Caledon residents angry over re-emergence of Canadian Tire hydrogen project
After being scrapped two years ago Canadian Tire has reintroduced plans for a hydrogen facility in Caledon.

TheStar.com
July 23, 2016
San Grewal

Caledon residents are angry that plans for producing hydrogen near homes have been quietly reintroduced two years after the abrupt suspension of the project.

“I have nothing against Canadian Tire,” said local Councillor Annette Groves, of the company’s recent decision to reapply for the facility to produce hydrogen — a hazardous, highly combustible chemical — at its soon to be completed distribution centre.

“I am disappointed with the way the town (of Caledon) is handling this again.”

Groves represents a ward with family homes about 500 metres from the distribution centre, which is about the size of Toronto’s Yorkdale mall and is set to open next year. She said she found out about the amended application for the hydrogen facility two weeks ago, after asking staff repeatedly for an update.

Canadian Tire is following the planning rules laid out by the town, but Groves and some residents want the approval process to be more transparent. The province’s Technical Standards & Safety Authority still needs to sign off on the plan, but it won’t be subject to a council vote.

“Nobody told me anything,” Groves said. “If I hadn’t made inquiries I wouldn’t have known.”

Because a special ministerial zoning order that overrides local planning approvals has already been issued for the plan by the province, the application is not subject to the usual municipal approval process. Groves believes the zoning order should only apply to the distribution centre, and not to the additional hydrogen facility in the updated application.

The hydrogen would be used as part of a clean technology for batteries that drive forklifts and other heavy equipment. Though highly combustible, governments across the world view hydrogen as safe if used in properly ventilated buildings, with special fire code measures and safety protocols for dealing with emergency leaks.

Town of Caledon spokesperson Laura Johnston confirmed “public notice” is not required for the new application. “This application does not require council’s approval,” she said.

Johnston said that the amended application with the hydrogen plan was received June 20. She said the application proposes the hydrogen fuelling station be located north of the building near Coleraine Dr. and Holland Dr.

Johnston also said the town’s understanding is that the hydrogen will be produced only for on-site use and all components of the facility are subject to the approval of Ontario’s Technical Standards & Safety Authority (TSSA).

That approval, which typically takes 20 to 30 days, will involve an engineering review of the actual site by a TSSA engineer from its fuel safety program, said a spokesperson for the organization.

“Hydrogen was always intended to be at this property — this is not a new development,” Johnston stated.

Mayor Allan Thompson said plans are also in the works to provide the public with online information about the project and allow the public to ask questions about it.

In a statement to the Star, Canadian Tire said: “The decision was made to pause this project temporarily in 2014 to help town officials understand this innovative clean technology and to answer outstanding concerns and questions about the project and the reasons for this new way of doing business. Since that time, we met and consulted with numerous industry experts, City and fire officials in Brampton and Caledon, including the Mayor and several Councillors, who toured the pilot project in Brampton.”

The company added that it “has applied diligence and has been in full compliance throughout this entire process.”

In 2014, when the Star revealed plans for the project, those who said they knew nothing about it included: Thompson, who at the time was running for the mayor’s job; current Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey, who as the provincial minister of municipal affairs and housing had approved the zoning order for the distribution centre; and the town’s fire chief and deputy fire chief.

At the time, residents who had already attended rallies to stop the project because of the heavy truck traffic and possible environmental issues, were shocked when they found out about the hydrogen plan.

On the same day that the Star story appeared, Canadian Tire announced it was suspending its hydrogen plans. Town officials said at the time all appropriate safety protocols would have been put in place had the plan moved forward.

The hydrogen plans came to light in 2014, when Quebec court documents in an alleged wrongful contract termination lawsuit were filed by an engineering company that specializes in fire protection design. The engineering company alleged that a firm hired by Canadian Tire to design the distribution facility tried to hide the planned hydrogen use and reduce the recommended requirements for fire safety. There were no allegations against Canadian Tire.

The matter was settled in 2014 before the case was heard in court.

Groves said she is going to bring forward a motion at council in August that would require the project go through a full public process, including meetings with residents and debate by council before approving the use of hydrogen.

Asked if he would support such a process, including a meeting open to all Caledon residents, Mayor Thompson said, “We will be providing an educational video tour, a fact sheet, a dedicated email address for public enquiries, and contact information for Canadian Tire and the TSSA. And, all of this will be available 24/7 — much more convenient, accessible and transparent than any single public meeting.” Thompson said this information is currently “being developed . . . for anyone who is interested.”

Kim Seipt, spokesperson for the group Your Voice For Bolton, where the facility is located, said her members are “incredibly disappointed” that the hydrogen plan might get pushed through without a public approval process.

“We still believe a potentially dangerous facility like this has no place near people’s homes,” Seipt said. “Maybe Caledon officials are hoping people have short enough memories that they can sneak this change through because two years have passed. We will be sure people remember now, and at election time.”

Caledon resident Sunny Sharma said the latest effort to accommodate the hydrogen plan doesn’t meet the level of transparency he expects of the town.

“I am a businessman. I have no issue with Canadian Tire building a distribution centre or any other company building warehouses or offices. It is the matter of not following a democratic process, not being informed and not having public consultations where council and staff actually answer questions or mitigate concerns,” Sharma said.