Former Liberal MP Crawford joins call for wind turbine moratorium

Chatham Daily News
A well-known Dover farmer-politician claims the proliferation of industrial wind turbines in his area has cost him the potential sale of his home.

Rex Crawford, former Dover reeve and Liberal MP, added his voice Thursday to a growing chorus of politicians and citizens demanding a moratorium on wind turbine construction.

Crawford, along with Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MP Bev Shipley and Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Monte McNaughton, called for the moratorium while standing at the site of a yet-to-be constructed turbine less than 1,500 feet from Crawford’s home on Bear Line Road.

Crawford said the province is breaking all the rules that Dover had in place while he was reeve to protect farmland.

“We have some of the best farmland in Canada in Dover and it’s being taken over by wind turbines,” he said. “More than 55 turbines are being built in this area alone.”

Crawford said a potential Toronto buyer for his property withdrew his interest once he learned a wind turbine was being constructed within a stone’s throw from the property. Read article

MP: Wind turbines creating rift

By Bob Boughner, Chatham Daily News
All wind turbine projects in Ontario should be put on hold until results of a federal health study are known, says Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MP Bev Shipley. Shipley told The Chatham Daily News Friday he has received complaints from residents in the Mitchell’s Bay area in Chatham-Kent concerning the large number of turbines being erected in what appears to be record time.

The MP said he isn’t surprised by the lack of support both he and MPP Monte McNaughton have received from the McGuinty government. But he is surprised by the relative silence of major environmental organizations for their failure to speak up in calling for a moratorium.

“Environmental groups that are not usually shy about making their views known, seem to have lost their voice on this one for reasons I do not understand,” he said. “You would think that when it comes to protecting human health they would want to be as diligent as they are when their concerns are far less compelling.”

Shipley said he appreciates wind turbine development in Ontario is a provincial matter, but is convinced construction should halt until the results of the federal health study are tabled. He said there is currently not a scientific consensus to conclude whether there is a relationship between exposure to wind turbine noise and harm to human health. But he said that is what the federal health study may be able to determine. He said if there is a link between human health and noise from wind turbines, there is a need to protect citizens before the province compounds the problem by moving ahead with additional projects.

Sarnia-Lambton MP Pat Davidson Pleased With Health Study

by Jay VanKlinken, Sarnia Blackburn News
Sarnia-Lambton’s MP is hopeful a Wind Turbine Noise & Health Study will prompt lots of public feedback.

Health Canada announced the study Tuesday saying it will focus on a targeted 2-thousand dwellings located near 8 to 12 wind turbine installation facilities in Canada.

Pat Davidson says it’s a hot-button issue in her riding. Listen here

Investigators will conduct in-person interviews, take indoor and outdoor noise measurements, and monitor blood pressure. Results are expected to be published in 20-14.

LKM MP Shipley calls for moratorium on Wind Turbine projects

Strathroy – Today MP Bev Shipley sent a letter to Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty requesting a moratorium on the development of further wind turbine projects in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex.  MP Shipley is asking for an immediate halt pending completion of the Health Canada research study that will explore the relationship between wind turbine noise and health effects reported by people living near wind power developments.

Shipley says he is supporting the call of many concerned constituents who have contacted him, as well as his provincial counterpart MPP Monte McNaughton in requesting this moratorium.  Currently 8 projects consisting of some 400 turbines are slated for construction in Lambton-Kent-Middlesex.

Wind turbine study comes too late: critics

By Paul Morden, Sarnia Observer

Health Canada’s decision to conduct a study to evaluate the relationship between wind turbine noise and potential health effects comes too late, says a Lambton County wind energy opponent.

Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said Tuesday the federal government wants to look at health effects reported by people living near wind power developments.

“The study is in response to questions from residents living near wind farms about possible health effects of low frequency noise generated by wind turbines,” Aglukkaq said.

The study will focus, initially, on a sample size of 2,000 homes picked from eight to 12 locations in Canada. The results are expected in 2014.

“There’s our problem right there,” said Marcelle Brooks, a member of the Middlesex-Lambton Wind Action Group. “Most of these projects are going to be up and running within the next year, to year and a half.”

Study to probe health effects

By Debora Van Brenk, The London Free Press

The emotionally and politically charged wind turbine debate in Ontario has just ramped up several notches as Health Canada launches a study of the human health impact of turbine noise.

The federal department will examine how low-frequency turbine sound affects nearby residents.

It aims to paint “a more complete picture of the potential health impacts of wind turbine noise,” federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said.

The announcement comes as turbine giant NextEra plans a series of meetings this week and next about three proposed wind farms that will total 178 turbines in Lambton and northwest Middlesex counties.

Samsung plans another meeting this week regarding 142 turbines north of Goderich.

All told, more than 6,000 turbines are proposed or planned for Ontario.

Word of the study immediately prompted the Ontario Tories and the province’s anti-turbine coalition to demand the provincial Liberals place a moratorium on wind projects.

Turbines are a key element of the province’s green energy policy.