By Kathy Rowe

This fight is just getting started. Your voices need to be heard.

As president of the CCRA, I continue to learn about and support residents’ concerns regarding the proposed waste-biogas processing plant at 633 Coronation Dr. at the foot of Beechgrove Dr.

If approved, this proposal will enable the processing of 1,240 tonnes per day of digestate waste resulting in over 100 trucks travelling to and from Highway 401 daily. The resulting product will be fertilizer and biogas. Trucking waste through our area communities is not the only concern. We must consider the chemical emissions that will be added to an already chemically saturated environment in this part of Scarborough.

A core group of concerned residents, of which I am a member, has been working hard volunteering many hours to access documentation in order to research and communicate to residents the details about this undesirable proposal. Our group has written letters to key politicians, created an online petition, sent out emails to hundreds of area residents, and delivered several hundred flyers to homes between Morningside Ave. and Port Union Rd.

An article was printed in the Scarborough Mirror (May 21 edition) that outlined some of the details about this proposal and the reasons why so many residents, including our City Councillor, are against it. I’d like to thank the members of this core group and those of you who have written letters, signed the petition and submitted comments to the Environment Registry of Ontario (ERO). Our fight is NOT over.

Now that we have more time, we must pressure the proponent, our MPP and the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks to hold a public meeting by using a virtual platform so that residents can voice their concerns directly. This public forum would need to take place in early June so that there is time to summarize responses before the new deadline.

If you have not already done so, I encourage you to voice your concerns. Most importantly, please submit comments to the ERO. The links and mailing address for the ERO are below. Writing letters to Environment MInister Jeff Yurek, MPP Vijay Thanigasalam, Mayor John Tory and ward Councillor Jennifer McKelvie will also help.

Learn more and sign the petition;
change.org/westhillhealth

Visit the Coronation Organics NEW website;
www.coronationorganics.com

Minister of the Environment, Conservation and Parks Email: minister.mecp@ontario.ca
Mail: Client Services and Permission 135 St. Clair Avenue West, 1st floor, Toronto, ON, M4V 1P5