26 AUGUST 25, 2016
The Picton Gazette
Municipalities call for moratorium on renewable wind and solar procurement AMO, from page 1
“After a while they'll just find a different place to go visit and that will hurt the provincial government too because they're the owner of Sandbanks.” Higgins said building a completely new bridge adjacent to the existing structure was eliminated as an option early on, but Quaiff said he encouraged the province to further investigate the option. Quaiff said the estimated cost to reconstruct the bridge has ranged from $4045 million to $60-65 million
J. H. Anderson
and it would behoove the province to do a full analysis of the economic risk. “Given the fact the numbers are coming out now at around $60 to $65 million for the reconstruction and how long it would last, I asked if they did an actuarial review on it to see what impact it would have on the economy of Prince Edward County and the economy of the Territory,” he said. Quaiff said some dollars could be saved by building a new bridge of a lower height than the current structure. He said the Skyway Bridge
was originally built as tall as it was to accommodate larger ships docking at the former Lafarge plant at Point Anne, which no longer exists. With any option, however, Quaiff said there'll be a financial impact and that's why he pressed the minister on an analysis of the risks. “He said they were certainly going to have a look at that,” he said. Another point that was discussed during the conversation, Quaiff said, was County Rd. 49. He said he spoke with the minister
about the possibility of working on the bridge reconstruction concurrently with the estimated $21 million rehabilitation of the County Rd. 49 — either in its entirety or in part. “If they do indeed reconstruct the bridge and then in a couple or three years time when the bridge is done then we start tearing up County Rd. 49, I didn't want everything to be a prolonged activity,” he said. “If we can do the bridge and do a big portion of County Rd. 49 at the same time, then people are only being incon-
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Sept. 13 to Sept. 15 - Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show 2016 at Canada’s Outdoor Park, Woodstock, Ontario. Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show is where farmers meet to see the latest innovations in agriculture. It’s the place they meet to talk with exhibitors, to learn what’s new and see technology in action. It’s the place they come to do business. Organized by: OntAG Admin
September 15 - The Prince Edward Federation of Agriculture monthly board of directors meeting will be held at the Bloomfield United Church Sunday School room beginning at 7:30 p.m. All members are encouraged to attend. Contact Patti Stacey at 613-919-5154 or princeedwardfarmers@gmail.com
Livestock farmers left to the wolves (and coyotes) by recent legislative changes
OFA August 19 - By Mark Kunkel, Director, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
The government has missed the mark with recently announced amendments to two regulations that impact Ontario farmers’ ability to protect their livestock from predators. Proposed regulatory changes would extend no hunting/no trapping zones for Algonquin wolves and coyotes into new areas of Ontario, and restrict the ability of farmers to protect their livestock from predators when there is an imminent risk. The economic implications for livestock producers do not seem to have been accounted for in both of the proposed amendments that apply to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Act and the Endangered Species Act, 2007. The Ontario Federation of Agriculture (OFA) has submitted a formal response to these proposed changes to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry. We have itemized in detail, and with supporting evidence, all the red flags these changes raise for Ontario’s livestock producers. Here are highlights from OFA’s formal submission. A response period of 31 days, during busy summer months, demonstrates that regulators are not in touch with the groups impacted by proposed changes. If you really want input and feedback, consideration must be given to the audience. The short turnaround time for farmers who will be affected by the proposed ban on hunting and trapping wolves and coyotes, effectively excludes their voices from the process. But farmers’ voices should be heard. It is their livelihood that will suffer if no hunting and no trapping zones are expanded into other areas of Ontario. Compensation payments to livestock producers exceeded $1.6 million in 2015, paid out through the Ontario Wildlife Damage Compensation Program. The compensation does not, however, reflect the full value of the lost animals. Coyotes were responsible for $1.2 million of claims – a whopping 75%. Clearly, coyotes are a huge problem for livestock production in Ontario, and farmers need the ability to protect their assets. The proposed amendments make no clear distinction between Algonquin wolves and coyotes. But they are very different and should be treated differently in any regulatory changes. OFA has requested that proposed hunting and trapping bans apply only to Algonquin wolves. Including coyotes undermines the intent of the Endangered Species Act. Coyotes have an extensive range throughout southern Ontario. They have readily adapted to urban and farming surroundings, and could be consider an invasive species, not one that needs extensive protection at the expense of Ontario’s livestock industry. Ontario agriculture is the backbone of the robust food system that we all depend on, and are so fortunate to have access to. We need legislation and regulations that are developed by an inclusive, consultative process that considers and consults those whose livelihood will be directly impacted. OFA will be actively advocating for the recommendations in our full EBR submission that can be viewed at ofa.on.ca.
