Residents in Durham Region protested the ground-breaking ceremony of a controversial garbage incinerator facility in Clarington, just east of Oshawa on Wednesday.
Locals say that the site, near Courtice Road and south of Highway 401, is too close to the lake and will become an environmental issue that could plague the community for years.
Attendance at the ground-breaking Wednesday was by invitation only, but many locals stormed on to the site to make their voices heard.
The public battle has been raging for seven years, but the residents say they are willing to fight on until they stop the incinerator, which is to be built south of Highway 401 near Lake Ontario.
"The lake is right there, how would you like it if they did that where you live?" asked community member Barry Dutton.
The $272-million Durham York Energy Centre, which will service both Durham and York Regions, will burn up to 140,000 tonnes of garbage a year.
In particular, residents in the growing city of Clarington are concerned about health threats from the facility's air emissions.
However, the project's official website says "air emissions will meet all requirements of the facility permit which are among the stringent in the world."
Regional Chair Roger Anderson has said that the plan has passed all of the environmental regulations, thanks to new technology that burns safer and cleaner than previous incinerators.
Residents say that their next step will be to launch legal steps against the facility, on the grounds that official zoning regulations won't allow for it.
With a report from CTV Toronto's John Musselman
