“Just knowing how many kilometres up and down the 401 (highway) we've travelled, the meetings that we've had, the meetings I've had with the minister of energy, and so it was an emotional rollercoaster for a lot of years and to find out that this was actually going to happen, you know, I was elated.” Quaiff said he was stunned: “At that point, it became pretty emotional as well.” Overall, the decision could translate into the loss of thousands of clean energy jobs across the province at a time when countries are moving away from fossil fuels and investing trillions of dollars in new clean and green growth. The swiftly-fulfilled promise garnered mixed reviews critics lambasting the lack of proposed alternatives, supporters celebrating the long-fought victory. Contact Doug Ford.”įord and his majority Progressive Conservative government had campaigned on the elimination of “wasteful” energy contracts, and ceremoniously moved to cancel 758 of them within weeks of taking office, arguing that this would translate into savings for consumers on their energy bills. When news of the cancellation spread, protester Cheryl Anderson, a county resident and lauded field naturalist, cried with joy.Īnd at a local bakery, just a short drive away from the Milford wind farm, a chalkboard sign on the pavement marked a sign of the times: “Wind turbines for sale. Residents blocked a truck delivering giant turbine parts to the wind farm. July 10 also happened to be the day that a protest took place against the wind farm at Bond and County Road 10. They raised $1.5 million for legal funds. "Every project has its issues but this one had the best opposition," he added. "Every project in Ontario has some resistance," Macrae told National Observer in an interview, "but this one, especially, it was long, it was complicated and expensive." The company’s board of directors had been scrambling to understand how their contract with Ontario’s Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) could be expropriated by a government, and sought advice from lawyers in Europe and Canada. Meanwhile, that same day, Ian Macrae, president of wpd Canada - the German company that was building the wind farm - heard news of the impending cancellation from a reporter, who asked for comment over the phone. Cheryl Anderson, a county resident and lauded field naturalist, seen at a July 10 protest against the wind farm. Over the years, the ideological battle pitted neighbour against neighbour, and friend against friend in the southern township of Prince Edward County. The windmill controversy had been cinematic at times, replete with protests, eggs thrown and fiery insult exchanges during town hall debates over energy, heritage and the preservation of tiny critters. Those in favour of the mill said it was a much-needed investment in the county’s sustainable future, while a determined opposition said it would infringe on the municipality's independence as well as on the unique characteristics of its natural surroundings. ![]() The surprise, synchronized text messages signalled the end of a decades-old maelstrom surrounding the wind farm development along Milford's picturesque South Shore. “What, it’s done?” the mayor responded, shocked. Ferguson of South Marysburgh asked Quaiff, shocked by the text. The news took pockets of the county by storm. Smith's colleague, Greg Rickford, the minister of energy, mines, northern development and Indigenous affairs was tabling legislation to terminate the Milford project. Todd Smith, elected as the local member of the legislature and appointed by Ford to be minister of government and consumer services, was the one who broke the news. Photo by Cole Burstonįollowing a provincial election campaign in which Premier Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives had promised that Ontario would soon be "open for business," the government was announcing that it was actually going to shut down a multimillion dollar private business investment in their backyard - the White Pines Wind Project. Three wind turbines seen on July 19, a week before the White Pines Wind Project was cancelled. Twenty minutes into their conversation, their phones started buzzing with news. and Steve Ferguson, a city councillor from one of the small townships in the county, were at the local town hall discussing the turbine’s place on the horizon, a project in the making for a decade that was inching closer to completion. ![]() Robert Quaiff, mayor of Prince Edward County, Ont. At 100 metres tall, the turbine cast a shadow on land scientists proclaimed was a critical nesting place for an endangered turtle species. It was supposed to be the first of nine turbines to be erected in the small township, more than 200 kilometres east of Toronto. A single turbine was standing fully assembled July 10 on a local landowner’s farm in Milford, Ont.
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