When turtles
trump turbines
A case in eastern Ontario highlights a statutory
framework that makes it diffi cult to stop a wind
energy project because of health concerns by local
residents yet is arguably easier to block if certain
species of wildlife are threatened.
BY SHANNON KARI
lar Sandbanks Provincial Park — the Blan-
ding's turtle, to be precise.
The medium-sized turtle, with bright
yellow throat and chin and domed shell, is
classifi ed as a threatened species in Ontario.
It also has another distinction. So far, it is
the only species, including humans, to de-
rail at least temporarily a proposed wind
energy project in the province.
There have been nearly
30 hearings before the
Environmental Review
Tribunal, seeking to stop
so-called wind farms, since
the enactment of the Green
Energy Act in Ontario in
2009. Each time, local
A FEW KILOMETRES WEST of the
eastern Ontario village of Consecon in
Prince Edward County, on a narrow but
busy stretch of road known as the Loyalist
Parkway, there is a yellow road sign. It
warns of turtles crossing
the main automo-
bile route to
the popu-
