The Empire Club of Canada
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Empire Club of Canada Presents:
John Laforet, President, Wind Concerns Ontario With Wind Generates Controversy: The Financial, Legal and Political Consequences of Ontario’s Green Energy Act
The Empire Club is a speakers’ forum that recognizes that this is a controversial event. The Empire Club entitles people to both sides of any story. John Laforet has become known across Ontario as a crusader and coordinator of the anti-wind turbines movement. He is president of Wind Concerns Ontario, which is connected to more than 50 local organizations, and was a major organizer of two rallies at Queens Park.
John Laforet is a long-time community activist whose career highlights include working in government, managing public opinion research, organizing political campaigns, running for public office and leading Wind Concerns. To date, Wind Concerns Ontario has successfully halted all offshore wind development until further notice, and its members have won 80 motions of moratorium from municipal councils that represent a combined two million
Ontarians.
Laforet manages the day-to-day fight to prevent further development of industrial wind turbines in Ontario advocating for a full moratorium on future development until negative
environmental, economic and human-health effects are addressed, local democracy is restored to planning decisions and justice is given to those whose properties have been devalued and health impacted by existing developments.
Laforet regularly speaks at rallies, public meetings to municipal councils around Ontario and has delivered guest lectures at the University of Toronto on citizen involvement in environmental assessments and approvals processes and at Guelph-Humber on earned media and grassroots lobbying strategies. Proponents of industrial wind energy have publicly acknowledged the effectiveness of Wind Concerns Ontario’s efforts to halt industrial wind development, calling its media strategy sophisticated, its lobbying efforts effective and referring to Ontario as the ground zero of opposition to industrial wind development in North America.
Speaker:
John Laforet, President, Wind Concerns Ontario
*The content presented is free of charge but please note that the Empire Club of Canada retains copyright. Neither the speeches themselves nor any part of their content may be used for any purpose other than personal interest or research without the explicit permission of the Empire Club of Canada.*
*Views and Opinions Expressed Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the speakers or panelists are those of the speakers or panelists and do not necessarily reflect or represent the official views and opinions, policy or position held by The Empire Club of Canada.*