Calm crowd attended power plant meeting

To the editor:

Re: 'Residents storm meeting over future power plant,' News, Aug. 4

Residents did not "storm" this meeting. When the door to the banquet hall was opened, people walked into the building in an orderly fashion. No attempt was made to check names or addresses. The first people to enter sat down in the chairs provided. The rest of us stood up behind those seated. We were told that our numbers meant that the banquet hall was over its allowed seating capacity.

When Dr. Bruce Holbein from Greenfield South and Mississauga South-MPP Charles Sousa took turns speaking, there were interruptions and heckling from the group. After all, this was a meeting called to address a contentious issue, not clergy preaching to the converted. When three police officers arrived shortly afterwards and reminded us of over-limit seating, we left promptly. People lingered in the parking lot to discuss the issue further.

Were we an "unruly crowd"? I think not.

The few people chosen to attend this meeting were residents within 500 metres of the proposed plant. Living downwind from Pearson airport, I can assure you that exhaust fumes and noise pollution recognize no such limits. That this meeting was scheduled in a place with limited seating in late July, when people are likely to be on holiday, was not lost on those present.

The gas-fired power plant meeting was grassroots democracy in action. We care about what happens to our environment: the air we breathe, the soil we grow plants in, the water we drink. We are not afraid to stand up and be counted. This gas plant meeting was one of those moments when I was proud to be a Canadian.

- Georgena Engineer