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Feds Cancel E.A. at Plant Facing Provincial Charges


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Notice has been posted on the Canadian Environmental Assessment Registry that the federal environmental assessment of an ethanol plant in Collingwood, Ontario was canceled 12 on March 2 even though the plant faces charges under the provincial Environmental Protection Act. 3

The federal environmental assessment was triggered because the Collingwood Ethanol plant applied for, and apparently is receiving, $32.7-million in operating subsidies from the federal Ministry of Natural Resources under it's ecoENERGY for BioFuels program. 4

From the Notice of Commencement last July:

Under section 5 of the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act, an environmental assessment is required in relation to this project because Natural Resources Canada may provide financial assistance to the proponent for the purpose of enabling the project.

From the Notice of Cancellation:

March 19, 2009 -- Natural Resources Canada has cancelled this environmental assessment on March 2, 2009 because it was determined that this project does not trigger the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act.

1 Notice of Cancellation: http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/details-eng.cfm?CEAR_ID=40559

2 Notice of Commencement: http://www.ceaa.gc.ca/050/details-eng.cfm?...&ForceNOC=Y

3http://www.collingwoodconnection.com/colli.../article/115576

4http://www2.nrcan.gc.ca/dgc-dposc/index.cf...422&strt=31

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See, those programs are redundant :rolleyes:

The plant is located in the riding of Minister of State (Status of Women) Helena Guergis. Needless to say, many of her constituents are very unhappy about what this plant is putting into the air. I don't think many of them will be impressed that Ms. Guergis' government is cancelling an environmental assessment of the plant so that her government can hand over $32-million of the taxpayer's dollars to the company townspeople hold responsible for emitting odours the town's mayor called "awful", "rancid", and "putrid". 1

1Collingwood ethanol plant stinks: http://www.collingwoodconnection.com/barri.../article/110701

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The federal environmental assessment was triggered because the Collingwood Ethanol plant applied for, and apparently is receiving, $32.7-million in operating subsidies from the federal Ministry of Natural Resources under it's ecoENERGY for BioFuels program. 4

I was wondering if someone was going to bring up the Ethanol connection and the depths of the corruption involving senior members of this government. I've been following the money and have to stop now and then because it's just too mind boggling. This is just a small part of the scheme. Warning: not for the weak of heart.

For starters, the Collingwood Ethanol plant is a division of Blackstone Energy which is a divison of the infamous Carlyle Group; which we all know from Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11. They made so much money off the Iraq War that they could start their own country.

Remember the Conservatives 2006 campaign when they said they had their own 'Made in Canada' environmental plan? Well this was not just made in Canada but made by the lobbying group for Ethanol: Canadian Renewable Energy.

Read this non-profit organizations pamphlet for 2006 and you can play a game called count the 'Conservatives.' It reads more like a campaign brochure.

Then think back to when Harper's 'Accountability Act' banned lobbyists from being involved with gov't for five years. He lied.

A former Reform Party organizer and ethanol lobbyist has been appointed Prime Minister Stephen Harper's new chief spokesman

Kory Teneycke, former executive director of the Canadian Renewable Fuels Association, will take over as Harper’s director of communications on Monday, a source told Canwest News Service.

The job wasn't free though. From Elections Canada

Kory Teneycke Harrison, Jeremy / Conservative Party of Canada / Desnethé--Missinippi--Churchill River Jan. 17, 2006 Individuals / Part 2a 1,000.00 0.00

KORY TENEYCKE Trost, Brad / Conservative Party of Canada / Saskatoon--Humboldt Jan. 17, 2006 Individuals / Part 2a 1,000.00

Kory Teneycke Scheer, Andrew / Conservative Party of Canada / Regina--Qu'Appelle Jan. 17, 2005 Individuals / Part 2a 1,000.00 0.00

Kory Teneycke Ritz, Gerry / Conservative Party of Canada / Battlefords--Lloydminster Jan. 20, 2006 Individuals / Part 2a 1,000.00 0.00

Kory Teneycke Lukiwski, Tom / Conservative Party of Canada / Regina--Lumsden--Lake Centre Jan. 17, 2006 Individuals / Part 2a 1,000.00

But it did pay dividends And this is just one of many.

