What began last year as a request from Transport Canada to move eight wind turbines near the Chatham-Kent Airport turned into an order on the weekend.
The turbines must be gone by the end of the year.
But the mayor doesn’t think that needs to happen.
“There is no safety issue, so we need to change the regulation rather than force the removal of the turbines,” Mayor Randy Hope said in a release. “Only the lawyers will win if this ends up in litigation.”
He added that the eight turbines in question are “considerably farther from the Chatham-Kent Airport than the CN Tower is from the Island Airport in Toronto.”
The order caught the municipality off guard. Just two months ago, John Norton, Chatham-Kent’s chief legal officer, met with Transport Canada officials and proposed the turbines be recognized as exceptions.
Instead of delivering a reply to Norton’s proposal, Transport Canada issued the removal order.
GDF Suez, the owner of the turbines in question, is expected to object to the order and seek a hearing.
Good. The things are a blight on the landscape and a testimony to the Liberal government's waste of our tax dollars.
I detest the wind turbines. They are ruining the natural beauty of Chatham-Kent.
Tell us how you really feel Bob! You have never been one to mince words…I think wind would work, but this price model is going to bankrupt Ontario. I could not imagine paying 20 or more cents/kwh.
They are a blight all over the world, and there are negative health effects on some people.
Who issued the permits anyway. Is Chatham Kent responsible? I would imagine this to be the case. So when the windmills come down are the taxpayers responsible to GDF Suez. I would think this is also the question to be answered. Does everyone forget the incident of the silo near the airport runway. How did we fair in that lawsuit. Maybe just maybe it is time to hold someone responsible?
On my latest visit home I was astounded and appalled at the amount of wind turbines in Chatham-Kent! Then I found out that Canada PAYS the USA to take the energy?!? What's it going to take to have the turbines removed by the airport? A plane crash that that takes lives?? To see so many turbines dotting the landscape was sickening. Driving down the 401 was made worse by all of the flashing red lights. Sitting on the beach at Rondeau and looking down the coastline seeing hundreds of turbines ruining the view made me angry and I don't even live in Canada any longer.