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B4The Acton Free Press Wed April fiydro capers Interested Citizens Scribes scuttled by Queens Park Zoo w still fight line Milled By Hartley Coles Two media representatives on the Queens Park beat mulled over the two announcements Energy Minister Dennis was to make Wednesday after noon One was a statement to the press on Ontarios proposal for an alternative method of pricing domestic crude oil The other a statement on the Bradley Junc tion to Georgetown kV hydro trans mission corridor Why did he set the two together asked one I dun no replied the other Whos in lerested In the Bradley to Georgetown hydro line outside of a few farmers up there And maybe they arent either said the other Maybe thats the reason the Minister of Energy and his staff invited two repre sentatives of this newspaper to appear at the conference to hear the announcement the Government would go ahead with the controversial hydro corridor without bene fit of an independent study such as was afforded the eastwest to Pickering kV swath which Bruce Howlett s firm studied and on which Dr Sotandts one man commission ruled Special privileges were set up for the press from the boondocks We were to have lunch with the Minister of Energy Timbrell Andy Frame and his staff after the Minister answered questions on his two statements Dumping the two statements together was good strategy The daily press and TV were primarily interested in oil Hydro lines were almost the prerogative of the outside press from those points outside Toronto where the power which comes from Bruce is to go But ears pricked up when questions started coming about the lines and the decision that the Ombudsman could not pursue his investigation It was common knowledge Mr had withdrawn reluctantly Earlier in the week Mr had tried to mediate a marathon session between the Ministry and the Interested Citizens Group the first lime the contestants in the dispute had met face to face It was only then he learned a decision had been made by the Cabinet as early as May 1974 which precluded continuance of the Investigation by his office He had kind words for the Interested Citizens them a very representative group of citizens and their sincerity dedication and absence of self interest is beyond ques tion He astutely avoided any mention of the interval where his staff had started an investigation into affairs and the decision to power them out Back at the press conference Energy Minister gave the outsiders his ear He told us politely there was no time for an independent study of the corridor and suggested he Inherited problems as Minister of Energy which he could not resolve He doubted a study could be done in less than months and in his view this was going to cost hydro users of the pro vince to million In alternative methods of burning fossil fuels because energy at Bruce would be bottled up He claimed the Interested Citizens suggestion of using corridors already owned by Hydro and go from Bruce to to Weinberg were impractical because they would take a long study Reminded the Environmental Hearing board suggested such a route might be feasible Timbrell still pleaded time He also said people in and area would be dismayed by hydro lines going in their area Would you want hydro lines to run through the Beaver Valley he asked It was my recollection some hydro lines already existed there coming from the Eugenia Lake generating station but I sympathized I wondered aloud why the people of Collingwood and that beau liful scenic area took precedence over people in this area and iti beautiful scenic But said the Minister existing lines in the north consist of only a line of wooden poles marching forlornly through a 100 foot wide corridor Expanding that corridor would cause consternation Why was the Ombudsman allowed to continue his investigation then if the Cabinet had already decided to go ahead He believed he had jurisdiction said the Minister but his investigation was cut off when it was discovered he had no juris diction in the case because of the cabinet decision to proceed with the Brad ley to Georgetown line It was a good lunch in the Legislature dining room and in the course of discussion over Mr Investigation Andy Frame of the Ministry of Energy claimed the Ombudsmans decision to proceed was likely made at junior level of which Mr Maloney was not aware That meant a trip to see Mr Maloney at the Thomson building at Queen and Bay by subway and shanks mare a must Sure Mr would see us Right now he was engaged with a client Mean while we could talk with the director of communications Ken Cavanauh and the investigating officer of the case Gary Giuliani They made no commitments suggesting Ombudsman Maloney would have the answers And he did Is it true we asked Mr that it was your staff at another level which made the decision to take the case for the Interested citizens It has been suggested you had nothing to do with the decision Mr Maloney looked out over the city hall square eyed the archer and replied no decisions are made in the office regarding cases he had not cither or made himself He left no doubt In our minds that he made the decision to investigate the Bradley to Georgetown hydro debacle himself after consultation with Mr Mann and the ICG We would have liked to have had Mr Frame his assistants of the Ministry of Energy there at this juncture to allay their suspicions Mr Maloney recalled the events of Monday a seven hour marathon session where lie tried to strike a com between senior officials of of Energy and the ICG repre sentatives- and failed I was happy to preside the dialogue he said and 1 was sorry there was no compromise from cither sidy He had kind words for everyone involved but admitted his hands were now tied as a result of disclosure of the cabinet decision of He clearly indicated he was bothered by the decision but admitted elected representatives of the people took precedente over those of appointed of ficials In no other country Mr Moloney said has the Ombudsman sweeping to defy the cabinet And that was that But the next day this scribe got another hurried summons to Queens Park There was some evidence to Indicate the decision of to proceed with the hydro corridor had only been a decision In principle and Steven Lewis leader of the Official Opposition