Nextera lawyer says that the company has“An unquestionable right to locate distribution facilities within this community without the consent of the municipality, yet these proposed amendments eliminate that right.”
The Hanover Post
WEST GREY - An external lawyer working for NextEra Energy told West Grey council Monday evening during question period that imposing large fees for bonds associated with the construction of wind turbines is, in his opinion, unlawful. West Grey was served a letter on Friday describing lawyer Justin Necpal’s argument against a bylaw passed Monday evening outlining amendments to include fees associated with the construction of wind turbines.
Councillors John Eccles and Don Marshall were the only councillors that voted against the bylaw.
“This is, respectively, unlawful for three reasons,” said Necpal. He explained the bylaw conflicts with “provincial regulatory regimes for the development of green energy and renewable energy projects in Ontario.” Necpal said the Green Energy Act, passed by the province in 2009, has the “predominate purpose” of promoting renewable energy sources and green energy. He added that the Ministry of Environment is the sole authority for approving green energy projects in Ontario.
He said, in his opinion, one of the fundamental aspects of the act is that municipalities cannot pass bylaws that frustrate the provincial legislation. He called the amendments “unlawful interference” to the province’s regulatory regime.
“As states in the letter, … the municipality does not have the authority to pass this bylaw,” Necpal stated. “It also violates the Municipality Act, under which the municipalities in Ontario are only permitted to pass fees that are reasonable and connected to the cost they incur in providing services. The consultation fees, the performance bond, and security requirements in bylaw 26 are unrelated and unconnected to the services this municipality will provide.” Read article
Lawyers train to bully and appear that they are next to God. I’ve been in court many a time, and seen judges chastise lawyers for this exact behavior. Stand your ground!
‘[excerpt] “Everybody has the right to hire a lawyer and express their legal opinions,” the mayor added.’
Well – that’s true.
Proposed?
‘[excerpt] Nextera lawyer says that the company has“An unquestionable right to locate distribution facilities within this community without the consent of the municipality, yet these proposed amendments eliminate that right.”’
I thought they passed the By-law – didn’t they?
The Green Energy Act along with all of its provisions have never been court tested so this Act may not even be legal. Maybe this lawyer should be asked this question!
Any U.S. company operating in a foreign country can have actions taken against them in the U.S. court systems in both the state and federal courts.
Maybe it’s time to let the courts decide if the Green Energy Act itself is in fact legal?
I like your train of thought. We know these wind turbine pushers were lured to Ontario by the Feed In Tariff gold mine, but in Florida where Nextera originates, it’s against the law for contracts to contain a Gag Clause. So how much luckier could they have it here in Ontario, with the FIT, PLUS every wind turbine contract having a Gag Clause. When I ponder WHY every wind turbine contract contains a Gag Clause, it opens many other cans of worms.
So Nexterror hides behind th Ministry of the Environment. The MOE is their hired henchman.
It appears they may be thinking that time could be running out on their scam, otherwise why would companies like NextEra be so blatantly using these intimidation tactics against rural communities in order to extort them into submission. So much for that “consultative approach” Wynne talked about when dealing with Rural Municipalities. Now we know what she really meant when she said that.
Just saying
Keep your stick on your sign
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