Search
Better Farming OntarioBetter PorkBetter Farming Prairies

Better Farming Ontario Featured Articles

Better Farming Ontario magazine is published 11 times per year. After each edition is published, we share featured articles online.


Wind opponents eye political solution following court defeat

Friday, March 4, 2011

by PAT CURRIE

The Ontario Divisional Court’s dismissal Thursday of a challenge to current provincial regulations governing the set-back distance between homes and wind turbine generators was hailed as a victory by the industry but pooh-poohed as no such thing by opponents.

President John Laforet of Wind Concerns Ontario, a coalition of 57 community-based groups across Ontario, said the panel of three judges had ruled only there was no evidence that the provincial government had acted improperly in determining wind turbines had to be set back at least 550 metres from homes.

"The court's jurisdiction is therefore quite circumscribed," the judges wrote in their decision dismissing a court challenge by small business owner Ian Hanna, of Prince Edward County. Hanna had claimed there was no medical evidence that the established setback was really safe.

All the judges did was decide "it was not up to them to determine the wisdom of (Energy Minister Brad Duguid) which is a far cry from determining the minister’s actions to be wise," Laforet said.

"The situation is not bleak," Hanna said, noting that the judges had "left it open for the Environmental Review Tribunal" to rule on the setback. "We don't see this as a loss or a negative so much as it is a shifting of where that determination has to be made," Hanna said.

Laforet renewed Wind Concerns Ontario’s demand for a fully independent, third-party study to determine what is a safe distance" between turbines and homes.

Laforet noted some eight million Ontario voters in 107 ridings across the province had backed motions for a moratorium on wind farm development until the issue has been determined. "We’re confident that if the government doesn’t change its tune, the voters will change the government" in the next provincial election Oct. 6, he said.

President Robert Hornung of the Canadian Wind Energy Association, representing the wind turbine industry, said Hanna’s unprecedented court challenge "had no merit" and that "the balance of expert scientific and medical information to date clearly indicates there is no direct link between wind turbines and effects on human health." BF

Current Issue

September 2025

Better Farming Magazine

Farms.com Breaking News

Wheat Output Decline Projected for 2025

Wednesday, September 10, 2025

Statistics Canada’s latest modelled estimates suggest that wheat production in Canada will decline slightly in 2025, driven primarily by weaker yields across several regions. National output is expected to edge down 1.1% to 35.5 million tonnes, with yields forecast to fall 1.2% to 49.6... Read this article online

Research Projects and Companies Supported Through OAFRI

Tuesday, September 9, 2025

The governments of Canada and Ontario have announced an investment of up to $4.77 million to strengthen the province’s agri-food sector. This funding, delivered through the Ontario Agri-Food Research Initiative (OAFRI) under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable... Read this article online

First Northern Cohort Joins Ontario Vet Program

Thursday, September 4, 2025

This September, the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC) at the University of Guelph welcomed its inaugural Northern Cohort of 20 students through the Collaborative Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program (CDVMP). This initiative, created in partnership with Lakehead University, marks a milestone... Read this article online

BF logo

It's farming. And it's better.

 

a Farms.com Company

Subscriptions

Subscriber inquiries, change of address, or USA and international orders, please email: subscriptions@betterfarming.com or call 888-248-4893 x 281.


Article Ideas & Media Releases

Have a story idea or media release? If you want coverage of an ag issue, trend, or company news, please email us.

Follow us on Social Media

 

Sign up to a Farms.com Newsletter

 

DisclaimerPrivacy Policy2025 ©AgMedia Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Back To Top