I dont see any facts or information about the GE Plant on Lansdowne in this video. Is the plant safe? Are there any issues besides not liking nuclear power? The speaker talks about "scientism" but I would say a worse situation is "Youtubeism" where people post videos of conjecture posing as fact. James Duetsch, a psychiatrist, is entitled to his opinion but his area of expertise is not nuclear science and he tries to make it sound like he has first hand experience with uranium because he wore a monitoring badge. Well so have I and I am not a scientist at all.
Chernobyl was a terrible disaster and it scares people but it is in the Ukraine and the GE plant is not a reactor so again I dont see a connection to whether the GE plant on Lansdowne is safe or not and I find it a bit disingenuous to bring to cloud the story with information that is not applicable to the GE Plant in our area. People are fee to debate nuclear power all they want but that is not the issue at hand.
Uranium is dangerous, I dont think that is news to anybody, but the issue is whether there is anything to be worried about at this GE plant. So far I have not heard anything that suggests there is.The off camera suggestions that there is leakage is fear mongering unless there is some test results that exist that have not been made public. I would love to see the plant tested to provide factual information for locals. I called Andrew Cash's office and said "lets get this place tested, see if there are leaks or whether the building itself has become contaminated". I think that is what locals want (and to have had the opportunity to speak at the license renewal). If the plant is safe then there is no issue for me, I own shares in TREC so I am doing my part to promote green energy creation.
I know a lot of people seem to automatically believe industry led scientists, is it maybe called hoping for the best but we have to remember history shows us many times when the real dangers are played down for financial reasons.
I found this interview http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZotGdcV1Kik
If you are able please remember to bring new or gently used hats,mitts,scarfs,hoodies or socks for the 11 division winter drive. It's a great way to support those in need in 11 division.
Lived here for 5 years with our 2 little boys. Love this neighborhood, not worried at all. We are far more concerned about the impact from the proposed diesel trains than a plant that has been there for 50+ years.
Walked past on Saturday night, and it looked like it was opening night. Even a gorgeous motorcycle in the front window. Looked absolutely exceptional inside. No signage or anything. Anyone else heard anything about it?
I politely disagree. First off I dont see what you see when reading this opinion piece. Judy Rebick isnt mentioned in it so whether he has written about your friends in a way that you dont like should not cloud this particular story. If you dont like him then fine but I read this story three times and cant find any hate. I do see see a lot of evidence of anger and violence but it is not coming from the writer. The writer did not create videos that are on Youtube.
Being an anarchist IS important as it informs motive and a persons past activism is relevant because for many locals the issue is not about nuclear power but about whether the specific plant is safe. Many locals have expressed a feeling that they feel that the community is being exploited by non-residents who are anti-nuclear period. I watched the live streaming and came away with that feeling myself. Being an anarchist also goes to credibility. You are the company you keep and when you hang with people that destroy public property you will be called out about it and your agenda will be questioned. Thats fair game.
This story is an opinion piece and Greg Renouf is not only involved in activism himself but is pretty clear about what his agenda is. It it obvious from his blog that hangs in the activist world a lot and has some problems with as he says anarchism is hurting environmental and social justice. When I read his blog it occurs to me that the biggest hurdle for activists is to stop fighting among themselves (the Occupy Toronto Live feed last year was a lesson on how not to get anything done) but that's another matter. I dont see Greg Renouf as being any less credible than others how have come into the community and stood up on a soapbox.
The only issue is whether the plant is safe or not. THAT is what locals want to know. That information is being drowned out from what I see.
An attack based primarily on the fact that someone identifies as an anarchist is not a legitimate piece. He also attacks Judy Rebick and another friend of mine. My first reaction was how this reminded me of a video accusing Obama of infanticide. I think this is closer to hate speech than anything else.