and Bob Nixon of the Liberals were going to grill Mr In the question period at A frenzied drive to the big smoke and zip up the subway to the Legislature found this scribbler arriving just In time to catch former Minister of Energy and now Trea surer McKeough delivering a long speech on land use and disposition of in a province which would soon to think of another four million people While McKeough talked his colleagues on the Tory side sat amiably listening while the and Liberal side of he Legislature resembled a seething mass of unhappy humanity They cat called told Darcy to sit down made rude remarks and generally tried to be obnoxious But kept going and was followed by Sidney exposing Vic Tannys lislng practices and Jim Snow with 197G highway construction programs When they finally did get around to the question period and Lewis popped the question denied the Cabinet had no official reason to muzzle the Ombuds man Everything was ok in the cabinet closet Bob Nixon demanded a chronology events so hey could decide for themselves and when MPP Julian Reed got up to speak on the same question the speaker decided he would hove to wait Later on he questioned Mr accuracy with the same results nothing Oh almost forgot Someone else Lewis asked Mr Timbrell how he would now patch up his quarrel with Mr Mr answer was committal The living trip was unnecessary but when Julian Reed asked how 1 liked the zoo at Queen s Park the word lit It s hard to be serious in a gathering where everyone else is doing their best to get you to blow your cool That how the cabinet decided a hydro corridor would soon cut a through On Hydro line Maloney speaks as zipper closes In the following from Ontario Ombudsman Ar to Dt mm the munsttrofintrgy the Ombudsman details the restrictions wltitli pn vcnitd him from investigating the Interested Citizens Groups tall fur an independent sludx of the Bradley to Georgetown hydro corridor Tin letter is laud April 1976 Dear Mr Our investigation of the Interested Citizens Group com plaint regarding the proposed Bradley George town Trans mission Corridor has been completed The Interested Citizens Group ICG represents some citizens between Bradley Junction on the north and Mil ton on the south This area includes the townships of Halton Hills Erin East East Luther West Luther Pro ton Normandy Bent nick and Brant and the four counties of Wellington Duffenn and Grey On July Mr W J Mann President of the ICG wrote to the Office of the Ombudsman requesting assistance with his problem Mr Mann on behalf of the ICG contends that the people of the above area are entitled to an indepen dent study of the total corridor to determine the most fi cient route for the transmission line having regard to a cost and b the least impact on people environment 111 agricultural land During the summer of 1975 meetings were held by the Environmental Hearing Board regarding the Bradley- Georgetown Transmission Line However the Boards terms of reference were confined to the area between points and agricultural land eliminating the critical escarpment cros sing at Limehouse and at a much lower cost This route would run from Bruce to Essa via Owen Sound and During December my office Informed you by letter that Mr Manns complaint on behalf of the ICG had been as signed for Investigation We were subsequently advised by you that our jurisdiction to investigate was called into ques tion since the BradleyGeorgetown Transmission Line route was the subject of a Cabinet decision and an Order In Council dated December 23 1975 Consequently Section 14 of The Ombudsman Act l75 which provides This Act does not Colbeckon the north on the south Asa result this Board could not consider the total corridor as re quested by the ICG It Is the ICGs contention that a more route than the one proposed by Ontario Hydro Is avail able with less impact on people less utilization of prime pry to deliberations and proceedings of Executive Council or any committee thereof would preclude the exercise of the powers of Investigation given to the Ombudsman by Sec tion of the Act Your Deputy Minister Malcolm Rowan also informed us that the matter was being referred to the Attorney to consider issuing a certificate pursuant to Section of the Act denying us power to consider the deliberations of Cabinet with reference to the subject matter of the com plaint Subsequently before receiving any certificate from the Attorney General I together with members of my staff met with Mr Rowan and Bruce MacOdnim your Senior Advisor Policy Development Group at which time the facts as well as the question of jurisdiction werereviewed in detail It was agreed that pursuit by my staff for further Information would be considered as inquiries to ascertain if we had jurisdiction rather than Investigatory procedures Additional lengthy meetings and conversations were held by us with delegations from the ICG They demonstrated their willingness to cooperate by modifying their original complaint and refining their request to an independent study of the northern corridor and specifically the area between Owen Sound and It is the contention of the ICG that a Kv hydro linefrom Bruce to Owen Sound to Colling wood to Essa could provide at more secure system than the Bradley Georgetown transmission line It also appeared according to the ICC that Ontario has already held Hearings of Necessity in he Bruce to Owen Sound region and will be expropriating land for a line through this territory In addition it appears that Ontario Hydro has intentions of constructing a line from Collingwood to In light of the above it seemed reason able to ICG to suggest that at some future date Ontario dro would consider the erection of a transmission line from Owen Sound to Collingwood In order to complete the tern Perhaps at this stage of the development of the north ern line consideration could be given to a 500 Kv corridor in lieu of a Kv corridor At our suggestion a meeting with representatives your Ministry and the ICG and members of my staff and my self was held in my office yesterday which lasted for some seven hours This was the first time that the opposing fac tions met across the table It was acknowledged by all parties to be a useful meeting My purpose in recommending It was my hope it would result in a compromise that would help solve the