Meaford Weighs Up to $1.35 Million a Year in TC Energy Funding During Pumped Storage Review
Meaford council decides July 27 whether to sign a three-year TC Energy funding deal before the pumped storage project is approved. Full terms stay private.
Meaford council is being asked to enter a three-year funding agreement with TC Energy worth up to $1.355 million a year — money that would reach the municipality while the company’s proposed Ontario Pumped Storage Project is still under federal environmental review, years before it is approved or built.
Staff have placed the agreement on the July 27 council agenda with a recommendation to approve.
A staff report from Chief Administrative Officer Shawn Everitt recommends council approve a Pre-Development Agreement with TC Energy and authorize the mayor and clerk to sign it.
The agreement would run to December 31, 2028, with a possible one-year extension if both sides agree in writing.
The report states repeatedly that the agreement is not a Community Benefit Agreement and does not replace one. Such an agreement remains one of four conditions Meaford set in February 2023, when council voted 5 to 2 to declare itself a “conditional willing host” for the 1,000-megawatt project.
Staff say finalizing the long-term benefits agreement now would be “premature” while the federal impact assessment and a separate Department of National Defence review remain at an early stage.
The headline funding figure bundles four streams that differ sharply. The largest — a Community Support Payment of $1 million a year, or $3 million over the term — is discretionary money from TC Energy.
The report says the funds need not be spent on the project, though the municipality must make “reasonable efforts” to prioritize initiatives that support it.
A Community Investment Fund of up to $80,000 a year would match, dollar for dollar, the municipality’s existing recreation fund, and must be requested from TC Energy and approved by it.
Municipal Capacity Funding of up to $250,000 a year is cost recovery, drawn from a provincial pre-development envelope, for the municipality’s own project-related expenses such as staff time and consultants; the report says it “should not be considered as a source of municipal revenue” and it, too, requires TC Energy’s prior approval.
A fourth stream provides $25,000 a year for five skilled-trades scholarships the municipality would not administer.
The report gives two different totals. Its body cites up to $3.24 million over three years in discretionary funding “directly to the Municipality” made up of the $1-million payment plus the matching fund. The attached public summary cites up to $4.065 million, adding the cost-recovery and scholarship streams.
The report states that no conditions are waived. It also says the agreement was negotiated “under the expectation” that Meaford would not rescind its conditional willing-host support during the term, unless the federal or defence reviews give reasonable grounds to do so.
The report adds that the agreement does not fetter council’s statutory discretion over planning, permitting or regulatory decisions.
Lawyers at Borden Ladner Gervais structured the deal so the municipality’s main exposure is losing future payments if the project is cancelled; money already paid is generally not repayable.
The full agreement is not public. Staff attached only a summary, citing the municipality’s “legal, commercial and negotiating interests.” Council is being asked to authorize the mayor and clerk to execute an agreement whose complete terms are not being released.
The report says the federal Impact Assessment Agency of Canada’s initial review found the project requires a full impact assessment, a process the report expects to take three to four years.
The project would sit on Department of National Defence land at the 4th Canadian Division Training Centre, which TC Energy has said lies within Saugeen Ojibway Nation territory. The staff report does not address the Nation’s role.
Ontario committed up to $285 million in January 2025 to advance pre-development work.
The staff report does not address the opposition the project has drawn during the federal review. Council could approve, amend, defer or reject the recommendation when it meets July 27. The report and meeting materials are posted on Meaford’s Council Portal.
How to weigh in
The July 27 meeting concerns the municipality’s funding agreement, not approval of the project itself. Council meets at 157859 7th Line and livestreams regular meetings on the municipality’s YouTube channel.
Members of the public who wish to make a deputation or ask a public question on an agenda item may do so in person at Council Chambers or remotely by Zoom, but must register in advance with Legislative Services by 10 a.m. on July 27 at clerk@meaford.ca or 519-538-1060 ext. 1100.
Those registering for remote participation are sent access information by email.
Deputations are limited to five minutes and public questions to two. Longer presentations, up to 10 minutes, had to be pre-arranged before the agenda was released, and that window has closed.
Residents can also submit written comments to the clerk for the record and contact members of council directly.
Comment on the project itself runs through separate federal processes. The Impact Assessment Agency of Canada is conducting a full impact assessment expected to take three to four years, with further public-comment opportunities and participant funding available through the federal Impact Assessment Registry.
The Department of National Defence is running its own environmental assessment of the use of the federal land.
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