Mayor Leal’s Letter to the Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks

October 15, 2025

Peterborough, ON – Mayor Jeff Leal has issued the following letter to the Honourable Todd McCarthy, Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks, on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

Dear Minister,

On Tuesday, October 14, 2025, Peterborough City Council ratified the following motion from its General Committee meeting held on Monday October 6, 2025, dealing with the General Electric (GE) Vernova site in the City of Peterborough:

That Council acknowledge receipt of a notice of intention to demolish a portion of the industrial buildings at 107 Park Street North issued pursuant to subsection 27(9) of the Ontario Heritage Act, R.S.O. 1990, c.O.18;

That Council has no interest in pursuing heritage designation of 107 Park Street North with the exceptions of identified buildings (highlighted in green and blue on enclosed map) including 2, 2A, 8a, 24A, 21, 26, 28 and 30;

That Council direct staff to consult with the Peterborough Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee and report back to council on the appropriateness of designating buildings (highlighted in green and blue on the enclosed map) including 2, 2A, 8a, 24A, 21, 26, 28 and 30 at 107 Park St North under Part IV of the Ontario Heritage act prior to November 7, 2025 or such later date as mutually acceptable to the Commissioner of Infrastructure & Planning and Growth Management and the property owner; and

That staff come back to Council with an outline for a health and safety plan for the GE site and its broader impacts.

GE has a history of more than 130 years in Peterborough, starting in 1891. GE sold their nuclear business, GE Hitachi, to BWXT in December of 2016. As part of this transaction, BWXT leases buildings 21, 26, 24A, and 28C (blue buildings on map). BWXT’s operations are regulated by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission.

Buildings 2 and 2A, formerly the head offices for GE (green on map), continue to house a GE Engineering group, providing technical expertise for GE Motors International. Buildings 30 and 8A (green on map) will be retained because of their architectural heritage. The remainder (yellow on map) will be candidates for demolition.

Because of the toxicity of this site, we believe that the full weight of the Environmental Protection Act needs to be applied. Ontario Regulation 347: General – Waste Management and within the Environmental Protection Act speaks to the need for testing, characterization, classification, transportation and disposal of waste related to the demolition process. We also recognize that the Ministry of Labour will have a significant role to play in the demolition process.

The Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks has indicated that meetings with GE Vernova, Lakelands Public Health, and the City of Peterborough will take place prior to demolition activities. This will promote transparency and a flow of information to the residents of Peterborough. It would be helpful to have a designated individual from your staff based in Peterborough as the point of contact on this file.

I am very respectful of your schedule. If convenient, I would be happy to meet in your constituency office in Bowmanville. I am also happy to meet at your Ministry Office in Toronto – whatever works best for you.

I also want to acknowledge the work of MPP Dave Smith, who continues to deal with WSIB cases related to employees who faced exposure to carcinogens in the workplace.

I want to thank you for your attention to this matter.

Yours sincerely,

Jeff Leal
Mayor 
City of Peterborough

The map referenced in this letter is included as Appendix B in the October 6, 2025 General Committee meeting agenda item 13.d, Report IPGPL25-048.