On Friday, Saskatchewan Conservative MPs lined up at Peacock Industries to make speeches following the announcement of who got the $1.66 million that was announced by David Anderson, parliamentary secretary to federal Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Chuck Strahl. Because the nine potential biofuel projects were spread all over the grain belt, MPs including Saskatoon's Maurice Vellacott and Brad Trost, plus Prince Albert MP Brian Fitzpatrick and Tom Lukiwski of Regina Lumsden.

Ethanol is probably going to be the biggest scam of the 21st century. It uses more fossil fuels to produce a litre of ethanol than simply to burn the fossil fuels. This hurts the environment, it doesn't protect it.

According to research reported last year by a team led by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen, ethanol derived from corn may generate up to 50 percent more greenhouse gases than gasoline, because up to twice as much nitrous oxide may be released by the production process due to increased use of nitrogen fertilizers on corn (one of the most fertilizer-heavy crops).

The Clean Energy Scam

But several new studies show the biofuel boom is doing exactly the opposite of what its proponents intended: it's dramatically accelerating global warming, imperiling the planet in the name of saving it.

This is going to make a lot of people richer though, and will keep the Conservative coffers full, so what the heck, right?

Edited by Progressive Tory
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I checked the Natural Resources Canada web site today that I referenced in footnote number 4 of my original post and found that the information regarding grants to recipients of the ecoENERGY for Biofuels operating subsidy seem to have been removed from the public disclosure section of Natural Resources Canada's web site! Here is the information that I found there originally:

COLLINGWOOD ETHANOL,LP 2008-12-03 $32,704,000.00

SUNCOR ENERGY PRODUCTS INC MOORETOWN, ONTARIO, CANADA 2008-12-03 $109,971,000.00

POUND-MAKER AGVENTURES LTD LANIGAN, SASKATCHEWAN, CANADA 2008-12-02 $8,400,000.00

PERMOLEX LTD. OAKVILLE, ONTARIO, CANADA 2008-11-24 $23,240,000.00

GREENFIELD ETHANOL OF QUEBEC INC. BRAMPTON, ONTARIO, CANADA 2008-11-21 $81,200,000.00

GREENFIELD ETHANOL INC. BRAMPTON, ONTARIO, CANADA 2008-11-21 $14,000,000.00

GREENFIELD ETHANOL INC. BRAMPTON, ONTARIO, CANADA 2008-11-21 $72,800,000.00

BIOX CANADA LIMITED HAMILTON, ONTARIO, CANADA 2008-11-19 $72,400,000.00

ROTHSAY BIODIESEL MEMBER OF MAPLE LEAF FOODS,INC GUELPH, ONTARIO, CANADA 2008-12-02 $39,200,000.00

WESTERN BIODIESEL INC. HIGH RIVER, ALBERTA, CANADA 2008-11-20 $19,880,000.00

Does anyone have an idea why this information might have been removed?

Edited by robert_viera
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Does anyone have an idea why this information might have been removed?

For the same reason the Tories have made it increasingly difficult to keep tabs on their spending habits.

Tories kill access to information database

The federal Conservatives have quietly killed an access to information registry used by journalists, experts and the public that users say helped hold the government accountable.

"It was really a tool designed to make government more open," said CBC investigative journalist David McKie.

But users can then make a written request for a copy of the already released documents by citing the file number.

Have you ever submitted a written request? I've been waiting four months. Unfortunately for the Tories, I'm very patient and have kept an accurate record of how often I've contacted them about the delay. There are a great many things they don't want us to know, which has just made me more dedicated to unearth them. What happened to transparency and accountability? Only with the opposition apparently, because this gov't has their own set of rules, based on the premise: 'Ask us no questions and we'll tell you no lies'.

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I was wondering if someone was going to bring up the Ethanol connection and the depths of the corruption involving senior members of this government. I've been following the money and have to stop now and then because it's just too mind boggling. This is just a small part of the scheme. Warning: not for the weak of heart.

