REPRINTED FROM THE KING SENTINEL, October 27, 2010
King Township residents and members of council were among the roughly 100 people at Queen’s Park Thursday at a rally to fight to help save Ontario’s waters.
Earthroots, Council of Canadians and Save the Oak Ridges Moraine (STORM) Coalition organized the rally to urge the government to better manage, conserve and protect Ontario’s water resources.
The rally was centered around water conservation in general, but focused on the Oak Ridges Moraine to highlight some of the problems being faced in Ontario.
Earthroots Campaigner Josh Garfinkel said a strong message needs to be sent out to the government that they must better manage public water resources.
A carrot mascot, Josh Garfinkel, Senior Campaigner for Earthroots, Audrey Bankley, outreach coordinator of Earthroots, Josh Kohler, Southern Ontario campaigner of Earthroots, Brenda Bakers, Markham Municipal Councillor Erin Shapero and Debbie Crandall of STORM (Save the Oak Ridges Moraine) were also at the rally.
“The effects of the global water crisis in Ontario are being felt,” he said.
Debbie Schaefer, member of Concerned Citizens of King Township and Ward 5 council candidate, said King Township was represented at this meeting because of the plans by the Ontario Power Authority to build a 393 MW gas fired peaker generator in Ansnorveldt.
“The generator site is in the Lake Simcoe watershed and the site is in the marsh,” Schaefer stated in an e-mail. “The 17-kilometre pipeline to service the generator will be cut through the Oak Ridges Moraine across and under water paths.”
Mayor Margaret Black was at the rally, as well as mayoralty candidate Steve Pellegrini and Ward 6 council candidate Avia Eek.
Black stepped up to the podium with a litre of drinking water, as did all the people at the rally, to say she is fighting for Ontario’s water.
“I think this cause is very important, a message needs to get out to the government that they need to protect our waters,” Black said.
Pellegrini said the peaker plant is becoming more of a reality and since the Province’s decision recently not to go ahead with the construction of a proposed natural gas plant in Oakville that it would be adequate to have the same thing done for Ansnorveldt.
“King is in dire times right now, especially with the issue regarding the peaker plant,” he commented.
Ward 4 council candidate Greg Locke said he is concerned about threats to the long-term water supply in York Region and beyond.
As well, he was there to show his anger over the peaker plant and the 16-inch natural gas pipeline to fuel it.
“The generator site is in the Lake Simcoe watershed,” Locke commented. “The site is in the marsh. And what I find especially missing in media coverage: the 17- kilometre pipeline to service the generator will be cut through the Oak Ridges Moraine, across and under water paths.”
Locke said he sees a domino effect here, where projects of this nature, plus encroaching and poorly planned residential development and roadwork, are eroding quality of life.
“There’s a fundamental lack of balance in how these issues are being represented and I intend to bring the pendulum back where it should be in these regards.”
Eek said people’s drinking water is not a thing to mess around with. “This our drinking water, why is this happening,” she said.
Greg Locke with [now} Mayor Elect Steve Pellegrini, Councillor Elect Debbie Scheafer, Councillor Elect Avia Eeks, and Andrea Loeppky
