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www.oakvillebeaver.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Wednesday, March 10, 2010 · 6 OPINION & LETTERS The Oakville Beaver 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5571 Classified Advertising: 632-4440 Circulation: 845-9742 --Open 9-5 weekdays, 5-7 for calls only Wed. to Friday, Closed weekends Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Canadian Circulation Audit Board Member THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America Canadian Community Newspapers Association ATHENA Award NEIL OLIVER Vice ­ President and Group Publisher of Metroland West The Oakville Beaver is a division of DAVID HARVEY Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief ROD JERRED Managing Editor DANIEL BAIRD Advertising Director RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director SANDY PARE Business Manager MARK DILLS Director of Production MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution SARAH MCSWEENEY Circ. Manager Wrong weapon We can understand Town Council's desire to improve the community's air quality and air quality standards. We can also understand its desire to come up with legislation to impede the construction of TransCanada's 900 megawatt natural gas-fueled power plant on Royal Windsor Drive. However, in an effort to do so, the Town has come up with a Health Protection Air Quality Bylaw that creates an air of uncertainty for many local businesses. This includes 14 companies, which would be labeled major emitters based on the 2008 data from the Province's National Pollution Release Inventory (NRPI). In a time when the Province of Ontario became a have-not province due to its declining manufacturing sector, does the Town really want to impede 14 employers, including Ford, the largest in Oakville? The problem with the bylaw is that it was rushed through without adequate consultation with the business community or the companies it would affect. The Town has never explained how it arrived at its threshold levels to determine a major emitter -- more than 500 kilograms of PM 10 (particulate matter) per year, more than 300 kilograms of PM 2.5 per year, more than a tonne of VOC (volatile organic compounds) per year, more than 2.7 tonnes of nitrogen oxide per year and more than two tonnes of sulphur dioxide per year. We cannot recall another bylaw in recent history with such far-reaching impact and which was approved by council so quickly. In comparison, the anti-pesticide and tree bylaws took years to be approved. We suspect the reason for the rush was to provide another legislative impediment to the development of TransCanada's power plant. TransCanada could appeal the bylaw but this will take time and the company is facing a Dec. 31, 2013 operational deadline imposed by the Ontario Power Authority for the Oakville Power Plant. Conceivably, Town Council could exempt all 14 existing companies from the legislation, however, we believe such an action would spark claims of unfair discrimination by TransCanada and invite legal action. The same could be true if the Town exempts one or more of the companies from the bylaw while holding others accountable to the legislation. We are on record as opposing the TransCanada power plant because of its location and safety concerns for the community. However, imposing a bylaw, which creates such uncertainty within the business community and threatens 14 companies and their employees, is not the best way to fight the power plant. We are reminded of the old saying, "Be careful what you wish for." The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981.Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Letter to the editor Pollution must stop Re: Town should not be regulating FPM, guest column by John Sawyer, Oakville Chamber of Commerce president. Are there any members of the Chamber who support the air quality bylaw? I would hope so. This reputable association, which represents our business community, should support council in this matter, rather than oppose this progressive action to clean the air we breathe. Passing the responsibility to the Province is like Pilate washing his hands. Who else has jurisdiction over the air we breathe, if not the citizens of Oakville? I wish to remind all those who complain about the financial implications of this exemplary air bylaw that for too long, too many have gotten away with unrestricted release of toxic emissions into the air. Considering the rising healthrelated costs attributed to poor air quality, the cost of pollution has been subsidized for over a century by taxpayers. This practice must stop now. We shall all face the truth, no matter how painful it is, that our wasteful lifestyle has messed up the environment, which sustains us. We have accumulated a huge deficit in our dealings with the natural world, and if we want to survive, a healthy balance must be re-established. The cost is irrelevant, as there could be no price attached to the inherent right of everyone for a healthy life. NICHOLAS VARIAS, OAKVILLE Letters to the editor The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville, ON, L6K 3S4, or via email to editor@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. Comments about Ford off target I get it that Mayor Rob Burton is angry with Ford, hence him venting his spleen at the Stop the Power Plant Rally interviews. Ford does not need me to defend it and that is not my intent in writing this letter. Think about the 50 per cent of Ford employees and their families who live and work in Oakville; in the worst recession since the dirty '30s, they need their jobs to feed their families, to pay their residential property taxes. They will be the ones most affected if the sale of Ford vehicles decline: remember they breathe the same air as the rest of Oakville residents. If Ford suffered such a hit, so as to make its operation in Oakville unprofitable and it closes up, every property taxpayer in Oakville would see their tax bill rise far beyond inflation or the impact of the money requested by the hospital. Ford has a strong history of supporting the hospital and Oakville `Y' capital campaigns, the annual United Way campaign and many others, thus there would be a community-wide impact beyond that to its employees. Angry words are often short-sighted with their impact to innocent bystanders potentially disastrous. The deployment of energy and effort to address the legitimate concerns regarding the location of the proposed power plant should continue to focus on the decision maker, the Province, not Ford. Thankfully, C4CA understands, thus its lobby to the Premier. ANN MULVALE, FORMER MAYOR OF OAKVILLE Writer missed the point Re: Town should not be regulating FPM, guest column by John Sawyer, Oakville Chamber of Commerce president. The writer seems to have completely missed the point of why the residents and municipality are trying anything they can through the bylaw. The whole point is that the plant will add to an already very over-polluted area (17 per cent more than rest of Ontario) impacting on the future health of all of our families in south Mississauga as well as all of Oakville -- this should be more important than business profits. LARRY AND LYDIA GORDON, OAKVILLE