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, memorial
donations may be made to the
Parkinson’s Society of Canada or to
the Mennonite Central Committee.
Online condolences may be made
at www.schimanskifamilyfuneral
home.com
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The Forest & The Trees
By David Blaney
A highly personal and idiosyncratic commentary on whether we are
going to hell in an environmental handcart
Obituaries
By Shawn LoughlinThe Citizen
Continued on page 18