The Lucknow Sentinel, 1981-03-11, Page 5By Henry Hess
Premier William' Davis, campaigning •
through this area last week, pledged his
government's support and a substanTal,
chunk of rash to develop an industrial p rk
'around the Bruce Nuclear Power Dev op-
ment (BIND), .
In the speech at the Bruce March 4, the
premier announced a commitment of $10,-
000000 from BILH funding toward the con-
struction of a steampipeline to the Bruce
plant boundary. The line is to he completed.
by October, 1982, at a total cost of $15
million. d • '. . 1. ,
(BILD - the Board of Industrial Leadership
and Development is the five year, .$1.5
billion program announced by .Mr. Davis
January 27, six days before the election was
called.)'
The pipeline; capable of providing 600,000.
pounds of steam per hour from the plant's
nuclear reactors, is the 'first step toward
development of an industrcial and agricul-
tural energy centre at the BNPD. '
Mr° Davis also promised a study to
determine the feasibility, of a deep water
harbour to serve the industrial park, estab-
lishment of "a hydrogen production plant and
a program 'to' help greenhouse operators
relocate at the Bruce to take advantage of
low cost, waste heat.
The "transitional assistance program" is
aimed at encouraging, domestic' production.
to reduce the $600 million paid out annually
for imported fruits and vegetables, he said.,
addingthat, thiscan be accomplished only by
coming to gripsswith the rising costs of fuel
Fifty-five per cent of the Ontario green-
house industry, currently, centred . around
Leamington, uses oilheating, he reported,
and fuel costs account for nearly one-quarter
of all operating costs. A government com-
mittee studying the problems has concluded
that the long term future for the industry lies
in a shift to sources ' of waste and low cost
heat.
Mr. Davis also announced that the Ontario
Energy Corporation . (OEC) and Weston,
Energy Resources Ltd have agreed . in
principle to . develop a pilot plant for.
production of ethanolat the Bruce.
Plans •for an aquacultural-fish farm com-
plex allied with the agri-park will be
accelerated, he said, and additonal private'
.investors will be invited to take part in
developing the industrial and agri-park,
Following the 'speech,.the premier° denied
suggestions that his announcement was ,
simply another campaign promise. • The
business of governing does not stop during
an election campaign, he said, calling the
promises a matter of "government opera-
tions"
Members of the existing Bruce Agri -Park
group, which already has committed; some
$2.4 million toward planning and promotion
of the energy centre, expressed satisfaction
with the premier's announceknent of addi-
tional public backing.
Shad Williams, a consultant on contract
with the OEC to work on the industrial and
agricultural development, said he is confid•
ent the promise of the steam line will bring
industry 'to~ the Bruce..
Wh'le:. 'admitting he is optimistic, he
predicted the ground breaking could start as
early as next spring, and within three years
there would-be two or three maior industries
using surplus; steam from the BNPD.
No contracts have been signed yet, bu l
several industries have expressed keen int
erest and the commitment to a steam line° b�
the fall of 1982 should bring some action, ht
said..
The., residual low-grade steam and .ho;
water from the industrial users would be
passed along to heat greenhouses in tht
agri- park a
A representative of Consumers' Gas Co.,
which has a stake in the Bruce Agri -Park an(
has been working on the energy distribut'io)
system.' also said he is pleased at the
promise of a steam line and expressed
confidence this will get the project on the
road:
Criticizes Consery atve
r�cuy � � ,l l �policya tura
Michael Cassidy, leader of the provincial
NDP, swung into south-western Ontario
Tuesday where he attended a luncheon
meeting at the Lucknow Legion Hall..
Cassidy took the opportunity to look at the
Conservative's record on agriculture while
campaigning, in the heart of Ontario farm
country." . .
He emphasized that during the last 25
years of Conservative government, Ontario
has lost more farm land than most provinces
ever had. Seven per cent of the farm land in
Huron and Bruce counties (108,000 acres)
went out of production between 1961 and
1976.
"The Conservatives have failed in their
responsibility to .protect' our good farm
land," he said. "They produced a ° set of
guidelines and then threw the responsibility
for preserving farm land on local councils."
Farmers have to compete for farm land
and the price of land keeps climbing. The
price of agricultural land went up over 600
per cent in this area between 1961 and 1976,
he pointed out.
Cassidy also mentioned ,that since the last -
election in 1977, fanners' interst payments
have gone up twice as fast as the cash
they've "received for their products.
"Last year farmers' 'net incomes dropped
by 20 per cent in Ontario and farm bankrupt-
cies shot up 89 per cent," he stated.
Cassidy told local supporters he is
offended by Davis' pork barrel politics.
Referring to the recent announcement that
Essex farmers would be encouraged to
relocate at the. Bruce agri-park, Cassidy
observed that local farriers are not being
involved in the plans for the Bruce agri-park
or the industrial centre: He said local
farriers have reservations about the plans
for the development of the Bruce. When he
looks at the plans for the Bruce, Cassidy
finds it will benefit such "stalwarts of the
agricultural community" as Trans Canada.
Pipeline, Consumers Gas, Huron Ridge Ltd:
and Anderson Flax Ltd.
It is the ..big corporations supporting the
Conservative party who will benefit from the
Bruce development, stated Cassidy, not the
farthing community in Huron -Bruce.
Ontario but with every passing year we
import more of the food we eat - $1.5 billion
a year, noted Cassidy who went on to say,
some of the imported food is . bananas and,
orange juice, but most of it is food we could
grow or already grow here in Canada.
"Ontario has to be one of the few places in
the world where people sit in : front of
imported TVs, eating imported TV dinners
while" the family dog eats imported dog
food," he quipped.
"It all adds up to farmers going out of
business, farm land going out of production
and processing plants shutting their doors,"
he stressed.
Cassidy told the luncheon he believes we
in Ontario can no longer afford to squander
our capacity to feed ourselves.
The NDP proposes to protect our farm
land, rebuild our food processing industry
and help Ontario's farmers get on with the
job of growing food, said Cassidy who
outlined the NDP agricultural policy.
He drew attention to the Ontario Foodland
Trust which would acquire land voluntarily,
for long term lease to existing farmers and
new generations of farmers. This trust would
heip ease the problem of high land and
interest costs, said Cassidy.
He suggested Ontario take advantage of
the fact that rising energy costs make large,
centrally located, food processing plants less
economical. New Democrats, he said, see a
real future for smaller locally ' controlled
processing plants in communities like
Lucknow close to producing areas.
"We want to promote self-reliance and
create jobs in towns where there are few job
opportunities. explained Cassidy.
He went on to criticize the use of
provincial government commercials on tele-
vision asking consumers to buy Canadian
produce, He referred to the use of these
commercials during the election campaign
as an abuse of public funds because the
commercial in question hadn't been on air
'since the harvest was brought home last
fall."
"The Conservatives aren't growing Ont-
ario foods with these commercials," said
Cassidy, "the only thing they're growing is
We should be able to feed ourselves in promises."
Laefb ow 1 tt , Wednesday, March ll,4901,-Page 5
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