August 10, 2009, 2 e-mail

From: Clean Train Coalition

The Clean Air for Little Lungs Stroller Parade was a great success. Over 300 adults and hundreds of children gathered on the grounds of Queen's Park to advocate for clean air in our communities. Children's performers Rob and Soli of Alistair Ant Productions put on a great show and, together, we sent a strong message: our children's health is too important, and we will do whatever we can to protect them. The parade garnered quite a bit of media coverage, including a hourly segment on CBC Radio 1 and articles in a number of newspapers. If you missed the parade, you can read about it in Metro News, The Toronto Sun, and Now Magazine. And if you came out to Queen's Park, thanks for joining us. It was truly a great event.

Public Consultation on the Environmental Assessment

On July 30 The Public Consultation period on the Environmental Assessment closed, and Metrolinx's Environmental Progress Report (EPR) was finalized.

With the completion of the EPR, Metrolinx claims they have listened to the concerns of the community, and modified their plan accordingly. With regards to electrification, that's simply not true. In spite of the many comments by e-mail, and nearly 600 comments through their user-unfriendly public consultaiton portal, Metrolinx has ignored the overwhelming calls for the immediate electification of the Georgetown South Corridor. The Clean Train coalition was only one of many organizations who commented. You can read our submission here.

To be clear, Metrolinx has committed to studying electrification, but instead of studying the specifics of electrifying the Georgetown corridor, they have put together a committee to help them determine how they should study electrification. Furthermore, the committee is setting the terms of reference for a system-wide study which will not be completed for many years. And while that study will be important, it will not lead to the electrification of the line in time for this expansion.

Metrolinx has not listened to the community. We now have to turn our attention to the Provincial Government, which has the power to overturn Metrolinx's plans.

For the remainder of August, Metrolinx' EPR for the Georgetown South Rail Corridor is open to public comment. Following this 30 day period, the Minister of the Environment has 35 days to make a decision regarding the Environmental Assessment. He has three options: let the Environmental Assessment stand as is and give the expansion the go ahead; approve of the EA, but with some conditions; or send Metrolinx back the the drawing board. We hope for the latter, but know that any concessions we win will be hard fought. In spite of the many obvious advantages of electrification, and in spite of the Government of Ontario's recent announcement of a subsidy for those purchasing electric-hybrid vehicles, the Provincial Government has not come out in favour of electrifying the rail corridor. But they are listening. We'll have to work hard to convince them, with all of the public pressure we can muster, to tell Metrolinx to change their plan, and to go with the best option, one which doesn't jeopradize the health of our children or our communities.

The Clean Train Coalition will submit a formal letter for consideration by the Ministry of the Environment. We will also submit our petition and postcards in conjunction with this submission so the Minister knows we represent the concerns of thousands of citizens.

So, with this in mind, we are encouraging our members to print out a copy of our petition, get it signed, and then contact us at info@cleantrain.ca with the word "Petitions" in the subject line, and we'll arrange to pick it up. You can download a copy here.

If you haven't signed our online petition, please do and send an email to your friends and family, asking them to do the same. You can sign on here.

There are lots of other ways you can have your voice heard and make your concerns known. Visit http://www.cleantrain.ca to find out what you can do. We're planning another event for late in August, at which we will present our petitions to the Minister of the Environment. Stay tuned for details.

Keep up the pressure.

Clean Transit is Possible!

Help get the word out - get your friends and neighbours to sign up to www.cleantrain.ca

Please forward to your Networks!

Thank you for signing up to support the Clean Train Coalition! We know that you are as concerned as we are about the proposed plan. Working together we will make a difference and prove that Clean Transit is Possible!

From: Meri Newton
Constituency Assistant to Gord Perks
Councillor, Ward 14

Hello,

Councillor Perks has asked me to provide the following information.

I am sure you are aware that at the recent Council meeting, City Council approved sending legal staff to the CTA process to help protect the residents affected by the work taking place on the rail lands. While the City recognizes the work taking place is on federal land, it is also important to realize that the residents affected live on city owned land. Legal staff have been instructed to do everything in their power to protect the residents.