Residents and politicians alike gathered at Queen’s Park on Tuesday to protest an Oakville power plant. 

The 975-megawatt gas plant would be located in the Clarkson Air Shed, which, they argue, is already over-polluted. They also allege that the TransCanada-operated plant would be too close to existing homes and schools.

The rally was organized by Citizens for Clean Air (C4CA).

MPPs Kevin Flynn (Oakville) and Charles Sousa (Mississauga South) as well as Mississauga Mayor Hazel McCallion, Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and King Township Mayor Margaret Black joined hundreds of others for the demonstration.

“There appears to be a serious lack of regulations concerning separation distances between power plants and communities in North America," said Flynn.

MP Terence Young wrote in a press release that the area has already been declared overly-polluted by federal and provincial government studies.

"'Overtaxed airshed' is a euphemism for the toxic air in Oakville,” Young said.

“Respiratory conditions are already the number one reason children are admitted to hospitals in Halton. This plant would increase hospitalizations, and deaths from stroke and heart attack. Gas fired plants should be nowhere near homes and schools."

The Oakville plant would be situated on Royal Windsor Drive, CN and GO Transit rail lines to the south and the 403/QEW highways to the north.