Latest / North Shore News / October 20th, 2025

Transcript

October 20th, 2025 · North Shore News

• 0:07
  Welcome to North Shore News and Interviews on
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  Amherst Island Radio. Each week we keep you updated
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  on newsworthy events, happenings and conversations
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  that we've had with people in the local community
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  and beyond. Residents of Greater Napanee will
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  see a change in their recycling pickup on January
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  1, 2026. Starting in the new year, Circular Materials
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  Ontario will take over Greater Napanee's blue
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  and grey bin programs. mTerra Environmental will
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  be collecting all recyclable materials. To help
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  residents prepare for the transition, the Town
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  is holding information sessions on October 23rd
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  and November 4th from 6pm to 7 .30pm at 99 Advanced
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  Avenue. These sessions will provide an opportunity
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  to learn about the transition, how it may impact
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  residents, and how related concerns will be addressed
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  in the new year. Deputy Director of Environmental
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  Services, Growth and Infrastructure Services,
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  Andrew Girouard, spoke about the changes for
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  2026 and the possibility of more changes in the
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  coming years. 2026, we shouldn't, residents should
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  not see a change in their collection dates, the
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  streams of recycling or what recyclables are
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  collected. Beyond 2026, Circular Materials Ontario
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  and MTERA can decide to change collection dates,
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  routes, streams, how it's collected, so on and
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  so forth. CAO Matthew Grant explained the challenges
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  staff are facing and how they're moving forward
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  in the new year. There's going to be some change
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  management challenges that will present themselves
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  as this rolls out. One of the things that will
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  be important for us is a pretty robust communications
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  plan combined with a pretty significant advertising
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  plan just to ensure that people understand what
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  we are and are not responsible for. You know,
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  we will need to make it clear for people what
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  we are and are not able to do because I I appreciate
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  some people will be coming to us to maybe look
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  for us to assist and make sense of this. And
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  unfortunately, we won't be in that position.
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  And so it'll just be really important that we
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  be clear with people about where they can go
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  for the right information, who is now in charge
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  of this, you know, recycling more generally.
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  And that work is already underway. I will give
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  kudos to the team. It's a bit of a moving target,
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  but we're staying on top of the changes which
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  have been numerous. Non -eligible sources such
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  as industrial and commercial properties, not
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  -for -profit organizations, municipal and government
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  buildings, commercial farms, daycares, places
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  of worship, campgrounds, and trailer parks will
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  no longer receive curbside collection. Residents
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  who live in mixed commercial and residential
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  buildings will still receive curbside collection,
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  while the commercial section of the building
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  will not. The town will still be responsible
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  for collecting garbage. For Amherst Island Radio
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  and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted
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  Evans. This is North Shore News. Earlier this
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  year, Loyalist Township was named one of 169
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  Ontario municipalities to receive strong mayor
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  powers. Ontario's Ministry of Municipal Affairs
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  and Housing made a presentation to Loyalist Township
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  Council with a focus on how these powers can
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  help the province reach its goal of increasing
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  housing supply. Deputy Mayor Nathan Townend voiced
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  his concerns about the focus of the presentation.
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  I never think it's appropriate to score political
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  points by asking pointed questions to public
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  servants. But I will just note that consistently
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  in the last several years, housing starts are
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  down in Ontario. So the evidence that these stronger
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  powers are advancing that goal of increasing
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  housing supply is certainly suspect. And this
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  is fairly complex. But one simple thing municipalities
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  have said consistently that will help build more
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  housing is to fund municipal infrastructure to
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  support that housing. The province originally
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  introduced strong mayor powers in 2022 for the
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  cities of Ottawa and Toronto. Through 2023, 44
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  additional municipalities received these powers
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  and as of May 1st this year, 216 of Ontario's
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  414 single and lower tier municipalities now
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  have this legislation. The presentation was part
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  of a series of outreach sessions the province
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  is doing for municipalities who are new to the
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  strong mayor powers. It included an overview
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  of what strong mayor powers are, as well as references
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  to other municipalities and how they're implementing
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  the powers. Mayor Jim Hagedorn spoke about the
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  work of staff as they move forward on the matter.
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  Still as we're proceeding through this, the new...
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  I keep coming up with more questions and fortunately
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  so far staff have always been able to do some
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  research and we've been able to work to figure
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  them out. But it'll it'll take a little while
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  before all the municipalities. I'm sure. Come
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  to full terms with what it is for Amherst Island
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  radio and the local journalism initiative. I'm
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  Ted Evans. This is North Shore news. Prince Edward
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  Lennox and Addington Social Services are still
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  looking to create 49 child care spaces by December
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  31st, 2026 as part of their expansion under the
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  Canada -wide Early Learning and Child Care System.