"The background music playing before the meeting started was from Occupy the musical- this was the first hint that this meeting was not about the locals. When Ruiter announced that the meeting was Livestreamed by Occupy Toronto there was a collective sigh from the local residents- this was when they began to understand who was behind the meeting"
Lots of credit to event organizers on Thursday night for streaming the meeting. Not exactly sure how the event was billed, but it was more of an anti-nuke symposium than a public consultation. After all of the speeches, a half empty room was given eight minutes for questions to wrap the two hour meeting.
It's difficult to determine what kind of discussion knowledge of the GE plant would have had in 1984. Publishing "Nuclear Pelletizing Plant" in the Globe and Mail dispells the notion that it has been a secret all these years. I know that environmental threats from area factories were on the minds of a number of residents during that period and an active Junction Triangle community group was busy pushing for tougher standards. It was the efforts of this group that first established the neighbourhood name Junction Triangle. Perhaps some residents from that time might re-call?
The meeting was with the Junction Triangle Rail Committee and the Minister not the Clean Train Coalition.
The issue is very complex and it is hard to overcome the happy taxpayer funded newsletters that come week after week from Metrolinx. They never mention any controversy. It should be noted that Metrolinx was sanctioned by the Advertising Standards Council for misleading copy in their flyers.
The reality is that people are busy BUT the more they know, they more they want electric trains.
My impression is from the story I linked to above. There are at least 2 mentions of locals still having questions. Thats why I asked for info from somebody like yourself who was there.
The Globe and Mail published a feature article on the Junction Triangle on Saturday, April 14, 1984. The article focused on all of the industry concentrated in our neighbourhood and provided a map showing their locations. The GE-Hitachi facility is marked on the map as "Nuclear Pelletizing Plant."
I only made the first meeting, but it sounds like they were both packed. I can post some notes later. My take is that a full public review of the plant safety is important and I am inclined to avoid other conclusions before more factual information is available. I recognised many faces, and talked to a few others.
I don't know where you get the impression locals did not get a fair share of air time. The chair certainly knows the people in the community. For the first half of the discussion she asked panel members questions so she could set a respectful tone and cover a range of issues. Andrew and Jonah in particular did a good job of keeping the most local aspects of the issue on the front burner. Questions from the floor took issue with both sides, and while some people were pretty strongly against nuclear energy, that is to be expected and there was no real evidence of a campaign to have outside activists dominate the question time.
Richard wrote :
"Second, concerning the walls, I agree with Kevin that the Minister seemed surprised by the notion that not all residents up and down the corridor were in support. He was being advised by Metrolinx that they were. He asked if we were willing to provide him with the information that this was not the case - and not just in our neighbourhood but along the rest of the Toronto corridor. I asked if the form of a petition would be acceptable and he agreed"
I hope if a petition when and if it's circulated that it's done right. Again CTC and many of the elected officals have failed to inform or provided information to residents in other languages other then english regarding electrification or the wall. I myself have spoken to the Ministers office and shared my concern. This in some ways has become political and politicians have used this to personal gains, specially the NDP"s having the lawn signs about clean train/electrification with there names on it. Anyway, I tell you their are many people still out there in the hood who don't know about clean train or the wall. I think another question that should be added to the petition might surprise you uwhen you are door knocking is ask "DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CLEAN TRAIN, ELECTRIFICATION vs DIESEL or the WALL"
Below is the feedback from the local participants who met yesterday with the Minister of Transportation. We thank the Minister and Metrolinx CEO for taking our request for a meeting seriously and we also thank local Councillor Ana Bailao for being at the table with us. I expect she will have her own thoughts on the meeting some time soon.
====
Kevin Putnam.....
While there are no major announcements or breakthroughs to announce from today's meeting with Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli and Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig, there was some movement on the issue of the five metre Noise Walls.
Two other Junction Triangle residents Scott Dobson and Richard Mongiat, along with our City Councillor Ana Bailao, also attended the meeting this morning. This was the first opportunity for any residents to ask a member of the government about their rail policy. Up until this point, we have only dealt with a government agency (Metrolinx) and paid consultants.
