The Department of National Defence (DND) insists that its new Arctic Over-the-Horizon Radar (A-OTHR) transmit site near Coboconk, Ont., is safe, necessary, and well within Health Canada guidelines. But after attending the Sept. 9 public engagement session, I can’t help feeling that residents of Kawartha Lakes are being asked to simply take the government’s word for it and that’s not good enough.
From the start, the community’s concerns have been broad and reasonable: potential health effects from high-power radar emissions, disruption of wildlife, light pollution, property values, and even the safety of floatplane access in the area. These aren’t the cranky objections of people who oppose progress. They’re the worries of families who live here and love this region for its dark skies, quiet forests, and relative remoteness.
DND representatives calmly assured us that the “science is well established” and no new testing on radiofrequency emissions is needed. They promised the site will meet federal safety standards and undergo audits. But science evolves, and blanket statements don’t inspire confidence when the project involves 45-metre antennas and enough electrical power to track threats from across the Arctic. A community that will live beside such a facility deserves fresh, transparent testing ideally by an independent third party not just recycled data and references to World War II–era technology.
Wildlife concerns were met with a similar “trust us” approach. Officials noted that environmental studies are ongoing and will eventually be published. Eventually? Residents need access to that data before construction begins, not years into a decades-long build that isn’t expected to be fully operational until 2043. Two years of flora and fauna assessments sound impressive, but until the results are public and peer-reviewed, they remain promises, not protections.
Light pollution may seem trivial compared to electromagnetic fields, but anyone who has watched bats hunt over a starlit lake or witnessed the northern lights knows how fragile our night environment is. DND says it will “take the community’s concerns into consideration” when designing lighting. Again, that’s polite government language for “we’ll see what we can do,” with no concrete commitments.
And when it comes to property values one of the most practical worries raised DND simply shrugged. “Outside the scope of the project,” they said, as if the economic reality of local homeowners is irrelevant to a federal initiative carving a one-kilometre-long clearing into their backyards.
No one disputes Canada’s need to modernize NORAD or improve Arctic defense. But national security cannot come at the expense of local trust. If DND wants genuine community support, it needs to go beyond scripted reassurances. That means independent health testing, early release of environmental findings, a concrete lighting plan, and open discussion of how the site might affect real estate.
Kawartha Lakes residents aren’t asking for miracles. We’re asking to be treated as partners in a project that will reshape our landscape and our daily lives for decades. Until the Department of National Defence embraces that level of transparency, the radar site will remain a source of skepticism and rightly so.