For starters, the Collingwood Ethanol plant is a division of Blackstone Energy which is a divison of the infamous Carlyle Group; which we all know from Michael Moore's Farenheit 9/11. They made so much money off the Iraq War that they could start their own country.

Remember the Conservatives 2006 campaign when they said they had their own 'Made in Canada' environmental plan? Well this was not just made in Canada but made by the lobbying group for Ethanol: Canadian Renewable Energy.

What a load of BS, its attitudes like this is why our ag sector was in the tank for so many years and our exports were devalued.

People with attitudes like this have no right to engage in policy concerning our ag sector.

Edited by blueblood
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What a load of BS, its attitudes like this is why our ag sector was in the tank for so many years and our exports were devalued.

People with attitudes like this have no right to engage in policy concerning our ag sector.

The ecoENERGY for Biofuels program is set to give up to $1.5-billion of the taxpayer's money to these companies. Any taxpayer ought to have the right to question how their taxes are spent.

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And I suppose the Ontario corn farmer his tax contributions don't matter then either.

Let's not forget what this program is supposed to be about. It's called ecoENERGY for Biofuels, for a reason. It's supposed to be about moving to energy sources that do less harm to our environment. Unfortunately the environmental merit of biofuels has been called into question,with respect to greenhouse gas reduction. Governments have already guaranteed a market for farmers' corn by requiring a certain percentage of ethanol in gasoline. In fact, there's not enough corn produced in all of Ontario to meet the demand created by the regulations. Why should we subsidize huge corporations like Suncor when governments are struggling to balance the books and any benefit to the environment is in doubt?

Edited by robert_viera
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Let's not forget what this program is supposed to be about. It's called ecoENERGY for Biofuels, for a reason. It's supposed to be about moving to energy sources that do less harm to our environment. Unfortunately the environmental merit of biofuels has been called into question,with respect to greenhouse gas reduction. Governments have already guaranteed a market for farmers' corn by requiring a certain percentage of ethanol in gasoline. In fact, there's not enough corn produced in all of Ontario to meet the demand created by the regulations. Why should we subsidize huge corporations like Suncor when governments are struggling to balance the books and any benefit to the environment is in doubt?

But it does do less harm to our environment, there is a postive energy balance. That is a fact.

There is more than enough grain in Western Canada to meet that demand, hell raise the damn thing higher, that's what Obama is doing.

If you would look at how Alberta subsidizes its energy sector, you will realize that an investment into the energy sector helps out the economy of Canada as a whole. Also don't forget that corn producers are tax payers as well, they have just as much clout to ask for gov't policy as the next guy.

But according to you jobs, increased values of our exports, a better environment, an improved economy are bad things.

What is it with some people, they want stimulus and job creation and here it is. They want less foreign oil from sketchy areas, here it is. They want a better environment, here it is. They want a healthier economy and here it is. They want more energy, and here it is. But I guess only people in cities are allowed to have industry and make money?

You have no idea what your talking about.

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Chatham, On has a ethanol plant too and I remember reading that the people were getting sick of the smell, it smelled like 'toast" but a sickening smell. So the plant had to put a taller stack on the to help with the smell. I guess you can still smell it but its not as bad unless the wind is blowing in your direction. As far as the corn producers, the farmers in the area could produce enough corn so they were importing it from the US!

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But it does do less harm to our environment, there is a postive energy balance. That is a fact.

There is more than enough grain in Western Canada to meet that demand, hell raise the damn thing higher, that's what Obama is doing.

If you would look at how Alberta subsidizes its energy sector, you will realize that an investment into the energy sector helps out the economy of Canada as a whole. Also don't forget that corn producers are tax payers as well, they have just as much clout to ask for gov't policy as the next guy.

But according to you jobs, increased values of our exports, a better environment, an improved economy are bad things.

What is it with some people, they want stimulus and job creation and here it is. They want less foreign oil from sketchy areas, here it is. They want a better environment, here it is. They want a healthier economy and here it is. They want more energy, and here it is. But I guess only people in cities are allowed to have industry and make money?

You have no idea what your talking about.

Unless you're an environmental scientist, your claim that the environmental benefits of biofuels are 'a fact' has about the same credibility as the opinion of any lay person.