problem However this did not occur One could not help but be impressed by the weight of the argument presented by the ICG in support of an independent survey of at least the limited portion of the proposed northern route between Owen Sound and Collingwood The ICG are a very representative group of citizens and their sincerity dedication and absence of self interest are beyond question The representatives of the Ministry Mr Rowan and Mr although strongly maintaining their position hat the Ombudsman had no jurisdiction due to Section 14 of the Act unhesitatingly supplied oil relevant material re quested by us and showed us the utmost cooperation It appears from what was disclosed at yesterdays meet that as early as May from the minutes of a Cab inet meeting held at that time a decision was made accept Ihe recommendation of the Solandt Commission regard the Crossing I am informed In a letter sent to me by the Deputy Minister In the Office of the Premier that in addition Cabinet agreed that Ontario Hydro be given appro val in principle to proceed with the dcvclopmenl of line from Bradley Junction to utilizing the route an existing Hydro right of way which already has general acceptance by most citizen groups In view of this decision of the Executive Council I ntust find that the Ombudsman Is precluded by Section of the Act from investigating the complaint of the ICG I am asked to make a recommendation with respect to the request for an Independent study by representatives of the ICG Mr Rowan and Mr MacOdrum voiced strong op position to this request I have reluctantly come to the con elusion that since the matter is totally outside my junsdlc it would be inappropriate for me to accede to this re quest Yours faithfully Arthur Moloney Squeeze on irks Julian Reed The Ontario Governments green light for the Bradley to Georgetown hydro corridor did not signal the beginning of the end for the Interested Citizens Group ICG a group official says The ICG will be working both sides of the Legislature in attempts to get the govern ment to change its mind BUI Mann ICG chairman said We will be working with the Liberals and the and encouraging them to take up the issue In the House Mr Mann said A meeting with Burlington MPP Julian Reed was slated for Monday and meetings with NDP leader Stephen Lewis are in the works Mr Mann said Group members will also be trying to meet senior cabinet ministers on a one-to- one basis to ensure they have hi true facts he said The ICG is taking its call for an independent study of the entire proposed corridor from the Bruce nuclear generating station to George town into Queens Park following withdrawal of the Ombudsman from the case and the Governments decision to go ahead with the line Jurisdiction Arthur Moloney the pro vinces first Ombudsman was told last week that his jurisdiction did rot include investigation of this hydro corridor An order in council of May announced the cabinet choice of a route from the Bruce to a point near The Ombudsman Act pre vents Mr from investigating cabinet decisions The Ombudsman notified the government he was undertaking the ICGs complaint last December Three months after starting his investigation the govern informed Mr Maloney thai he was reading on a cabinet decision The ICG takes exception to the accuracy of several facts which Ontario Hydro and the energy minister use to blunt the groups attempt to have an independent hydro study carried out Milled For example Mr Mann said Its always our ICG contention that June 1975 statement in the The energy minister an last June A review of a portion of the Bradley Georgetown transmission line as requested by citizens in this area The Environ mental Hearing Board EH B would carry out the review The ICG has prior to during and since the hearingsrepeatedly called for a hydro study of the entire line not just a portion of it Independent studies have been carried out on other Ontario Hydro proposed corridors such as Bruce work on the to Pickering line DONT FORGET OUR CHICKEN SPECIAL S PAGE Julian Heed says he fears for the office of man following the recent decision by the Ontario Cabinet that Arthur and his office would not be able to proceed further with their investigation of alleged irregularities on the Bradley to Georgetown hydro corridor All the cabinet will have to do Is go back to some obscure decision in any case they find unpalatable and the man can be legislated out of action Reed says Why did the cabinet not exercise its option logo ahead with the corridor In If they had already made up their mind Reed asks If they get away with muzzling Mr Maloney and his office I sec a problem In making public participation meaningful the Burlington MPP says If the decision to go ahead with Bruce in was made the government is virtually admitting public patlon doesnt count Reed said despite assurances from Mr Timbrell they will try to do better In future AMO support Hills Councils finance and personnel committee has recommended financial support in the amount of to the Association of Municipalities of Ontario for participation in hearings before the Ontario Energy Board about requested rote Increase by Ontario Hydro PC meeting told Little concern over hydro line Theres not much argument against the hydro line In the Acton area PC candidate George Gray was told at the annual meeting of the Acton Progressive Conservative Association Wednesday Councillor McKenzle sold some of the farmers who are affected thought councils making a contribution to the Concerned Citizens group was a mistake He had heard from some who fell they were getting fair deals from hydro Some people feel TV reception and police com muni cations could be af fected although this has never been proven Some farmers were asking for an independent study Mr added Mr Gray reported of questlonaires he received three respondents said they were opposed to the hydro line He pointed out million dollars have been spent on the proposed line already said there has been plenty of public Input It is natural that there Is not complete agreement He said It Is felt the press gives one side of the issue that of the objectors and not the same sympathy is shown to the government side Fred Dawklns observed its a matter of trading off in dividuals rights and the 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