To who it may concern: I…

To who it may concern: I am writing to oppose the increase in emissions by St. Helen’s Slaughterhouse. I live in the Stockyards neighbourhood, and will be directly affected by this increase in a very negative way. As it stands, the odours and pollutants the slaughterhouse emits affect my daily life. Whenever I leave my house, I prepare myself for an onslaught of smells, and I know if the wind is coming from the west or the north, if it is humid, if it is damp, and definitely if it’s a particular day of the week, I’ll smell and breath in what’s being emitted by the slaughterhouse. By allowing the slaughterhouse to further increase what they emit, the magnitude and frequency in which the people in my neighbourhood, including myself, are affected will exponentially grow and hinder our already limited ability to enjoy our neighbourhood. The increased emissions will also affect the people who visit our neighbourhood to shop at the Stockyards shopping mall, who might decide to abandon the shopping centre in favour of a place that doesn’t regularly smell. It will also affect the children of the neighbourhood who attend the many schools and daycares and community hubs that are within a 2 km radius of the slaughterhouse. Furthermore, the SmartTrack station that is proposed to be built at St. Clair Ave. and Weston Rd. has the potential to reinvigorate our neighbourhood, making our area more accessible — but no one will visit or choose to live here or work here, if all they smell are terrible odours and know that they’re constantly breathing in pollutants. I understand the slaughterhouse was there first, and neighbourhoods were built around it, and we knowingly moved into our neighbourhood — but to allow the slaughterhouse to increase their emissions tips the balance in favour of St. Helens and ignores, punishes, and unfairly penalizes the people who moved into this neighbourhood when it was decided that industries and residents could cohabit. As it stands, I smell the emissions from the slaughterhouse a few times a week and I cannot express how happy I am on the days when I am able to take a deep breath and smell nothing but nature. I truly fear that if the slaughterhouse increases their emissions, that will be taken away from me, and breathing in the pollutants from the slaughterhouse will become a regular and daily part of our neighbourhood. If that happens, our community will die — no one will spend any time outside in the neighbourhood, with their neighbours, at local stores and restaurants, or at community events — and the area will stand no chance to grow and thrive. I do not want to live in a neighbourhood that is seemingly lifeless and desolate, because we can’t leave our houses without subjecting ourselves to pollutants on a regular basis. Please, I am begging you, do not permit St. Helen's Slaughterhouse to increase its emissions, for the sake of the people who live there now and for the future of the neighbourhood’s ability to expand and grow. Thank you for your time and consideration.

[Original Comment ID: 214756]