The Rural Voice, 1981-08, Page 6HYDRO AND AGRICULTURE
THE BATTLE RESUMES
by Adrian Vos and
Herb Shoveller
Tony McQuail fully intended to attend
the first public workshop organized by
Ontario Hydro in Listowel in mid-July to
review the utility's proposed routes
originating at the Bruce Power Develop-
ment. The workshops, a series of five, are
to wind up in the early fall and are for
public input to assist Hydro select the
least controversial route.
McQuail had one, simple input to give,
and that was to make a motion that no
further workshops be held until Novem-
ber for the Listowel group. (Four similar
regional workshop committees are set up
in London, Chatham, Markdale and
Ancaster. Each group was to meet five
times.) McQuail, speaking on behalf of
the Huron County Federation of Agricul-
ture (HCFA), was voicing the concerns of
much of the rest of the agricultural
community over the timing of the public
forums. Farming interests are suspicious
that the scheduling of the workshops
during the summer and fall harvest is
aimed at minimizing opposition, a claim
flatly denied by Hydro officials.
Among the twenty-five delegates re-
presenting various organizations at that
first meeting, McQuail's views were not
unique. The consensus of the delegates
was that they didn't have the time to
participate.
"That's unfortunate," Don Carmich-
ael, a public relations official with Ontario
Hydro in London, said a few days after
the Listowel decision, "because we
wanted input from as many people as
possible. But that's their decision."
The Hydro spokesman said the groups
based in London and Chatham are going
ahead with their workshops, and added
he hadn't heard of any plans to suspend
the meetings in Listowel or Ancaster.
The impact of the July decision in
Listowel in many ways tallies as popgun
protest. With or without its in put, Hydro
will present its recommendation for a
preferred route to the Ontario govern-
ment by October 31. In a sense then. the
Listowel working group may have cut off
its nose to spite its face. It's only in a
minor way, though, because both Hydro
and its critics agree the productive battles
will begin at the initial hearings in
January, 1982.
At this point as the opening shots are
being fired, agricultural groups charge
Hydro is responsible for the awkward
timing of the workshops. Hydro says the
provincial government postponed the
release of the proposed routes study
which was ready in November. 1980
which forced the summertime meetings,
and the government said it was respond-
ing to requests from agricultural groups
that the hearings be held in January.
Those requests necessitated the summer
workshops.
The issue becomes circular. and the
beginning and the end get difficult to
find, but Listowel delegates remain
steadfast in their support of the resolu-
tion not to meet until November.
The Ontario Cattlemen's representa-
tive, Joseph Dalton, noted at the meeting
it was not just the workshop meetings but
more the extensive work of studying the
documentation which became time con-
suming. He added, as an example. "my
hay is ready to go into the barn. but 1 am
here with the risk that it will spoil."
Spokesman for the National Farmers'
Union, District Five, Lorne Luther. told
the Hydro officials that as a cash crop
farmer, harvests come up all the time and
so he, too, supported the HCFA motion.
Hydro's Dave Abbott, the person
spearheading Hydro's public information
program, emphasized the timing was not
the fault of the utility. He repeated the
company's claim that it was ready to
release the plans last fall but on orders
from the Minister of Energy, Robert
Welch, held them so the most important
segment of the public involvement pro-
cess, the public hearings, could be in
January.
The secretary -manager of the Christian
Farmers' Federation (CFF), Elbert van
Donkersgoed. attending the Listowel
meeting as an observer, said his organi-
zation had already decided not to
participate for the reasons outlined in the
Huron County motion. The CFF feels
hurried participation with the resulting
ill-informed input could be more harmful
than helpful.
In light of the unity of the delegates at
the meeting. Hydro's Abbott readily
agreed to postponement of the
workshops until November 7 at the
Richfield Control Centre in Toronto. That
Saturday meeting could be expanded to a
full weekend if desired, he said. or even
to more than one weekend.
However, Abbott said the timetable for
Hydro had to be met. and the proposed
route would be presented to the govern-
ment October 31. "After we come back,
after our submission to the government.
we will come back and tell you why we did
what we did, and be open for public
review."
He added the next round of workshops
will not be confined to the summer of
1982, but will continue for more than a
year through all seasons.
At least in the view of van Don-
kersgoed, the Listowel group is not upset
at excluding itself from supplying input in
the first stage of the route selection
process. "These workshops will be no
more than a farce." he said. "That's why
the CFF doesn't think it's worth our time.
In other areas. Eastern Ontario and
Guelph, the working group hearings
lasted for years. This one is to be done in
three months. This won't work. Time is
too short."
PG. 4 THE RURAL VOICE/AUGUST 1981