venienced for one time.” He said the minister seemed to be responsive to many of the suggestions and indicated the province would take them into consideration. Quaiff also met with Minster of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs Jeff Leal. One topic that was discussed was the cancellation of the Rural Economic Development (RED) program that allowed the County to moved forward with the Downtown Revitalization Program. “That particular fund gave a lot of opportunities to municipalities to take on specialized projects,” Quaiff said. He said if that funding disappears, it means the municipality will have worked for the last two years on a program that may not have funding to support its implementation in the future. However, Quaiff said the provincial representative suggested a new fund would continue where the RED program left off. “The government is doing away with that, but there was an announcement that there's going to be some other kind of funding to assist with that,” he said. Another noteworthy topic discussed with Leal, Quaiff said, was the impact of the prolonged drought on county agriculture. Leal was to be in the County on Aug. 16, but postponed the visit because of the heavy rainfall the area experienced last week. Quaiff said the issue is still on the mind of the minister. “He's very much aware of the drought issue that we're currently facing and he does want to come down and have a tour, he's aware and he's on top of it,” Quaiff said. While Quaiff said there's currently no provincial financial assistance program planned to help the agricultural sector, it hasn't completely been ruled out. The minister and the mayor discussed tightening rules around foreign workers as well. Quaiff said the workers are important to the local agricultural sector. “We had to protect the agricultural area in the county, because a lot of foreign workers do come in because we don't have enough domestic workers to cover it,” Quaiff said. “We had that conversation and
some pretty good results coming out of that.”. Additionally, the mayor moderated a symposium on the Green Energy Act and industrial wind turbines with representatives from 40–45 other municipalities across Ontario. He said members of the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) attended the meeting. There continues to be a lot of concern among municipalities with the Green Energy Act and the approval process for large renewables. “What I witnessed was the level of anger and frustration from the other municipal representatives in the room,” he said. The IESO representatives gave a PowerPoint presentation on the plans for the Large Renewable Procurement (LRP) process. “They're open for comment and they're open for suggestions, but at the end of the day the accusations are there that the premier and the Liberal government are disconnecting with rural Ontario,” Quaiff said. “We're not getting the same attention that some of the larger urban areas are.” Quaiff said municipalities continue to raise concerns, but to this point there's been no action taken by the provincial government to alleviate them. Municipalities want the ability to veto industrial wind projects in their areas, but the province opposes the idea. The IESO representatives, Quaiff said, were responsive and expressed interest in finding a middle ground. He said municipalities have had enough and are calling for a moratorium on renewable wind and solar procurement. Without a moratorium, Quaiff said there will be increased conflict and more risk of litigation moving forward. He said plans are in the works to hold a meeting with municipal representatives from across the province to discuss the issues, much the same as was done in Wainfleet a few years ago. Quaiff said the meeting would be hosted in Prince Edward County. “I'm looking toward the end of September,” he said. “We want to get at it sooner rather than later, before the new LRP process begins in January.”
Sophiasburgh treated to some great live performances Saturday FESTIVAL, from page 1
Those that didn't attend missed out on some great live performances by Jeremie Albino, Astrid Young, The Sophiasburgh All Stars and a performance by the county's only artisanal improv troupe Taste That! Farrell said the festival provided a great opportuni-
ty to showcase a littleknown recreational setting. “So many Sophiasburgh events take place in Demorestville so it's really great when we get to showcase Centennial Park and the village of Northport. We had a few visitors in who had never been to the park and they complimented it,”Farrell added.
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