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  The group is looking to find an operator who
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  can expand or open new child care spaces in the
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  area. The group are looking for applications
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  before October 31st. The Canada -wide Early Learning
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  and Child Care System gives families access to
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  more affordable and high -quality child care
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  options, helps lower child care fees for parents
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  and of children under the age of six, increases
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  childcare spaces, supports the childcare workforce,
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  and supports inclusive childcare. As of March
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  this year, the system has created about 39 ,500
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  new affordable childcare spaces. This goes towards
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  their goal of creating 86 ,000 spaces by the
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  end of 2026. As of January 1st this year, The
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  system capped fees at $22 per day, bringing the
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  provincial average to $19 per day. By March 2026,
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  the system is looking to lower that average to
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  $10 per day. Families and individuals may be
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  eligible for reduced fees if their licensed child
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  care provider is enrolled in the system and charges
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  more than $12 per day for child care, with the
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  child being under the age of six or turns six
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  years old and is enrolled in a licensed preschool,
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  kindergarten or family age group or a licensed
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  home child care premises until June. 30th. Costs
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  can depend on a family's income and can be reduced
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  by 50 % for eligible children in system -enrolled
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  programs. For Amherst Island Radio and the Local
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  Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is
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  North Shore News. Loyalist Township is once again
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  partnering with the Odessa Agricultural Society
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  to bring Halloween fun to families at the fourth
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  annual Trunk or Treat and Crafts event. On Sunday,
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  October 26th, from 1pm to 4pm at the Odessa Fairgrounds,
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  located at 231 Main Street, Odessa, there will
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  be an afternoon of free, family -friendly festivities.
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  Local businesses and organizations will be showcasing
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  their creativity with decorated vehicles of all
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  shapes and sizes. Children are invited to trick
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  -or -treat from trunk to trunk in a safe, accessible,
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  and spook -free outdoor environment. This event
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  takes place rain or shine. Inside, the Odessa
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  Agricultural Society will be hosting a variety
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  of festive activities including Halloween -themed
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  games, crafts, and a cash canteen. Loyalist Township
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  noted they're proud to collaborate with the Lennox
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  and Addington Joint Accessibility Advisory Committee
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  and Treat Accessibility to ensure the event is
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  inclusive and welcoming for everybody. For more
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  information, visit loyalist .ca slash trunk or
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  treat. For Amherst Island Radio and the Local
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  Journalism Initiative, I'm Ted Evans. This is
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  North Shore News. Westridge Renewable Energy
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  has recognized there's still work to be done
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  in gaining public support for their proposed
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  solar farm in Loyalist Township. The company
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  has committed to undertake indigenous and community
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  engagement activities and incorporate the feedback
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  as the project moves forward. Chief Operating
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  Officer for the company and Vice President of
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  Switzerville Solar, Margaret McKenna, explains
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  where they're at with the project. During consultation,
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  we've heard positive, we've heard negative, and
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  we've heard constructive. We believe most of
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  that can be incorporated, mitigated, or overcome
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  in future planning and design. There is work
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  to be done still. and we acknowledge that. We
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  believe that the project will have a positive
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  impact on the community and the township as a
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  whole, while also contributing clean, emission
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  -free energy to support Ontario's future. While
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  still showing support for the project, Council
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  is making sure the company does their due diligence.
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  Development Services Manager with the Township,
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  Andrea Furness, details some of the environmental
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  work that will need to be done. As part of the
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  planning application, we would require an environmental
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  impact assessment on that property. There is
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  environmental protection lands going through
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  the property, traversing the property through
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  the water course. So that would be a requirement
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  where they would have to address everything on
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  species at risk habitat, wildlife habitat, all
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  of that would have to be looked at by an ecologist.
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  And the Township uses a third party peer reviewer
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  to evaluate that as well. determine if there's
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  impacts and to help form how any development
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  can occur on the site without negatively impacting
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  any natural heritage features and their ecological
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  functions. There are some concerns. The proponent
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  recognized that there is homework yet to be done
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  and I think there's a recognition that council
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  wants to ensure that that homework. Is it done?
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  We've been down this road before and I think
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  back Early in our term of council, we asked staff
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  to develop a policy in terms of engagement, and
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  they followed that rather extensively. You know,
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  clean energy, in my judgment, that's the direction
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  we should be taking. It fits into our climate
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  action plan. Councillor Lorna Willis sympathized
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  with those voicing concerns, but spoke about
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  the importance of moving forward as well. I do
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  know what it's like to live within a project
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  space. Although, you know, I am supporting the
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  motion because I do agree that we do have to
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  do our part to move forward with green energy
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  in the township. The proposed project would be
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  located on approximately 800 acres of private
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  land near Switzerville and would be capable of
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  supplying energy to 20 ,000 homes. The target
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  operation date is May 2030. For Amherst Island
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  Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative, I'm
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  Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. A clean
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  energy company looking to build an energy storage
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  center in Loylist promised the project would
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  bring 670 direct construction jobs and 40 permanent
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  jobs to the area. HydroStore presented their
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  plans for creating the Quinte Energy Storage
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  Center to Loylist Township Council. The proposed
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  site is on a portion of an already existing industrial
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  aggregate site near the intersection of County
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  Road 22 and Townline Road. Staff with the company
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  noted that each phase of the project will provide
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  over $1 .4 billion in economic benefits to Ontario.
