February 28, 2008

Dear Mr. Phillips

No doubt you are aware of the recent article in the Toronto Star regarding mining practices in the Appalachians. http://www.thestar.com/sciencetech/Environment/article/306165

Mr. Phillips, it is disgusting to thing that we Ontarians are helping rape that courntryside. I've seen the windfarms going up, I've seen the steps the province has taken toward sustainable energy. All of that has been important work but we cannot simply wait for those energy sources to ramp up production before without a more critical view on where the coal we temporarily depend on comes from.

The moonscaping of large swathes of the Appalachians and contamination of their ground water is a permanent problem that offers Ontarians a temporary solution to our energy needs. Sir, it is squarely on you to create standards for the sourcing of energy resources and guide them through the system. It is a harsh reality but the damage that we are doing is no more conscionable than blood diamonds or trade agreements with apartheid governments. Perhaps less so because the damage we are funding will be irreversible, no matter how quickly we come to our senses.

Either finding alternate sources for such a large percentage of Ontario's coal or enforcing tough environmental standards on our suppliers will be a difficult job and it's unfortunate that it falls to you sir. But it does fall to you and this is the way of the future. Having begun to get an inkling of environmental consequences on our immediate surroundings we now must begin thinking on the consequences of our actions on more distant ecosystems.

I trust in your ability to deal with this issue quickly and with integrity.

Respectfully,

Jason Gracey

January 16, 2008

If the civil aviation safety regulator declared a certain aircraft type unsafe for commercial operations pending improvements in its braking system, would your government immediately turn into aeronautical engineers and declare it safe, based on input from the manufacturer?

If you did, would any airline company dare operate it, would any pilot fly it, would any passenger board it? The answer to all these is NO.

Based on your firing of Ms Keen, you would dismiss the head of the aviation safety regulation agency, claiming he/she was acting from political motives.

Your action smacks of the practices of the old Soviet Union where those who carried out their responsibility, against the wishes of the government, would end up in an asylum, a prison or on the street. It is questionable whether you, or only Parliament, have the right to dismiss Ms Keen, but she has our best wishes in her upcoming suit for wrongful dismissal.

Your actions are disgraceful.
Harri and Margaret Henschler
Kelowna, BC