On Monday November 2nd between 400 and 500 students braved the rain to protest against the Power Plant to be built less than 200 meters away.

The rally was organized by the environment club at Oakville-Trafalgar High School.

Students demanded to know why a power plant is being built so close to a residential area.  We also learned this Power Plant is the largest of its kind in Canada and the closest to a residential community.

Student Power Plant Protest Rally
Wednesday November 4th 5:30pm
Oakville Trafalgar High School
parking lot (1460 Devon Road)

A protest march and rally against the proposed power plant has been organized by the Environment Club at OTHS. It is a rare and wonderful opportunity for the students in this community to get engaged in an issue that is relevant to them. It is even rarer to be able to have all the schools, public/Catholic/private, work together in this collaborative way.

Students will gather in the High School parking lot, and then walk along Devon Road, left on Maple Grove Drive and again left on Cornwall Road, ending at Chisholm Education Centre, 1484 Cornwall Road.

A short Rally will be held in the Chisholm parking lot. The OTHS School President and a few others will speak and a DJ has been hired.

Students are encouraged to wear school spirit wear, team uniforms, bring school banners/signs etc.

The entire March will last 15 to 20 minutes, with the entire event to be complete by 6:45pm.

This is an event for the students but adults/parents are welcome to accompany young children. Any and all support is  welcome  and encouragement from the side of the road or at the Rally at the end. We hope that there will be lots of spectators!

This event will go – rain or shine – please join in ! !

Reports are slowly trickling in from Town Hall for Day 1 of the OMB hearing on the Town's by-law to prevent a power plant greater than 10MW in Oakville.  Opposing the by-law is Ford Motors of Canada and TransCanada.  TransCanada has been awarded the contract from the OPA (Ontario Power Authority) to build a 900MW power plant on Royal Windsor Drive just at the dead-end of Maple Grove.

• Standing room only crowd results in the meeting being moved to council chambers to accomodate the crowd.
• Members of the public demonstrate during the hearing with placards opposed to the Power Plant
• Ford's lawyer request the media (Global and others) be removed from the hearing room.
• The hearing is expected to last 4 days.

If you were at the hearing, please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it with additional details or post directly on the discussion board.

Superintendent Stuart Miller will host a meeting on Monday October 19th, 2009 at 7:00pm to discuss a variety of possible themed approached for the proposed JK-6 school to be established at New Central for September 2010.  This follows on the Board decision to close Brantwood, Linbrook and Chisholm and retain New Central, EJ James and Maple Grove.

In discussions with Stuart Miller we understand a variety of themes will be presented for discussion with the community.

We invite all members of the community that have an interest in ensuring New Central remains as a vital link within our community.  Parents, prospective parents that may consider a renovated, energized new program that is stable and sustainable at New Central should plan to attend.

To aide in ensuring the viability of New Central the Board is proposing open optional attendence.  This will provide a clear choice for parents within the Ward to decide on either Maple Grove with a proposed student population in excess of 600 students or New Central with a proposed population of 250.

The concept behind a themed approach is to provide a unique learning environment with a solid foundation based on research.

The Greater Essex County District School Board, www.gecdsb.on.ca, according to their website, states, that "the concept of themed schools is unique to the Greater Essex County District School Board. Each new school built by our Board since 2003 has been given a theme, which not only provides an instant identity, but also allows the building to do more than just house the students and staff.  Themes ensure the building is part of the students’ educational experience."

Themes at Greater Essex include: Diversity; Exploration; Discovery; Growing to the Future; Heritage; Earth Keepers; Healthy Lifestyles.  Learning through the Arts appears as a major program consideration at Greater Essex.  HDSB Superintendent Miller stated that an Arts theme seemed of particular interest based upon the discussions with Greater Essex and their success in student achievement and ability to attract back students.  Research at Greater Essex can be found at www.gecdsb.on.ca/programs/ltta/research.asp

The "Learning through the Arts" programming theme is supported by the Royal Conservatory of Music and can be found at www.ltta.ca.

Tuesday, October 13th.  The Town of Oakville squares off today before the OMB (Ontario Municipal Board) against TransCanada and Ford over the Town's interim by-law banning power generation greater than 10MW.

The Town passed this interim by-law earlier this year to prevent TransCanada from building a 850MW power plant at Royal Windsor just past the end of Maple Grove Drive.

The hearing could run as long as four days.  The hearing commences at 10:00am on Tuesday October 13th at Town Hall (1225 Trafalgar Road Oakville).

The Town needs your support.  Plan to attend to show your opposition to a power plant in Oakville.

On September 30, 2009 the OPA (Ontario Power Authority) awared a contract for a 900MW gas-fired power plant to TransCanada to be located at Royal Windsor and Maple Grove.  Ford Canada had previously agreed to sell the land to TransCanada for a power plant.