Dear Editor

I attended the recent community meeting in Meaford concerning the proposed TransCanada Energy (TCE) (formerly the TransCanada Corporation) project to be located on the Meaford Tank Range.

If this proceeds, this massive plant will pump water from Georgian Bay up 150 meters over the Niagara Escarpment. (a UNESCO World Biopshere Reserve!) to a man-made reservoir. The water being pumped daily will be almost half the average flow over Niagara Falls.

TCE has modelled this plant after Ludington, Michigan which was constructed in the 1960's. I'm not an energy expert, but I understand that this plant will require 30% more electricity than it will produce. New technologies are available which are far more environmentally friendly and more cost effective.

The high voltage transmission lines supplying the energy to the plant will run from the tank range along the Georgian Bay area near Thornbury, Collingwood and through to Barrie.  

Our crystal clear waters will, no doubt, become a murky brown dumping ground of dead fish and other aquatic life. Clearing of land for the transmission lines and creation of the man-made reservoir will destroy wildlife habitat. Areas along the Niagara Escarpment "collectively boast the highest level of species diversity among Canadian Biopshere Reserves". (UNESCO)  

It's our responsibility to become informed and speak up. We live in a magnificent part of the world that remains "relatively" untouched.  Are we going to allow profits and huge corporations to literally bulldoze their way through with this project?  

For more information ...

https://www.change.org/p/federal-save-georgian-bay-fe02a3a7-9e1f-438d-91a7-258324ae1fdd  

https://www.facebook.com/SavingGeorgianBay/?ref=py_c 

Donna Mitchell
Annan