Sign and share to strengthen the case to oppose mandatory installation of Smart meters.
Residents of Halton Hills, Burlington, Milton, and Oakville oppose mandatory installation of AMI (Advanced Metering Infrastructure) water meters with wireless transmitters.
Help us get the answers, SCROLL TO THE END and sign the petition.
Residents of Halton Hills, Burlington, Milton, and Oakville are being asked
to accept a wireless "smart" water meter transmitter in their homes. This
petition has two specific, achievable asks of Halton Regional Council:
1. A real, published, cost-based fee for residents who keep a manual-read
meter — in 2026, not 2028.
Halton's 2026 Water Rates By-law lists the "Manual Meter Read Fee" as
"Actual Cost" — no dollar amount, no published method. The Region's own
director confirmed in writing that the fee "will be calculated at the end of
the AMI technology deployment, which is anticipated to be in 2028" — meaning
residents who decline now have no idea what they'll eventually be charged,
for years. Every comparable Canadian utility already publishes a real
number: Hamilton, ON charges $3.13/month; New Brunswick Power $4.65/month;
Saskatoon and EPCOR (Edmonton) $25/month; Halifax Water $50 per read;
Toronto's 2014 fee, still in force, is $80/visit or $1,020/year flat-rate.
Halton is the only comparable utility that names no figure at all — and no
resident has yet been formally granted opt-out status of any kind.
2. A conformity review of By-law No. 71-19 against the Municipal Act, 2001.
The Municipal Act says a resident's refusal to let someone into their
dwelling is not obstruction unless the municipality already has a court
order or a warrant (section 426(2)). By-law 71-19 makes "refuse entry" an
offence carrying a fine of up to $50,000 on a first conviction, $100,000 on
a second, and $10,000 per day after that — with no lower tier for
individuals, unlike the Region's own Sewer Use By-law. The 2019 report that
brought these penalties to Council called the by-law a routine
"plain-language consolidation" and told Council there were "no financial
implications" — without mentioning the fine had just increased tenfold. No
AMI notice sent to residents discloses their right to refuse entry.
What Halton's own documents also show:
The Region's letters contradict each other on privacy: one says "no personal
identifiers are collected or transmitted"; a later one says meter reads "are
linked to customer information, such as civic address," once received.
No Privacy Impact Assessment has been made public or brought to Council,
despite AMI data being linked to individual addresses.
The 2018 report that first approved AMI contains no reference to the
Municipal Act's dwelling-entry rules, no privacy analysis, and no opt-out
framework at all.
We are asking Halton Region to:
1. Set and publish a specific, cost-based manual-read fee in 2026 — not
defer it to 2028.
2. Let residents keep a non-transmitting meter with manual reads, on
request, with no reason required.
3. Review By-law No. 71-19 for conformity with the Municipal Act, 2001, and
correct AMI notices that don't disclose residents' right to refuse entry.
4. Complete and publish a Privacy Impact Assessment before continuing
deployment.
5. Disclose the specific legal authority the Region relies on for AMI
installation.
6. Guarantee no resident's water service will be shut off, and no fine will
be issued, for declining the transmitter while these matters are unresolved.
Two draft motions already exist for a Regional Councillor to bring to
Council, addressing exactly these two asks. Sign and share — every signature
strengthens the case for a sponsor. Send this link to your Halton Region Regional Councillor for your Ward and ask them help.
DISCLAIMER: Personal information contained in this petition may be made public, therefore, it is the responsibility of those signing the petition to understand that any or all personal information is not subject to confidentiality as per By-Law No. 2023-0026.