The Minister stated his support for electric rail and said that it is his government's policy to electrify the Georgetown South corridor following a timetable outlined by Metrolinx. Minister Chiarelli s
tated that the diesel air rail link is just a temporary situation. Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig said that they are aiming to luanch electric rail in 2017. So they are holding the line, building diesel for the Pan AM Games, with a promise of electric trains at a later date.
We discussed the five metre high Noise Walls that will line large sections of the 23 kilometre route through West Toronto. There is a debate whether the walls are necessary with electric trains. We asked the Minister to only build these walls on an "as needs basis." With conflicting views about their necessity, it was agreed that a special technical meeting will be convened by Metrolinx to determine the need for noise walls with electric trains (details to follow).
The Minister has agreed to meet again. Perhaps Richard and Scott will have more comments to add.
=======
Richard Mongiat
There were two important things that I came away from this meeting with. First, It was made clear by us (and eloquently reinforced by Councillor Bailao) that the Minister and the government need to be far more vocal about their commitment to electrification. That and a proud policy to promote the greening of the rail lines would go a far way to convincing weary residents that this is their actual goal for 2017.
Second, concerning the walls, I agree with Kevin that the Minister seemed surprised by the notion that not all residents up and down the corridor were in support. He was being advised by Metrolinx that they were. He asked if we were willing to provide him with the information that this was not the case - and not just in our neighbourhood but along the rest of the Toronto corridor. I asked if the form of a petition would be acceptable and he agreed.
I think now would be the time for all of the groups supporting electrification, from Parkdale to Weston, to work together to collect the names of residents opposed to these enormous walls. It would be nice to be able to present the Minister with a stack of signed petitions and say - you asked for it Minister - you got it! It's time to win a battle in this war...
=====
Scott Dobson
This meeting presented the first opportunity for Junction Triangle to meet face to face with the people who actually make the real choices about this issue.We all agreed that electrification is the best way to go and that electrified transit fits with the governments other green energy initiatives. The minister made clear his desire to have electrification underway by 2017. Some of my additional takeaway was:
-That we all are on the same page in terms of the benefits of electrification.
-The Minister was shown maps that explained JT's unique history and connection to the 3 lines that surround us and this helped show why we take this issue so seriously.
-It became clear to the Minister that the governments electrification plans are not clear or strong enough, and, due to how the community has been treated in the past, not trusted
-Although there was much agreement, our group was clear and precise about areas where the evidence is different from what Metrolinx has said. Our position on Tier 4 and other issues proved to be based on science rather than emotion.The conversation covered many other transit issues and I think our community was seen as a pro transit community with many ideas and a willingness to get behind any transit plan that makes sense.
-The importance of greening the grid for transit expansion and the fact that diesel is not a long term solution for transit propulsion was understood by all.
- In terms of the walls the Minister seemed as confused as we are about Metrolinx's science on them, the lack of comparison of need if electric trains are used instead, the rollout process and the support/protest of them. The Minister, was interested in our point that Metrolinx claims electric trains are not quieter than diesel trains, which is at odds with what every other rail system claims. He suggested that a meeting on technical data is needed and clarification about difference in noise levels was in order. He stated that communities who do not want the walls should speak up. The impact of these walls on Railpath and communities and the potential graffiti issue was noted too.
-It was brought up as well that Metrolinx has never held any of it's meetings within JT and all agreed that it was time for that to change.
-The minister quizzed on us on our opinions on other transit issues and we talked about what have seen in other countries. We all agreed that Toronto has fallen way behind over the last 30 years in terms of transit implementation.
Finally we agreed on more than we disagreed on we hope that when the Electrification EA is done that the government will show that they are as excited about electrification as we are and get the job started. Junction Triangle was well represented and Ana Bailao was a big factor in making our presentation thoughtful, direct, and respectful.
Here is a link to a Star story about the first G.E. meeting. Sadly it looks like locals did not get a fair share of the air time. Was anybody there and want to give us some feedback?
