Let's start a petition to demand a proper Environmental Assessment of the proposed tunnel/airport expansion

I think one of the most disconcerting parts of last week's public hearing was the EA consultant Don P. McKinnon (dpmckinnon@dillon.ca; tel: 416-229-4647 #2355) telling us that there was no noise problem (the noise from the Gardiner Expressway was louder) based on a study in which noise detectors were put in various spots including right next to the Gardiner and then the noise values were obtained by averaging the noise over space and 24 hours--not how the noise is actually experienced by the community.

The same process seemed to be used for ambient air quality... (even though at Windward Coop we regularly get blasts of gas coming our way).

So the results appear to be fixed and no genuine attempt was made to measure these properly and how they actually impact our quality of life and human health and the health of the environment.

An issue I brought up and would like to follow up in the next EA public meeting in January is the impact of airport expansion on birds, especially migratory birds, including endangered and at risk species. Two federal acts are of pertinence: the Migratory Birds Act and the Species at Risk Act (SARA). The environmental consultant said it was not part of the scope of the EA screening because they're only looking at the small geographic space covered by the tunnel (also note that the EA is lowest level of the various types of EAs--a "screening"--often no more than a checklist), but I noted that noise covers a larger area and that his EA screening is considering the noise issue. His response was that it was because of community concern. My response was that migratory birds are of community concern too and studies should be done and this issue considered in the EA.

It would be good to get a petition going for the consideration of migratory birds in the EA and the demand for proper noise pollution and air quality studies and their incorporation in the EA. Please let me know if you'd like to work on an on-line petition (and perhaps paper one as well) in the next week. It would be a great way of mobilizing a great number of people in both the Bathurst and Spadina neighbourhoods.

Cheers,
Anita