Friday, November 14, 2008

Haldimand "Has Haldimand Council bought Us a One Way Ticket"

Karen Best, reporter for the Chronicle wrote a very detailed article today in regards to a possible Nuclear Plant here in Haldimand (Nanticoke). Headline: Nuclear Plant becomes more than a Mirage".

As some of you may already know I am writing a petition with the help of a resident from Norfolk. This petition is in regards to the path that Haldimand/Norfolk councils have been going down the last 2 years.

Haldimand Council over the past two years has taken their time as our "elected representatives" to meet with MP Diane Finley and Bruce Power but has denied us the residents our right to have our say! We were told it was premature. Now if I am not mistaken when council is together as a "whole" this is "official" business?

When I was asked about what Haldimand County Council could have done differently, I didn't have a problem with a list of things they could have done to inform us and then ultimately ask us if we would join them (Council) in announcing that "We are a Willing Host". I am sure that some of you could come up with more suggestions for council.

Here are a few things that could have been done;

Public Announcements! Every week Haldimand County has an ad in "every" local paper that is paid by our tax dollars!

Public Meetings! Haldimand County has public meetings in chambers on a regular basis in regards to "Development", it is part of the process, is this not a major development?

Town Hall Meetings; Each council member could have taken the time to have their own town hall meetings, after all some did promise that if they were elected they would do this anyway!

An Insert in Our Tax Bills! This is a very cost effective way to inform the residents. Our tax bills are already sent out on a regular basis. Some of us even get them more often then others! One of these inserts could have been a simple "Ballot type Question".

Now as we all are aware none of the above has taken place. Why? Well up until this news article came out I would have said that council didn't want to hear what we had to say, but it seems that it is much deeper than that!

It looks like we have been given a "one way ticket". All thanks to our duly elected Municipal Council Members!

So Bruce Power will get their approval for an EA, they will have several public meetings, they have already set up a website, have already sent out some mailings, and have already placed full page ads in local newspapers. But in the end, will we really be part of the "decision" into whether a Nuclear Plant is built here or not. Well if I read correctly the comment from Karen's article correctly the answer is "NO".

Here is what Councillor Sloat said;

"We feel we are a willing host and the environmental assessment process will prove it one way or another," The county will have an opportunity for giving input but will have no decision making role." stated Councillor Sloat!

Is Bruce Power or Haldimand County going to have some kind of "ballot" that is fair? What I mean by fair is will this question be put to the "residents" like a ballot in an election? Or are they going to judge our "willingness" on the basis of who gets involved, or on the minimum requirements of the EA.

So this is where a petition will come in to play. If this petition was to state that until such a time that we can be convinced that the residents have been fully involved in this process by "our" Council, not Bruce Power, we are "not" a "willing host".

The petition should be ready by next week. We will then see just how much of a "willing host" the residents of Haldimand/Norfolk are. This will take time, but the EA process will also take time.

Here is the link to the entire article, it is a good read;
http://www.dunnvillechronicle.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1296315


6 comments:

  1. I'm blown away by Sloat's comments. Either he is just stupid or he blinded by his own arrogance. If this is the official position of council, then a referendum or plebiscite should be a demand by the public.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gee, Sloat "feels" its a willing host so that's that. Then, he says it doesn't much matter what we think since the county has no decision making role. What is obvious is that both Norfolk and Haldimand councils have already made their decision and they did so without any attempt at gauging public opinion. They've actively courted Bruce Power while actively denying any opposing voices from being heard. Shameful.

    Thanks for linking to the Dunnville Chronicle article. It's very informative wrt history and timelines.

    Jim Elve

    ReplyDelete
  3. I cannot believe the arrogance of this council either...however, I am very confident that we have an intelligent, strong and committed community of citzens who care more deeply about the future of Haldimand/Norfolk than the council members do...and we will fight this every step of the way. It's not a done deal.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I disagree with the decision that our council has made. And I also agree with the above posters. But for those of us that fought the Haldimand County Hydro sale we already new that Sloat and our council was arrogant. This is old news.

    Donna when is the petition going to be ready so I can sign it!

    Until such a time that council can prove to me that they have involved the public in their decision to publically proclaim that we are in deed a willing host, I will not make a decision either way whether I agree or disagree.

    I don't think I am the only one that is unsure at this time how to feel about a Nuclear plant in my backyard, but one thing I know for sure is that this council has once again made a huge decision without the involvement of the people!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yes they have, and there is nothing we can do about it now, it is too late. The process has started.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for your comments everyone.

    I believe Sloat's comment can be taken either way, but for us that know him we knew what he meant.

    As far as saying this is too late, never too late. Time will tell with the petition when it gets going.

    ReplyDelete