Dear editor:
I just read Brian Zinchuk鈥檚 excellent听article on wind turbines and bird deaths in Alberta and Saskatchewan. Way to go Saskatchewan for actually听taking this issue seriously - we鈥檝e never had this happen in Ontario!
I鈥檓 from southwestern Ontario, but moved to New Brunswick two years ago when the turbines went up. For six years I fought them, went to tribunal hearings, videotaped the NextEra destroying an active eagle nest, got sued by the same company because I parodied their logo as 鈥淣exTerror,鈥� and听I organized and听attend听uncountable protests during that time. If I听would have stayed and听remained surrounded by turbines, the kids鈥� school听surrounded by turbines, I would have continued, but our health came first and we left the land I was born and raised on.
Here鈥檚 the thing - I鈥檝e since realized that the wind听companies are killing way more birds and bats then the media or researches know - with impunity. The last听report on bird/bat听mortality that any wind developer听released to the public was in 2012 (TransAlta鈥檚 Wofle听Island), then all of a sudden the whole industry stopped releasing these听reports. I听couldn鈥檛听find them anywhere. Bird Studies听Canada听wouldn鈥檛 听release the听documents - they are confidentially working with the wind听companies (on a听voluntary basis...).听I asked the wind company for it (NextEra) - they told me they would give me a two page summary in a couple of months.
I asked the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry - they said I had to file an FOI (Freedom of Information) request. 听These听should听be public听documents! So I filed a test FOI for three local projects. After many months, and a faked 鈥渁ppeal鈥� by the wind company to delay the听release, the documents came. My heart sank and my blood boiled. In six months the two local听NextEra projects killed eight red tailed hawks and 14 vultures - in just six months! You can imagine what the raptor听population听will be in that area when the 20 year lifespan of this project is over. We lived on flat,听prairie like farm land, with small woodlots 鈥� good raptor habitat, but not now, as there are 200+ wind turbines there.
I decided to file FOIs for all the wind projects in Ontario. There are over 110听projects. I had to source out and make a听comprehensive list and then present it to the FOI office and the Renewable Energy Coordinator for the MNRF. You know what the听MNRF guy said? 鈥淚 didn鈥檛 even know听about听half of these projects.鈥� Right - this is the guy in听charge of wind turbines and wildlife in the province, and he doesn鈥檛 even have a LIST of听the听wind projects there? I asked them if they are听studying the massive听cumulative impacts these projects will be having on the bird and bat populations. His answer was no, not unless there is some secret study听going on. So听nobody is looking into it. Not a soul. It鈥檚 all eyes closed to these massive kills.
Oh, and they told me it will probably costs me thousands of dollars to retrieve these documents through the FOI. I took a breath and听said, 鈥淒o it.鈥� I鈥檒l set up a Go Fund Me, or something. These need to be made public. I鈥檝e posted what I have so far on a Google Drive page open to the public. At some point it might be a good idea to do this in Alberta as well. We asked the New Brunswick MNR for these documents and they听just emailed them to us, free of charge, in two days. We asked the Nova Scotia听government and they mailed us the documents, through an FOI request, for five dollars. But in Ontario 鈥淚t鈥檒l cost you thousands.鈥� Obviously, it鈥檚 for information they听don鈥檛 want getting out when they put an enormous price tag on it - that鈥檚 not open听government.
听
Esther Wrightman
St. Andrews, New Brunswick