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  including the boost in local jobs. The company
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  will also be making long -term direct contributions
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  to the township and county through a community
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  benefits fund. Vice President of Business Development
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  with HydroStore, Shahir Aziz, explains the project
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  and why they chose the area. The Quinty Energy
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  Storage Centre is an energy storage project that
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  we have been working on for the past couple of
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  years in Lenox and Addington County. The reason
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  why we are so attracted to this location is that
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  we want to be adjacent to the Lenox Transformers
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  Station, which is a critical transformer station
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  in the province of Ontario. It allows for power
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  to transfer east towards Ottawa as well as transferring
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  power west towards Toronto when needed. Aziz
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  speaks about the jobs the project looks to bring
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  to the area. We are a long -term infrastructure
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  project. What that means is that we actually
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  need to be constructed on site and on the ground,
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  which is really good for boosting local economy
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  as well as regional economy. Our project will
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  create approximately 670 full -time construction
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  jobs as well as 40 jobs once it's actually operating.
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  And what's really exciting about these jobs is
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  that these job opportunities once operating are
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  not, you know, jobs that need to come away from.
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  take away from any industry but rather repurposing
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  jobs that come out of the fossil fuel generation
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  space. We're going to be driving local benefits
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  to both the local Indigenous communities as well
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  as working with your Township to see what opportunities
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  for our project to really work and contribute
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  to the community. Aziz highlights the work they've
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  been doing in the area. We've been working on
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  two sites in this area. With one of the sites
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  we'd like to call Quinty East, the location of
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  the site, proposed site, is on the northern end
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  of an existing quarry located on an industrial
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  aggregate site in Loyalist. We have been able
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  to screen the site from a desktop environmental
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  screening perspective as well as conduct studies
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  to understand the interconnection capacity and
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  start to move ahead with some of the feasibility
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  and development of the site. We have also partnered
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  with the Mohawks of the Bay of Quinty who are
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  our First Nation Indigenous partners for the
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  project and are supporting us on our journey
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  ahead. Aziz details the technology that HydroStor
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  uses. Our technology is one of the lowest cost
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  long duration energy storage technologies available
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  today and it operates emissions free. What else
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  is also really unique about our technology is
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  that it has a 50 year plus operating life without
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  any degradation. That's really helpful because
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  it means that we aren't repeatedly refurbishing
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  our storage project and instead it operates like
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  any other, you could compare it to a pump storage
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  plant which is online for 50 -100 years and doesn't
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  require any major replacement. Aziz details Hydrostore's
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  process for generating electricity. The way our
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  technology works is that you take electricity
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  from the grid when power is cheap or in excess.
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  You use that to compress air underground into
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  an underground cavern. During that process as
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  you are compressing air we actually take heat
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  and we store it into a thermal management system
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  that heat is being generated when you're compressing
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  air underground. Once the system is fully charged
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  the air pushes all the water out of the cavern
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  and holds in steady state. When you then need
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  to discharge your to generate electricity you
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  flip a valve the water pushes the air out The
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  air goes up our well and through our turbine
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  generating electricity. One of the primary engineers
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  with HydroStor Lucas Texan explains how the company
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  builds its caverns and notes the rock formations
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  in the area. We site our caverns specifically
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  to be in very impermeable rock formations that
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  are not suitable for hosting water. It's one
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  of our siting criteria. The rock that is in this
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  area is excellent for that case. It has very
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  low hydraulic permeability once you're below
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  the karst formation, below that limestone and
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  into the Canadian Shield, which is where we would
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  target to build our caverns. Our construction
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  shafts, which will travel from the surface down
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  to our cavern construction horizon, are cased
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  with the steel casing to ensure there's no interaction
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  between our A -case process and the groundwater.
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  speaks more about how the project will benefit
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  the province, country and local economy as well.
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  We're also going to be generating approximately
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  1 .4 billion in support of Canada's GDP. and
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  also once operating about 31 million dollars
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  per year in GDP. We've also been started engagement
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  with Loyalist's town planning team and who have
• 16:45
  who guided us towards your requirements for community
• 16:48
  engagement and a pathway towards municipal support
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  resolution and so we will be engaging following
• 16:53
  Loyalist's requirements and doing our best efforts
• 16:56
  to engage with the community and proceeding ahead
• 16:58
  with that as we look to move forward. For Amherst
• 17:01
  Island Radio and the Local Journalism Initiative,
• 17:04
  I'm Ted Evans. This is North Shore News. This
• 17:09
  has been North Shore News and Interviews. If
• 17:12
  you have an idea for a story or want to create
• 17:15
  stories for the show, consider joining our 100
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  % volunteer team. Contact Amherst Island Radio
• 17:23
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