Paula Fletcher's office sent us an email about their recent attempts to stop the proposed Portland Energy Centre.

On June 19, Toronto's Board of Health passed a motion I made asking the Medical Officer of Health, Dr. David McKeown, to file for a review of the Certificates of Approval for air granted to the Portlands Energy Centre under Ontario’s Environmental Bill of Rights (EBR). Below is the press release Toronto-Danforth MPP Peter Tabuns and I issued following the decision of the Board of Health.
 
The 10 point Port Lands Green Energy Plan which Peter and I were involved in producing earlier this year, along with Deputy Mayor Sandra Bussin, MP Jack Layton and former MPP Marilyn Churley, shows that over 750 mega watts of power can be produced or saved through new, green energy production and energy efficiency, eliminating the need for a mega power plant in the Port Lands.
 
We CAN keep the lights on in Toronto, as well as protect the ecosystem -- notably our already compromised east end airshed -- AND ensure that a monstrous, polluting power plant doesn't stand in the way of vibrant revitalization of our waterfront. (Details of the green energy plan can be found at www.paulafletcher.ca  Click on News & Updates and scroll down to the Port Lands Green Energy Plan item.)

We think the proposed energy centre just doesn't makes sense for Toronto's waterfront. While one hand of government does everything possible to beautify the harbour, another works to make those positive changes worthless. Air studies done in downtown Toronto show pollution levels near hazardous thresholds. The addition of a large, gas fired power station just metres from the city's centre will pass the tipping point and set back our attempts to green Toronto two generations -- about the life of a plant like this one.

This issue should not be a partisan one. All parts of the political spectrum have to realize that the health of the public is not negotiable. Let your city representative know how you feel about the power plant.