I wonder what this thing called "the economy" is that everyone keeps talking about? From what I can tell, when someone says that something "helps the economy" it means that the minority of folks who control most of the money in our society will benefit. If someone says something "hurts the economy" they mean that the same wealthy minority won't get wealthy quite so fast, or (gasp!) might even get a bit less wealthy. It doesn't matter if the thing that "hurts the economy" benefits our society in other ways, environmentally for example, because it means that the established minority that controls most of the wealth in our society might lose some of that wealth to some upstarts with a better idea. We're all supposed to be so scared of the dire consequences of doing harm to "the economy", but the reality is that changes that disrupt established industries can often lead to great strides for society. So when you hear people scaremongering about dire consequences to "the economy", just remember that as long as humans have problems to solve, and needs and wants to be met, there will continue to be jobs, though you may get a different boss now and then.

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Chatham, On has a ethanol plant too and I remember reading that the people were getting sick of the smell, it smelled like 'toast" but a sickening smell. So the plant had to put a taller stack on the to help with the smell. I guess you can still smell it but its not as bad unless the wind is blowing in your direction. As far as the corn producers, the farmers in the area could produce enough corn so they were importing it from the US!

The Chatham plant is one of the plants that's getting the subsidy:

GREENFIELD ETHANOL INC. BRAMPTON, ONTARIO, CANADA 2008-11-21 $72,800,000.00

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Do any of you profound pontificators know anything about EA's? Seems perhaps you do not, since federal and provincial EA's are nearly identical unless they invovle a federal waterway. This policy is largely to eliminate duplication of work for things that normally only require a federal EA because they recieve federal funds.

If this was a provincially or privately funded project no federal EA would be required.

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Unless you're an environmental scientist, your claim that the environmental benefits of biofuels are 'a fact' has about the same credibility as the opinion of any lay person.

I'll take the faculty at the University of Saskatchewan at their word.

I wonder what this thing called "the economy" is that everyone keeps talking about? From what I can tell, when someone says that something "helps the economy" it means that the minority of folks who control most of the money in our society will benefit. If someone says something "hurts the economy" they mean that the same wealthy minority won't get wealthy quite so fast, or (gasp!) might even get a bit less wealthy. It doesn't matter if the thing that "hurts the economy" benefits our society in other ways, environmentally for example, because it means that the established minority that controls most of the wealth in our society might lose some of that wealth to some upstarts with a better idea. We're all supposed to be so scared of the dire consequences of doing harm to "the economy", but the reality is that changes that disrupt established industries can often lead to great strides for society. So when you hear people scaremongering about dire consequences to "the economy", just remember that as long as humans have problems to solve, and needs and wants to be met, there will continue to be jobs, though you may get a different boss now and then.

The "minority" who "controls" the wealth provide a great deal of jobs. Also a lot of people through their pension funds, mutual funds, or on their own are shareholders to these "minority". Wealthy people don't put all of their money in a hole, they spend it.

Those changes you are talking about is what the ethanol industry is all about, they are changing how we do energy and have boosted the ag industry considerably, which is part of why SK is posting a surplus even now.

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Ontario was a net importer of grains even before the advent of biofuels.

Interesting list, Robert.

I see $8M spent in Sask, $19.9M in Alberta, and $445M in Ontario, the net importer. (Nearly $200M on Greenfields alone.)

You'd think that if enhanced grain markets was the reason for the projects, more than a very short tenth of the money might be spent where grain is available....

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Do any of you profound pontificators know anything about EA's? Seems perhaps you do not, since federal and provincial EA's are nearly identical unless they invovle a federal waterway. This policy is largely to eliminate duplication of work for things that normally only require a federal EA because they recieve federal funds.

If this was a provincially or privately funded project no federal EA would be required.

but are there not... federal funds involved?

so - you imply a redundancy - that the federal EA was canceled cause an "identical" shaped provincial EA is being undertaken... good to know, very... profound! Do you know any of the specifics of the provincial EA, particularly it's relative timing?

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What transparency and accountability? These have never existed, ever.

What utter complete bullshit.

