The following is an open letter from Bev Teeter, Dashwood, Ontario to Goshen Wind Inc. regarding her lease with the wind company.
Open Letter
Dashwood, ON N0M1N0
June 3, 2015
Goshen Wind, LP
700 Universe Blvd.
Juno Beach, FL 33408
Att. Carlos Megias, Senior Counsel
Re: Lease with Goshen Wind Inc. with Effective Date of December 15, 2013
Dear Sir,
Your letter dated May 28 arrived here June 1. You object to our informing the Sumitoma Mitsui Banking Corporation of Canada that “the lease on our land assumed by Goshen Wind was obtained illegally, as our signatures were attached without our knowledge or consent”. This in our opinion is absolutely true.
As stated in my reply to NextEra’s Goshen employee in June 2014:
“Nicole, before responding to your June 19th letter, I would like to set down my view of the overall situation and the Green Energy Act . For every monster turbine set in motion, the people of Ontario lose. Every wind project increases our future energy payments. People complain about their “hydro” bills but may be unaware that wind power has been given special status… guaranteed high rates and first usage before cheaper sources already available. They may be unaware that excess power is dumped across the border for far less than what we have paid for it. Along with the enormous costs of building these projects which we do not need, they destroy habitat for birds and people alike, cause many to suffer Wind Turbine Syndrome documented where ever such mammoth turbines spin and ultimately facilitate a process which turns our prime agricultural land over to Corporate owners at drastically diminished values. And as turbines go up, possibilities for truly green alternatives diminish. There is nothing beneficial to Ontario in this. Wind Turbines do not serve to reduce CO2, they are not pristine and green.
In 2011, we were quite unaware of all that and had signed the Canadian Greenpower Option/Lease a few years earlier. When the familiar CGP representative arrived wanting signatures on July 18th, a sticky hot day, we listened to his excited rant indicating it was possible the project might go ahead, his description of construction detailing cement dome and moving topsoil, and restoration…. there was no talk of terms and conditions or new lease or NextEra. I vividly remember asking him if the reason he needed signatures was to renew the option and his look of discomfort as he nodded to confirm that was the case. He never presented papers for us to look through. He did not discuss terms other than to indicate the payment had been increased. After sitting at that picnic table in the heat for 1 ½ hours, we stupidly signed his paper. And Ms. Geneau you were advised of this in my letter to you December 12, 2013. Likewise you were advised that we had never been consulted about siting as required by the lease. The second paragraph of your letter does not match what actually took place. We were not shown or provided with a copy of the NextEra option/lease until October of last year. At that time we were shocked and sickened by the hoax that had taken place.
Your letter states that we renewed the Option to Lease Agreement on July 28th, 2011. Perhaps that was the day NextEra signed? We would have no way of knowing since we were otherwise occupied on July 28th,, had no knowledge of NextEra, and were given no documents.”
Sir, you state that “the lease was not obtained illegally as evidenced by… signatures and initials to the lease.” That lease was first shown to us in October of 2013. We recognized immediately that we had not seen it previously and would not have signed the Option if we had. The Lease Effective Date of December 15, 2013 passed without our signatures. February 13, 2014 we received registered mail from McCarthy Tetrault LLP stating… “our client demands that you promptly execute and return two fully executed copies of such lease by no later than February 21, 2014.
If you fail to deliver such copies of the signed lease, you should be aware that Goshen has requested us to take immediate legal action on its behalf to enforce its rights and remedies for your breach of the Option Agreement, which action may result in you becoming liable for, amongst other things, Court costs, damages (which can extend to substantial amounts on account of delayed construction of the overall project and lost revenues arising from such delays), and interest on such damages at the rates prescribed under the Courts of Justice Act of Ontario. As well, you should be aware that such litigation against you may result in adverse implications for your credit ratings.”
This threat was the equivalent of a gun to our heads. We signed the loathsome papers February 18, 2014. It was not until May 27, 2014 that the document was signed by the corporation representative. We received a copy later by UPS from Florida.
We now know that the original Option to be legal must have the full Option and Lease attached before any signatures are added. Clearly this was not the case here.
That the wind Corporation proceeds to mortgage “their infrastructure and facilities on and leasehold and easement interests in” our land initiates significant restrictions to our ability to use this property as we see fit. Our naivety and the deceit practiced by wind corporations have put leaseholders in the situation of losing not only property rights but also the right to a safe and healthful environment in our homes and our neighbors in theirs.
Sincerely,
Bev Teeter