Wow..the concerns over this are based on some rather adept fear-mongering! UO2 has been used for years in ceramics and glass production, is currently in use in solar cell production and in creating radiation resistant concrete. Its use in nuclear fuel is limited as it can create non uniform heat patterns in the cells and rods but it is still used anyway. If you are concerned about the health effects of uranium dioxide, don't eat it! The dust can adhere to the lungs and cause long term health effects but no more so than asbestos (still in many buildings in Ontario).There is more harmful radiation in your local hospital...
While there are no major announcements or breakthroughs to announce from today's meeting with Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli and Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig, there was some movement on the issue of the five metre Noise Walls.
Two other Junction Triangle residents Scott Dobson and Richard Mongiat, along with our City Councillor Ana Bailao, also attended the meeting this morning. This was the first opportunity for any residents to ask a member of the government about their rail policy. Up until this point, we have only dealt with a government agency (Metrolinx) and paid consultants.
The Minister stated his support for electric rail and said that it is his government's policy to electrify the Georgetown South corridor following a timetable outlined by Metrolinx. Minister Chiarelli stated that the diesel air rail link is just a temporary situation. Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig said that they are aiming to luanch electric rail in 2017. So they are holding the line, building diesel for the Pan AM Games, with a promise of electric trains at a later date.
We discussed the five metre high Noise Walls that will line large sections of the 23 kilometre route through West Toronto. There is a debate whether the walls are necessary with electric trains. We asked the Minister to only build these walls on an "as needs basis." With conflicting views about their necessity, it was agreed that a special technical meeting will be convened by Metrolinx to determine the need for noise walls with electric trains (details to follow).
The Minister has agreed to meet again. Perhaps Richard and Scott will have more comments to add.
I dont see any facts or information about the GE Plant on Lansdowne in this video. Is the plant safe? Are there any issues besides not liking nuclear power? The speaker talks about "scientism" but I would say a worse situation is "Youtubeism" where people post videos of conjecture posing as fact. James Duetsch, a psychiatrist, is entitled to his opinion but his area of expertise is not nuclear science and he tries to make it sound like he has first hand experience with uranium because he wore a monitoring badge. Well so have I and I am not a scientist at all.
Chernobyl was a terrible disaster and it scares people but it is in the Ukraine and the GE plant is not a reactor so again I dont see a connection to whether the GE plant on Lansdowne is safe or not and I find it a bit disingenuous to bring to cloud the story with information that is not applicable to the GE Plant in our area. People are fee to debate nuclear power all they want but that is not the issue at hand.
Uranium is dangerous, I dont think that is news to anybody, but the issue is whether there is anything to be worried about at this GE plant. So far I have not heard anything that suggests there is.The off camera suggestions that there is leakage is fear mongering unless there is some test results that exist that have not been made public. I would love to see the plant tested to provide factual information for locals. I called Andrew Cash's office and said "lets get this place tested, see if there are leaks or whether the building itself has become contaminated". I think that is what locals want (and to have had the opportunity to speak at the license renewal). If the plant is safe then there is no issue for me, I own shares in TREC so I am doing my part to promote green energy creation.
I know a lot of people seem to automatically believe industry led scientists, is it maybe called hoping for the best but we have to remember history shows us many times when the real dangers are played down for financial reasons.
I found this interview
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZotGdcV1Kik
If you are able please remember to bring new or gently used hats,mitts,scarfs,hoodies or socks for the 11 division winter drive. It's a great way to support those in need in 11 division.
Lived here for 5 years with our 2 little boys. Love this neighborhood, not worried at all. We are far more concerned about the impact from the proposed diesel trains than a plant that has been there for 50+ years.
Walked past on Saturday night, and it looked like it was opening night. Even a gorgeous motorcycle in the front window. Looked absolutely exceptional inside. No signage or anything. Anyone else heard anything about it?
I politely disagree. First off I dont see what you see when reading this opinion piece. Judy Rebick isnt mentioned in it so whether he has written about your friends in a way that you dont like should not cloud this particular story. If you dont like him then fine but I read this story three times and cant find any hate. I do see see a lot of evidence of anger and violence but it is not coming from the writer. The writer did not create videos that are on Youtube.
