HaltonHillsToday received the following letter in response to our story Halton Hills Council votes against contentious power plant expansion.
I feel the need to comment on the article posted on Dec. 12, 2023 regarding the Halton Hills Council rejection of Atura‘s plant expansion.
I expected a neutral report of the meeting. Unfortunately, in today’s media, I believe some journalists do not report objectively.
In my opinion, the article emphasizes the anti-expansion view and lacks supporting evidence against the expansion. Rather, I believe the emphasis was on emotional quotes and personal views of the dissenting councillors.
I commend Councillors Joseph Racinsky and D’Arcy Keene for not being swayed by the other councillors. In my opinion, they have the foresight to acknowledge Ontario’s existing power grid is not equipped to meet the expected rise in demand for electricity in the GTA West by 2031. They did not deny climate change is a serious issue facing Halton.
The article did not include any information from the Oct. 24, 2023 public meeting discussing the proposed expansion. Twenty-six people registered for that meeting, which I believe is hardly overwhelming interest from Halton residents.
Minutes from the meeting are easily obtained on the Atura site. I highly recommend readers check out the minutes to make an educated decision on the expansion of the plant.
Emphasis was placed on a 16-year-old’s statement that I believe lacked factual information on how to realistically address the upcoming shortage of energy in Ontario by 2030 or how the council can reliably attain cost-effective methods of reaching its net-zero emission agenda.
Councillor Clark Somerville spoke about ‘increases in juvenile asthma.’ His source for that information was ‘a phone call over the weekend from someone in the medical field.’
According to the Mayo Clinic, air pollution is a contributing factor to childhood asthma, but also family history, allergies, obesity and lack of physical activity are causes. It is reported if one parent has asthma, there is a 25 per cent chance their child will also develop it. If both parents have asthma, there is a 50 per cent chance.
Mr. Somerville stated he had ‘ long discussions with colleagues,’ but it was not reported what information convinced him to change his decision on how to vote.
In closing, I expect a balanced effort in reporting important community events. In my opinion, journalism today has drifted away from being an objective source of information.
Kevin McKenna
Halton Hills
