Background: On February 23, 2022, Councillor Shawn Menard wrote:
“Dear neighbours, I am writing to you with a heavy heart. Our city and residents in the core have endured a lot in these last several weeks in Ottawa, and that trauma will be with us for some time. Couple that with the ongoing pandemic, and the impacts of the changes to all of our lives in the past weeks, months and years can be immense.
As I write this, the illegal occupation has been, perhaps temporarily, suspended in the core. I say temporarily because we know that people continue to gather in rural areas outside of Ottawa and the future of this seems uncertain. I am still seeing convoy vehicles with flags being driven in Ottawa.”
Finch resident Ruby Mekker responds:
Your “heavy heart” message was for less than a period of a month. I consider your remark, “Our city and residents in the core have endured a lot in these last several weeks in Ottawa, and that trauma will be with us for some time.” very depressing when I know that the City of Ottawa is considering the installation of over 700 industrial wind turbines (IWTs).
I respectfully ask you to consider what Todd Dawson wrote Feb 4, 2022 when describing the noise experienced by Ottawa city residents,
“One week of “honking”. (Compare this to over a decade of the noise of industrial wind turbines for Ontario residents.)
“Constant exposure to high levels of noise is well-known to have deleterious effects on both mental and physical health; a 2018 report from the World Health Organization says it’s “among the top environmental risks to health.”
“Lots is known about the health risks of noise, including cardiovascular disease, cognitive impairment, sleep disturbance and mental health impacts. The European Environment Agency estimates 12,000 premature deaths annually result from long-term exposure to noise”
I now ask you to research the noise of industrial wind turbines, understand why there are thousands of noise and adverse health Incident Reports filed by Ontarians now living with industrial wind turbines which remain unaddressed and to please recognize the danger of noise to human (and animal) health.
As an additional request, go to Sygration Ontario https://www.sygration.com/gendata/today.html and review the power generation of industrial wind turbines and compare it to nuclear, hydro and natural gas to see which power sources prove to be reliable for long periods of time. Notice that the majority of IWT power is produced during the nighttime hours when it is not needed and when children and adults alike generally expect to experience peaceful sleep, without “noise.”
A followup news article dated February 7, 2022 states “Private nuisance is “interference” with someone’s “use or enjoyment of land that is both substantial and unreasonable” (Antrim Truck Centre Ltd. v Ontario (Ministry of Transportation) 2013 SCC 13 at para 18, my underlining). An “interference” can pertain to physical property damage, as well as to “the health, comfort or convenience of the owner or occupier” (para 23). In other words, private nuisance is an infringement of a person’s right to the enjoyment of their own property.”
The article continues with the following statements:
“substantial nature of the interference will almost certainly be recognized by the court…and is causing a private nuisance..its severity and duration (less than a month and for the most part not at night),…in light of the densely populated location
All of these components apply to any IWT project and should, as the article states, are “a private nuisance that must be addressed quickly and swiftly.” Why has Ontario failed to do so when the facts are clear? Why would the City of Ottawa contemplate inflicting a known source of “noise” on the residents?
Please share this information with your fellow councillors and ensure there will be no industrial wind turbine projects built in and around the city of Ottawa, that any IWT noise will not ever have to be endured.
I leave you with a final thought, will the people of Ontario forced to live with IWTs ever overcome the “trauma” they are forced to live with?
Thank you for your consideration,
Ruby Mekker
Finch, ON
Non consenting victim of the Nation Rise Wind Project, Township of North Stormont, southeast of Ottawa