Being an anarchist IS important as it informs motive and a persons past activism is relevant because for many locals the issue is not about nuclear power but about whether the specific plant is safe. Many locals have expressed a feeling that they feel that the community is being exploited by non-residents who are anti-nuclear period. I watched the live streaming and came away with that feeling myself. Being an anarchist also goes to credibility. You are the company you keep and when you hang with people that destroy public property you will be called out about it and your agenda will be questioned. Thats fair game.
This story is an opinion piece and Greg Renouf is not only involved in activism himself but is pretty clear about what his agenda is. It it obvious from his blog that hangs in the activist world a lot and has some problems with as he says anarchism is hurting environmental and social justice. When I read his blog it occurs to me that the biggest hurdle for activists is to stop fighting among themselves (the Occupy Toronto Live feed last year was a lesson on how not to get anything done) but that's another matter. I dont see Greg Renouf as being any less credible than others how have come into the community and stood up on a soapbox.
The only issue is whether the plant is safe or not. THAT is what locals want to know. That information is being drowned out from what I see.
An attack based primarily on the fact that someone identifies as an anarchist is not a legitimate piece. He also attacks Judy Rebick and another friend of mine. My first reaction was how this reminded me of a video accusing Obama of infanticide. I think this is closer to hate speech than anything else.
"The background music playing before the meeting started was from Occupy the musical- this was the first hint that this meeting was not about the locals. When Ruiter announced that the meeting was Livestreamed by Occupy Toronto there was a collective sigh from the local residents- this was when they began to understand who was behind the meeting"
Greg Renouf's blog post on the November 15th meeting: http://www.genuinewitty.com/2012/11/16/ge-hitachi-the-night-the-anarchis...
Lots of credit to event organizers on Thursday night for streaming the meeting. Not exactly sure how the event was billed, but it was more of an anti-nuke symposium than a public consultation. After all of the speeches, a half empty room was given eight minutes for questions to wrap the two hour meeting.
It's difficult to determine what kind of discussion knowledge of the GE plant would have had in 1984. Publishing "Nuclear Pelletizing Plant" in the Globe and Mail dispells the notion that it has been a secret all these years. I know that environmental threats from area factories were on the minds of a number of residents during that period and an active Junction Triangle community group was busy pushing for tougher standards. It was the efforts of this group that first established the neighbourhood name Junction Triangle. Perhaps some residents from that time might re-call?
Did that spark much discussion?
I think that was mostly time constraints. Maybe you could have done a better job but the moderator did pretty well.
The meeting was with the Junction Triangle Rail Committee and the Minister not the Clean Train Coalition.
The issue is very complex and it is hard to overcome the happy taxpayer funded newsletters that come week after week from Metrolinx. They never mention any controversy. It should be noted that Metrolinx was sanctioned by the Advertising Standards Council for misleading copy in their flyers.
The reality is that people are busy BUT the more they know, they more they want electric trains.
My impression is from the story I linked to above. There are at least 2 mentions of locals still having questions. Thats why I asked for info from somebody like yourself who was there.
The Globe and Mail published a feature article on the Junction Triangle on Saturday, April 14, 1984. The article focused on all of the industry concentrated in our neighbourhood and provided a map showing their locations. The GE-Hitachi facility is marked on the map as "Nuclear Pelletizing Plant."
Who could be worried about that? ?!?
Large crowd calls for closure of uranium plant
I only made the first meeting, but it sounds like they were both packed. I can post some notes later. My take is that a full public review of the plant safety is important and I am inclined to avoid other conclusions before more factual information is available. I recognised many faces, and talked to a few others.
