Victory is Ours

The following has been posted with the permission of the original author ...

we are all grateful to Councilors Fern Armstrong, Jim Chaplin and Tim Belch for their votes against the water diversion project from Millbrook artesian wells to the future and questionable development in Fraserville.

Reeve Cathcart (who together with Deputy Reeve Brian Bartlett voted for the diversion) made a very puzzling statement after the voting:

“The Ministry of Environment is going to think we aren’t interested in sending water anywhere in the village”. It is, as the saying goes “mixing apples and oranges”- water diversion project is the local political decision and only the Cavan-Monaghan Council can approve or reject it. Certainly, if there is to be any water taking from Millbrook wells for any larger development, the environmental studies have to be done and the new assessment has to be conducted. And this is the right way to go instead putting unlimited development under the previously approved plan which applied to totally different, grandfathered projects.

All over the world, water issue has become important - water is LIFE. We build communities around it, use it to grow food, power homes and industry; it supports the complex ecosystems. Of all water on Earth, only about 2.5% is fresh water and less than one hundredth of one percent of it is replenished each year by rain and snow.

Canada is one of the wealthiest nations with 20% of the world’s fresh water resources. It should be guarded and wisely used since water will soon become extremely valuable commodity in an increasingly thirsty and warming world. Our Federal Government has been planning for selling unlimited amounts of it to the foreign countries, most probably to the highest bidders….

We are very lucky in this Township to have an access to pure, clean water. Since there is no threat any more of abusing this resource, we have to make sure that it is properly used in the future.

This is a very good start, this victory; but there is more to fight for if we really want this land to remain green and pleasant. The wind turbines are on the agenda now; if nothing is done, the 400+ feet monsters will be all over the neighbourhood. The Ontario Government decided to become “green” in a hurry and once in, the turbines will stay forever no matter how questionable their energy output is(not great, they need power back-up) and how many migratory birds will be killed (if you do not care much for birds just think how many bugs they eat). The vicinity of the expanding Peterborough Airport and Military Air Base can make those towers quite dangerous. A lot depends on land owners since the turbines are to be erected on leased land and these leases have many strings attached.

There is an Open House scheduled for Thursday, September 30th, 5 pm to 8 pm at the Millbrook Legion. It is one of the two mandatory public meetings the company Wind Works must conduct before construction can begin.

There was such meeting planned in Pontypool but it DID NOT HAPPEN; so many concerned residents showed up that the capacity of the Community Centre was exceeded and Fire Marshall closed the meeting down. This mandatory meeting will have to be rescheduled.

So I hope that Millbrook meeting is going to be well attended and that a lot of questions will be asked.

Eva Hans
Cavan Ward