Divisional Court Rejects Anti-Wind Constitutional Claim

Anti-wind protesters continue to lose all Ontario legal cases based on concerns about human health. After numerous anti-wind appeals to the Environmental Review Tribunal were rejected, because they did not meet the Environmental Protection Act / Green Energy Act test for stopping renewable energy projects, anti-wind litigants argued that the statutory test was itself unconstitutional and contrary to the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The Ontario Divisional Court has now definitively rejected that argument.

The anti-wind constitutional appeals

In Dixon v. Director, Ministry of the Environment, 2014 ONSC 7404, the Divisional Court heard appeals from three decisions of the Environmental Review Tribunal, each of which upheld a renewable energy approval for an Ontario wind farm in Huron and Bruce counties:

a 33 MW, 15 wind turbine farm operated by St. Columban Energy LP ("St. Columban Wind Project"); the 270 MW, 140 turbine wind farm owned by K2 Wind Ontario Limited Partnership ("K2 Wind Project"); and the 180 MW, 92 turbine wind farm of SP Armow WindOntario LP ("Armow Wind Project").

For each project, the Director of the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change had issued a renewable energy approval ("REA") under the Environmental Protection Act ("EPA").

Under the EPA s. 145.2.1(2), the Environmental Review Tribunal hears appeals from REAs, but can turn them down only if "engaging in the renewable energy project in accordance with the renewable energy approval will cause (a) serious harm to human health..." The onus of proving such harm rests on those opposed to the REA. EPA s. 142.2.1(5) requires the Tribunal to confirm the Director's decision if it "determines that engaging in the renewable energy project in accordance with the renewable energy approval will not cause [serious harm to human health]".

No scientific evidence for fears about wind turbines

Study after study around the world has shown that, contrary to what many fear, wind farms at the Ontario minimum setbacks do not directly cause serious harm to human health, even though some people find them stressful and annoying.

"73....There is no sufficient evidence that the biological effects observed at the level below 40 dBLnight,outside are harmful to health..."

A recent study by Health Canada confirmed that some people find wind turbines stressful and annoying, but reached no conclusions as to why they do. In particular, they reported no evidence that the wind turbines...