I don't know where you get the impression locals did not get a fair share of air time. The chair certainly knows the people in the community. For the first half of the discussion she asked panel members questions so she could set a respectful tone and cover a range of issues. Andrew and Jonah in particular did a good job of keeping the most local aspects of the issue on the front burner. Questions from the floor took issue with both sides, and while some people were pretty strongly against nuclear energy, that is to be expected and there was no real evidence of a campaign to have outside activists dominate the question time.
hi everyone,
we've set up an event page on facebook. check us out! get a sneak peak at some of our wonderful vendors!
http://www.facebook.com/events/367225866703846/
Richard wrote :
"Second, concerning the walls, I agree with Kevin that the Minister seemed surprised by the notion that not all residents up and down the corridor were in support. He was being advised by Metrolinx that they were. He asked if we were willing to provide him with the information that this was not the case - and not just in our neighbourhood but along the rest of the Toronto corridor. I asked if the form of a petition would be acceptable and he agreed"
I hope if a petition when and if it's circulated that it's done right. Again CTC and many of the elected officals have failed to inform or provided information to residents in other languages other then english regarding electrification or the wall. I myself have spoken to the Ministers office and shared my concern. This in some ways has become political and politicians have used this to personal gains, specially the NDP"s having the lawn signs about clean train/electrification with there names on it. Anyway, I tell you their are many people still out there in the hood who don't know about clean train or the wall. I think another question that should be added to the petition might surprise you uwhen you are door knocking is ask "DO YOU KNOW ABOUT CLEAN TRAIN, ELECTRIFICATION vs DIESEL or the WALL"
Below is the feedback from the local participants who met yesterday with the Minister of Transportation. We thank the Minister and Metrolinx CEO for taking our request for a meeting seriously and we also thank local Councillor Ana Bailao for being at the table with us. I expect she will have her own thoughts on the meeting some time soon.
====
Kevin Putnam.....
While there are no major announcements or breakthroughs to announce from today's meeting with Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli and Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig, there was some movement on the issue of the five metre Noise Walls.
Two other Junction Triangle residents Scott Dobson and Richard Mongiat, along with our City Councillor Ana Bailao, also attended the meeting this morning. This was the first opportunity for any residents to ask a member of the government about their rail policy. Up until this point, we have only dealt with a government agency (Metrolinx) and paid consultants.
The Minister stated his support for electric rail and said that it is his government's policy to electrify the Georgetown South corridor following a timetable outlined by Metrolinx. Minister Chiarelli s
tated that the diesel air rail link is just a temporary situation. Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig said that they are aiming to luanch electric rail in 2017. So they are holding the line, building diesel for the Pan AM Games, with a promise of electric trains at a later date.
We discussed the five metre high Noise Walls that will line large sections of the 23 kilometre route through West Toronto. There is a debate whether the walls are necessary with electric trains. We asked the Minister to only build these walls on an "as needs basis." With conflicting views about their necessity, it was agreed that a special technical meeting will be convened by Metrolinx to determine the need for noise walls with electric trains (details to follow).
The Minister has agreed to meet again. Perhaps Richard and Scott will have more comments to add.
=======
Richard Mongiat
There were two important things that I came away from this meeting with. First, It was made clear by us (and eloquently reinforced by Councillor Bailao) that the Minister and the government need to be far more vocal about their commitment to electrification. That and a proud policy to promote the greening of the rail lines would go a far way to convincing weary residents that this is their actual goal for 2017.
Second, concerning the walls, I agree with Kevin that the Minister seemed surprised by the notion that not all residents up and down the corridor were in support. He was being advised by Metrolinx that they were. He asked if we were willing to provide him with the information that this was not the case - and not just in our neighbourhood but along the rest of the Toronto corridor. I asked if the form of a petition would be acceptable and he agreed.
I think now would be the time for all of the groups supporting electrification, from Parkdale to Weston, to work together to collect the names of residents opposed to these enormous walls. It would be nice to be able to present the Minister with a stack of signed petitions and say - you asked for it Minister - you got it! It's time to win a battle in this war...
=====
Scott Dobson
This meeting presented the first opportunity for Junction Triangle to meet face to face with the people who actually make the real choices about this issue.We all agreed that electrification is the best way to go and that electrified transit fits with the governments other green energy initiatives. The minister made clear his desire to have electrification underway by 2017. Some of my additional takeaway was:
-That we all are on the same page in terms of the benefits of electrification.
