Sunday, February 16th, 2025

Last Thursday saw a war of words on multiple fronts regarding wpd Canada’s proposed Fairview Wind Farm. In the afternoon, it was a case of dueling press conferences concerning the effect the turbines might have on the Collingwood Regional Airport; later on, Preserve Clearview’s march ended with a rally outside the Stayner Arena, inside which wpd were holding their mandated second public meeting.

The day got underway with a press conference at the airport, during which members of the airport’s Municipal Services Board and pilots representing the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association lamented the fact that wpd is proposing to erect four of its eight 150-metre-high turbines within the airport’s “obstacle limitation surface,” a theoretical circle around the facility that is 45 metres off the ground and eight kilometres in diameter. The closest turbine site to the airport is 3.1 kilometres from the end of the runway.

“You’d think a grade-school kid would understand that you don’t put 50-storey structures next to an airport,” said services board chair Charlie Tatham. “This situation is sad, unfortunate, ill-advised, damaging to the community and just plain dangerous.”

Tatham pointed out that, while wpd might claim that Transport Canada has no issue with the siting of their turbines, that’s only because Transport Canada’s only role is to regulate aviation activities. In other words, the government body is only able to instruct the airport to adjust its procedures, or even close down, once the turbines are built. It has no power to prevent their construction.

With the Collingwood Regional Airport currently the site of 12,000 plane “movements” a year, experiencing 10 to 15 per cent growth over the past few years and predicting that rate to increase further with the gradual winding down of Buttonville Airport, Tatham said it was unfortunate that wpd was able to use a “loophole” that would result in the airport becoming less accessible.

He also reminded those present of the unpredictable winter conditions that can arise suddenly due to the airport’s proximity to Georgian Bay.

“If these towers are built, there is no doubt in my mind that, at some point, we’ll see a plane crash into one of them,” he said. “It’s inevitable.”

That opinion, however, was not shared by the two pilot/consultants who spoke at a second aviation-related press conference, held later in the day by wpd Canada. Terry Reilly of SMS Aviation Safety, who officially released his wpd-procured report on the effects of the Fairview Wind Farm on aviation at the press conference, disputed Tatham’s use of the “obstacle limitation surface,” pointing out that that particular regulation does not apply to uncertified aerodromes like Collingwood’s. He also said that several certified aerodromes have been developed in Canada with pre-existing obstacles within the four-kilometre radius prescribed by the obstacle limitation surface. To illustrate his point, two large maps were tacked to the wall behind Reilly and his fellow speakers: one of the Collingwood Regional Airport, with the potential 150-metre-high wind turbine site located 3.1 kilometres from the runway, and one of Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport on Toronto Island, with the 550-metre-high CN Tower just 1.26 kilometres from the runway. Under questioning, Reilly did admit however that the CN Tower is located to the side of the Billy Bishop runway, while the turbines would be located forward and to the right of the Collingwood runway, a more critical location when it comes to aborted landings.

That said, Reilly said that with adjusted operating procedures, the Collingwood Regional Airport would be no less accessible with the turbines present than it is now. And he disputed Tatham’s claim that an accident would be inevitible, pointing out that pilot culture is one of “shared responsibility” and “good airmanship.” Any certified pilot accessing Collingwood airport would have been thoroughly briefed in the facility’s operating procedures, as well as the day’s weather conditions, before take-off.

“If everybody does what they’re supposed to do, there will be no problem,” he said.

The wpd aviation press conference ended just as 300 or so protesters began arriving in the Stayner Arena parking lot, following a tractor and car parade down County Road 91 from Preserve Clearview principal Kevin Elwood’s Clearview Nursery.

Under effigies of Premier Dalton McGuinty and Provincial NDP leader Andrea Horvath hanging from mock turbines, Elwood, fellow Preserve Clearview organizer Chuck Magwood and four Conservative MPPs – local Simcoe-Grey member Jim Wilson, Bill Walker of Bruce-Grey, Lisa Thompson of Huron-Bruce and Energy critic Vic Fedeli of Nipissing – spoke of their criticisms of the Green Energy Act and the need to oust the Liberal party in the next election.

The final speaker of the rally was radio personality Dale Goldhawk, who summed up the feelings of the crowd.

“Can somebody please exercise a little bit of common sense when it comes to these things?” he asked, motioning to the mock turbines next to the stage. “It’s not that difficult: don’t put them where they can hurt people, and don’t put them in the path of airplanes.”

Meanwhile, inside the arena, wpd carried on with its second mandated public meeting, summarizing the detailed contents of its Renewable Energy Application, which it plans to submit to the Ministry of the Environment this fall. Approval could come as early as early 2013. Barring any appeals, which would be heard through the Environmental Review Tribunal, the company plans to begin construction six to 12 months after approval and be up an operating by August, 2014.

Full details of the wpd REA can be found online at www.canada.wpd.de or at the office of Clearview Township.

Clearview Council will debate its stance on the wpd proposal at its meeting on Monday, August 13, following the release of a staff report by planning director Michael Wynia that recommends the Township take a stand against the project.

Opponents to the Fairview Wind Farm are currently collecting signatures on a petition, which will be presented to Council before its deliberations on Monday night. It will also be presented in the Ontario Legislature by MPP Jim Wilson. The petition can be found in Creemore at the Old Mill House Pub, in Stayner at Mac’s Corner Gas, in Nottawa at Dovetail Interiors, in Collingwood at Jim Wilson’s office, at Clearview Nursery and at the Collingwood Regional Airport.

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