Bala Falls saga - post 4

Misinformation

It is interesting that the only media coverage Swift River can get is in posting a full-page ad in the Banner.

Falsehoods and misinformation continue. This isn't a "big company". It is made up of a few people who want to put in a dam larger than the one that is there.

I am unsure how this will "destroy the town". It is a pretty sad state now. I think the town needs refurbishing. I think the old church, rather than being used as a craft store, ought to be changed into a museum. There could be slide shows of the development of the dam over the years, the progress as it is being built, show the history of the dam and the falls before humans changed the course of the falls and the height.

The big photo-op brought a lot of people into town. People were selling t-shirts and getting signatures on their petition. The shirt were on sale for $8 at various locales.

The Facebook site has had a threat posted. Not a pretty picture. This movement has really heated up with the town councillors vote.

We could market a reno to the hydro dam as a tourist attraction, as many other small towns have done. Few enough people stop in Bala, tourism dollars are down some say by 30%. The parking lot is for sale. If IT sells, the bakery and Annie's are hooped.

Town councillors seem uninterested in a plan. Perhaps the Chamber of Commerce should work with shop owners. Instead of fighting progress we should be adapting to it as we have always done. We need a vision for the future, not just a tearing down of a well-thought out provincial plan, with a voter-mandated goal of reducing coal-fired generating plants.

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It is amazing how much attention is given to rumour, shrieking protestors and unfounded, uniformed fears of those who protest the falls development. The dambusters are making complaints about the falls being reduced to a 'trickle'. (If you viewed the falls in January you would know this is not true). Others fear that all tourism in the region will cease. I say we market it as a tourist attraction, but I digress.

It is important that local residents see the big picture in all of this. Provincial voters have elected a government with a mandate to increase hydroelectric generation and decrease dependence upon coal-fired, carbon-producing generators.

I worked in an Ottawa school during the Leafs-Sens finals a few years ago. Those of us who were for the Leafs had to take great courage to wear our Leafs jerseys. But wear them we did. There are those in this community who support progress and the evolution of our environmental developments. We are having a hard time having our voices heard as the media only covers the squeaky wheels. It would be great to have balanced reporting of the news, not just the skewed viewpoints of business owners, bridge jumpers, and romantic two-season cottage owners with no vested interest in the environment. We need long-term sustainable, renewable energy projects. This seems to fit the ticket.
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For previous posts (and subsequent comments) see: Savethebalafalls (post #1), Dambusters (post #2) & Bala Hydro Project (post #3).

Bala Falls Hydro Project -part 3

The town has risen in uproar. It is quite a movement. I posted a video on the Save the Bala Falls Facebook site and, for the second time my post was deleted and, I was blocked from a site that declares that it is an "open group". Obviously not open to discussion.

The photo above shows the Bracebridge Hydro Project. It looks very amenable to visitors and draws tourists.

An 'anonymous' posting on my original post has been responded to and new points have been raised. A rant, intended to disparage me and my motivation, has been removed, at my request, to keep this issue clear, and not about emotions but values and issues. In a democracy a healthy debate helps everyone to understand and come to some sense of truth.

What is clear in the media is that they are not looking for those in favour, nor seem interested in presenting a balanced viewpoint. Many business owners are in the fray, with ties to local politics, but no effort has been made to correct untruths and, indeed, efforts seem to be made to regurgitate falsehoods. This is the difference between an editorial and news reporting, something that escapes many media outlets these days.

cottage property

Many are working long hours on dambusting. It is good to see the business people, taxpayers and cottagers united. I am still unsure that there isn't some efficacy in this project and find that the move to sway public opinion opinion means that those who are in favour of the project are going unheard in the grassroots movement. In an attempt to sway those in the privileged Moon River area taxpayers, Swift River made a special presentation to this group worried about the impact to their cottages and homes. What is ironic is that the original dam was built to assist secondary landowners in maintaining water levels for logging and to protect white settlers who took over the land from the original native settlers.

That is the way to discuss, debate and determine the future! We need to sit, like ancient and modern aboriginal leaders, and come to a consensus, not shrieking in debate-like forums. Thank goodness we live in a democracy. In the current Federal election, like the politicians building up of planks to create platforms, we can have healthy debates and weed out facts from fiction. With the different levels of government involved, e.g., our Conservative M.P.P. is supporting the fight against this Liberal provincial government initiative. It was the McGuinty government who was accused of not meeting election promises of reducing our dependence upon coal and he has done so with this mandate from taxpayers.

This project has been begun by provincial policy,

"aimed at developing new clean, renewable, ‘green’ sources of power generation in order to reduce Ontario’s dependence on dirty, coal-fired sources of electricity production."

It is controlled by various levels and divisions of our government (MNR, Ontario’s Environmental Assessment Act (O.Reg. 116/01), & Canadian Environmental Assessment Act but they are bureaucrats responding to government policy, driven by taxpayers. Norm Miller, our Parry Sound-Muskoka Conservative member in a Liberal provincial government, has found a perfect opportunity to get on the bandwagon! What is interesting is that this issue does not appear on his website. With no election in the immediate future, it hasn't been discussed, and very little is being said outside the town. There were a couple of articles in our local paper
(Sept. 17, Aug. 13 & July 16), and one in McLeans that I have yet to read!), but the province is interested in looking after the well-being of the entire province, not just our small town.

I follow the debate with interest. The next event will be the visitation on Oct. 14 of local councillors of the Muskoka district council, to view the area. I hope they make an informed decision, not one based on popularity. (Swift River Energy will be in attendance for questions, although coverage of the facts by their group seems sparce.) They have already agreed to the project 'in principle' - subject to a study, and will proceed from there. It is exciting to see the critical reflection on this debate, the quality of the debate varies, but it is there. Unlike the Federal politicians not much use is being made of the Internet, aside from sneering comments, lies, and untruths mixed with some real concerns. Unfortunately, the mix means that the project cannot be weighed and balanced over public good and inconvenience to cottagers, pain for business owners, and the value of adding green power to the grid. While I live here, I found that many of my neighbours are absent landlords, however, choosing to rent over participating in cottage life. Many cannot see the forest for the trees.

Below is my iMovie, also on YouTube, that clearly shows the falls and the area for those who may not understand the hydrogeologic perspective.



Below are the overhead photos with labels that demonstrate the extent of the project. Taken from the Swift River presentation to Moon River area taxpayers. (Reprinted by permission.)

Bala Falls Hydro: Post #1,
Dambusters (post #2) & Misinformation -part 4

"Love is being able to walk arm in arm.
Even when you don’t see eye to eye." --Thomas A. Kempis