And what exactly is bullshit? The fact that they shut down the database or the fact that many journalists are speaking out about how difficult it is to make this gov't accountable because they prefer to operate in secrecy?

SECRET CAPITAL: Information lockdown

How Harper controls the spin

Zeal to manage message sees journalists shunned, bureaucrats, cabinet ministers routinely muzzled

OTTAWA–In the 6th-floor office of a nondescript building sit the gatekeepers, the bureaucrats who decide what Canadians learn about the workings of their government....

Throughout the government, it's known simply as "downtown," the place where decisions are made on who speaks on issues and what they say. In the Conservative government's clampdown on communications, this is Ground Zero.

And in a marked change from previous governments, now even basic demands for information from reporters, once easily fielded by department spokespersons, are sent to this office for review – and often heavy editing – before they are okayed for public release, government insiders say.

This is not a transparent gov't.

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Unless you're an environmental scientist, your claim that the environmental benefits of biofuels are 'a fact' has about the same credibility as the opinion of any lay person.

I'll take the faculty at the University of Saskatchewan at their word.

in regards at least - one facet - the UofS appears to be a degree less than factual: Producing Designer Feeds from Biofuel By-products

The burgeoning biofuels industry is poised to make a major contribution to greenhouse gas emission reductions—
if
scientists can come up with a way to add value to the by-products.

of course... there are other facets... where we might take the UofS - "at their word". Anyone? Anyone?

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What a load of BS, its attitudes like this is why our ag sector was in the tank for so many years and our exports were devalued. People with attitudes like this have no right to engage in policy concerning our ag sector.

You can call it BS because the thought of running cars on corn makes you feel all warm and fuzzy, but it is not a solution. Most environmentalists state that we are at least 10-15 years away from making the industry viable.

Biofuels will not Solve Global Warming

Why biofuels won’t help climate change

However, the soaring cost of the crops needed to produce biofuels is already threatening to make them uneconomic and ensure that they could not survive without subsidies. Prices of maize, wheat, palm oil, rapeseed (known as canola in the US) and soy oil futures are all soaring, making the price of biofuels much more expensive than the fuels they are intended to displace in our fuel tanks.

Converting pristine lands to biofuel farms worsens global warming

The work shows that biofuels produced this way can cause more emissions than gasoline.

Biofuels not necessarily all that green. David Suzuki

But things start to get complicated when you look more closely. Much has already been debated about the energy requirements to produce some biofuels, especially corn-based ethanol. Ethanol made from corn only contains marginally more energy than what is needed to produce it. In fact, we use about a litre's worth of fossil fuels to grow, harvest, process, and transport a litre of corn-based ethanol. Many people argue that making corn-based ethanol is more of an agricultural subsidy for farmers than it is a sound environmental policy.

Things get even dodgier for biofuels when you look at the land area that would be needed to grow fuel crops. We use a lot of fossil fuels. Switching to biofuels would not reduce the demand for fuel, just change the way we get it. And that would require a lot of land. In fact, substituting just 10 per cent of fossil fuels to biofuels for all our vehicles would require about 40 per cent of the entire cropland in Europe and North America. That is simply not sustainable.

Only very large corporate farms will benefit and taxpayers will 'subsidize' the industry. For consumers, we will simply pay more for food and suffer with the effects of accelerated global warming. It's a lose, lose. But then if it makes a pile of money for Conservative financial supporters, like the lobbying group Canadian Renewable Energy, what the heck, right?

If you really want to help farmers, let them grow pot.

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Why should we subsidize huge corporations like Suncor when governments are struggling to balance the books and any benefit to the environment is in doubt?

And that's exactly what we're doing. It's a cash cow for the ethanol corporations, but a complete and utter cash drain for taxpayers.

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Chatham, On has a ethanol plant too and I remember reading that the people were getting sick of the smell, it smelled like 'toast" but a sickening smell. So the plant had to put a taller stack on the to help with the smell. I guess you can still smell it but its not as bad unless the wind is blowing in your direction. As far as the corn producers, the farmers in the area could produce enough corn so they were importing it from the US!

And I'll bet we're subsidizing them too. It's a scam, plain and simple.

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