GONE WITH THE WIND

Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government and her predecessor, Dalton McGuinty, imposed this change on Ontario’s rural communities. Even municipalities who officially declared themselves unwilling hosts of the Wynne turbines, like Prince Edward County (PEC), are unlikely to stop renewable energy development. Real estate agents marched with picket signs and homeowners wore T-shirts with images of their houses, destined to lose value. Naturalists raised tens of thousands of dollars to hire a lawyer to fight the construction of wind turbines in a government-designated Important Bird Area and endangered Blanding’s turtle habitat.

But a lot of people were pleased with the government’s initiative, especially farmers who could pocket $10,000 a year by allowing wind turbines on their property. Many erected solar collectors with the MicroFIT subsidy that guaranteed a premium rate to sell their electricity on the Hydro One grid. According to the worldwide legion of climate change activists, Ontario’s provincial leaders are