“Down Wind” blows a Conservative current

November 19, 2014 · 0 Comments

The Sun News documentary Down Wind was on screen at Grace Tipling Hall in Shelburne on November 15th for a crowd of about fifty on lookers. Focusing on industrial wind turbines in Liberal Ontario, the rather drawn out production highlights the truly tragic stories of rural families and communities torn apart by their ‘ill effects’ as the whirling towers, some up to 550 feet high, churn out costly electricity at the expense of their health and welfare. Sun News released Down Wind one week before the last provincial election in June, raising the question of whether or not Ontario turbine casualties, who have been treated with the disregard of lab mice by all levels of government, were once again the victims of a political agenda.
Much like the beating blades of the turbines, the documentary endlessly pounds out anti-Liberal sentiment just in time for the vote: “If we keep the Liberal government we won’t be able to stop anything” in conjunction with “Progressive Conservatives seem to be the only hope.” Still, it can be hoped that the voices of turbine sufferers will reach a wider audience with Down Wind, including the ruling Liberals. Although, public awareness has built over many years of fighting deep pocketed corporations, for the most part, protestors say their cries have fallen on the deaf or unwilling ears of politicians, environmental groups, and the Ministry’s of the Environment and Health.
Bill Hill Mayor of Melancthon Township, which hosts 167 of Dufferin County’s 200 wind turbines, agrees that the film “was politically heavy BUT true.” He said of the Green Energy Act, “This is the most draconian piece of legislation ever introduced in my political career of 28 years.”
Sun News reporter since 2012, and the journalist interviewer in Down Wind, Rebecca Thompson was at Grace Tipling Hall to introduce the documentary. Thompson, although young, worked for nine years in Conservative politics, including for the Prime Minister, and showed a genuine passion for the issue and concern for the subjects of the film. Her rhetoric in the theatre and on film focused on the missteps of government in policy, economics, energy production and Health Canada studies.
Heartbreaking testimonials were documented of residents living by turbines in Ripley, Underwood, Clear Creek and Lucknow. Experts included economists, energy experts, and health professionals including Dr. Robert McMurtry a former Health Canada official, and Carmen Krogh a retired pharmacist who has done years of research on trauma caused by infra sound. McMurtry believes the provincial government has “too much invested to admit error.” Health experts quote a long list of inflictions resulting from close proximity to turbines including: sleep loss, dizziness, headaches, tinnitus, palpations, depression and nausea. Economic expert Ross McKitrick said turbines “are not run by wind but by subsidies;” at 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour Ontario has the most expensive electricity in North America.
Blame in the documentary was placed squarely on the shoulders of the ruling Provincial Liberal Party and the Green Energy Act (GEA.) It stated that the Act superseded 21 legislative policies in Ontario, stripping municipal governments of planning authority in a “rush” to push Green Energy projects through and eliminate coal fired plants. There were pointed suggestions of questionable dealings in the government. Dufferin Wind Inc., the corporation with 49 turbines in the Township of Melancthon, was quoted as donating $14,780 to the Liberal party.
In the film, Sun journalist Rebecca Thompson called Al Gore, leader of the Nobel Peace Prize winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) an “alarmist.” Amaranth Mayor Don McIver was one of the scientists on the IPCC and shares in the Nobel Peace Prize; he fought to protect citizens from the negative effects of turbines in his township. During her introduction Thompson referred to the Liberal government as “cold and callus” and the GEA as “stupid.” It might have been a difficult task to find anyone in the room who disagreed.
Audience members at Grace Tipling were very supportive of the documentary. It paints a compelling picture and presents an opportunity to bring light to their struggle for health and well being; one that continues to be daunting, disheartening, and a shameful legacy for our government. The problem with the Sun News documentary Down Wind is that an underlying motive seems to dominate the message. One week before a provincial election, the documentary’s perfectly timed release plays like an attack ad drawing attention away from a vitally compelling issue and onto the campaign trail. Months after the election, the film’s partisan rhetoric is still an unmistakeable distraction. Thousands of Ontarians are in a real life fight for their lives as they once knew them, before the turbines brought sickness and loss and economic suffering; they deserve our full attention.

By Marni Walsh