powerOur northern interests being lost in the southern disconnect is nothing new for us here.

At the same time, Cochrane Power is one of the most bizarre outcomes of this disconnect that we have been part of. It is a facility that converts wood waste from a negative carbon producing contribution to climate change, to a positive reduction in carbon, preventing climate change, while generating cost effective, renewable, reliable and responsible energy. At the same time, its capital costs are already paid for, unlike the provinces direction of seeking new capital projects that they will just charge hydro payers another “debt reduction” charge to pay for it all.

As an example of the curious choices being made by the Minister of Energy, Ottawa’s Bob Chiarelli and the provincial government, the 175,000 tons of wood waste being generated by the local economy every year that were once being converted into reliable, renewable, environmentally progressive energy, will now be diverted to a landfill. For perspective, Cochrane’s brand new municipal landfill site which before the move had a life of thirty (30) years, would be reduced to a mere two and half (2.5) years of life storing this waste instead. That means thirteen (13) times more landfills for Cochrane will be required. What was once a carbon sink producing cheap, lower cost energy is now a carbon source resulting in higher cost energy and increased climate change.

I know there are some in the Ministry of Energy who continue to hope we would just go away and accept the fate they have determined for us. I can tell you, as long as our interests are being trivialized and there is opportunity for us to grow and develop our own backyard for ourselves, we will not go away!

Our Council is committed to seeing this through and finding a better outcome than the unilateral choices being made by the province. We are also grateful to the regional support we continue to receive from all the municipalities, the North Eastern Ontario Municipal Association and the Federation of Northern Ontario Municipalities on this pan northern issue. Along with our regionally family, we have another phase we are working on to escalate the issue and continue the pressure to reconsider the curious direction being taken.

Highlighting the modern, progressive and environmentally positive attributes associated to our biomass facility’s role in the local socio-economic health of our community and the health of the global environment we live in, remains our focus.

As a regional family, and as northerners who live harmoniously with the natural environment around us, holding decision makers responsible to getting past lip service on climate change, to actually building the foundation to long term, modern and environmentally sustainable development, right here in northern Ontario were the resource are, remains our cause.