-The Minister was shown maps that explained JT's unique history and connection to the 3 lines that surround us and this helped show why we take this issue so seriously.
-It became clear to the Minister that the governments electrification plans are not clear or strong enough, and, due to how the community has been treated in the past, not trusted
-Although there was much agreement, our group was clear and precise about areas where the evidence is different from what Metrolinx has said. Our position on Tier 4 and other issues proved to be based on science rather than emotion.The conversation covered many other transit issues and I think our community was seen as a pro transit community with many ideas and a willingness to get behind any transit plan that makes sense.
-The importance of greening the grid for transit expansion and the fact that diesel is not a long term solution for transit propulsion was understood by all.
- In terms of the walls the Minister seemed as confused as we are about Metrolinx's science on them, the lack of comparison of need if electric trains are used instead, the rollout process and the support/protest of them. The Minister, was interested in our point that Metrolinx claims electric trains are not quieter than diesel trains, which is at odds with what every other rail system claims. He suggested that a meeting on technical data is needed and clarification about difference in noise levels was in order. He stated that communities who do not want the walls should speak up. The impact of these walls on Railpath and communities and the potential graffiti issue was noted too.
-It was brought up as well that Metrolinx has never held any of it's meetings within JT and all agreed that it was time for that to change.
-The minister quizzed on us on our opinions on other transit issues and we talked about what have seen in other countries. We all agreed that Toronto has fallen way behind over the last 30 years in terms of transit implementation.
Finally we agreed on more than we disagreed on we hope that when the Electrification EA is done that the government will show that they are as excited about electrification as we are and get the job started. Junction Triangle was well represented and Ana Bailao was a big factor in making our presentation thoughtful, direct, and respectful.
Here is a link to a Star story about the first G.E. meeting. Sadly it looks like locals did not get a fair share of the air time. Was anybody there and want to give us some feedback?
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/1288014--residents-company-offic...
Wow..the concerns over this are based on some rather adept fear-mongering! UO2 has been used for years in ceramics and glass production, is currently in use in solar cell production and in creating radiation resistant concrete. Its use in nuclear fuel is limited as it can create non uniform heat patterns in the cells and rods but it is still used anyway. If you are concerned about the health effects of uranium dioxide, don't eat it! The dust can adhere to the lungs and cause long term health effects but no more so than asbestos (still in many buildings in Ontario).There is more harmful radiation in your local hospital...
While there are no major announcements or breakthroughs to announce from today's meeting with Transportation Minister Bob Chiarelli and Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig, there was some movement on the issue of the five metre Noise Walls.
Two other Junction Triangle residents Scott Dobson and Richard Mongiat, along with our City Councillor Ana Bailao, also attended the meeting this morning. This was the first opportunity for any residents to ask a member of the government about their rail policy. Up until this point, we have only dealt with a government agency (Metrolinx) and paid consultants.
The Minister stated his support for electric rail and said that it is his government's policy to electrify the Georgetown South corridor following a timetable outlined by Metrolinx. Minister Chiarelli stated that the diesel air rail link is just a temporary situation. Metrolinx CEO Bruce McCuaig said that they are aiming to luanch electric rail in 2017. So they are holding the line, building diesel for the Pan AM Games, with a promise of electric trains at a later date.
We discussed the five metre high Noise Walls that will line large sections of the 23 kilometre route through West Toronto. There is a debate whether the walls are necessary with electric trains. We asked the Minister to only build these walls on an "as needs basis." With conflicting views about their necessity, it was agreed that a special technical meeting will be convened by Metrolinx to determine the need for noise walls with electric trains (details to follow).
The Minister has agreed to meet again. Perhaps Richard and Scott will have more comments to add.
Villager reporter Lisa Rainford toured te GE-Hitachi plant on Lansdowne today. Here is her story http://www.insidetoronto.com/news-story/1315139-uranium-plant-opens-door...