Residents, cottagers, boaters, paddlers and environmental advocates from across the Georgian Bay region gathered in Meaford on Sept. 6 to peacefully protest the planned pumped storage project.
The event, referred to as a flotilla, was organized by Save Georgian Bay, which is a grassroots organization that is committed to stopping TC Energy’s proposal for a pumped storage plant.
The organization says that the it couls cause irreparable harm to the Niagara Escarpment and the waters of Georgian Bay.
This is the second consecutive year that Save Georgian Bay has held a flotilla.
Tom Buck, who is a found and one of the directors for the organization, told Bayshore News last year that he hopes the protest will remind TC Energy and the provincial and federal governments that the organization continues to object to the project.
“Our concern is that we have not seen permits, we have asked to see the permits to do this drilling; they have not been shown to us,” says Buck. “So we think TCE has bullied there way in to do this drilling.”
Participants cited a wide range of concerns, including impacts on fish habitat, water quality, wetlands, species at risk and the long-term health of one of Canada’s most treasured freshwater ecosystems.
“If I was starting a list and I was starting with number one, of many concerns,” says Buck. “Number one would be the impact on the habitat and environment of Georgian Bay and the (Niagara) escarpment.”
The petition on Save Georgian Bay‘s website was signed by 3,500 people, with the top four concerns from the petition being:
– Risk to Georgian Bay’s water quality
– Risk to fish populations
– Damage to Escarpment
– Risk to endangered species