Economic Impact of Waterpower on Crown Land in Ontario – ORA to MNR, Fayak

Excerpt:  “In response to Ontario Rivers Alliance’s (ORA) 19 September 2012 letter regarding our review and comments on the Economic Impact of Waterpower Projects on Crown Lands in Ontario (Report), Minister Gravelle requested that we forward our questions and comments to your attention.

ORA had hoped for a substantive response from the Minister, one that would address our economic, environmental and public health concerns; however, we were very disappointed when none of our concerns were addressed.

Additionally, this flawed Report was presented at the recent Ontario Waterpower Association (OWA) conference, The Power of Water, which was not only sponsored by MNR, but to make matters worse, Deputy Minister O’Toole assured the waterpower industry in his closing keynote speech, that “Crown land will be made available to support FIT 2.0 contract offerings, consistent with the government’s Green Energy Act objectives and the Ministry of Natural Resources’ draft Renewable Energy on Crown Land policy.”[1]  This, despite the fact that the EBR posting had only just closed 10 days prior to this conference, and was not yet officially finalized and released.  No such assurance should have been given without the completion of a thorough analysis of all the implications (both positive and negative). The Fraser Institute, Ontario’s Auditor General, and other experts, also question the wisdom of moving forward with additional power generation development at this time.”