Dear Editor
In October, 2017 the Fraser Institute did a report entitled "Rising Electricity Costs and Declining Employment in Ontario's Manufacturing Sector." There is some shocking information in this report that the people of Ontario may not have heard before.
This report expresses that Hydro-Quebec collects information from 22 Canadian and American electricity providers, including the average delivered costs of power in cents per kWh (kilowatt-hour). In 2010 to 2016, Ottawa's electricity increased by 50% (16.4 cents per kWh) and in Toronto up by 48% (14.9 cents per kWh), compared to Calgary or Vancouver at 6.5 and 9.5 cents per kWh. Huge difference, agreed?
There is favouritism in Ontario, according to this report, certain select industrial consumers (Class "A" receive better pricing than other Class "A' and Class "B") are being subsidized by other consumers. In 2015 there were 16 companies that received rebates from the province paying only 6.4 cents instead of the 8.4 cents that other Class "A" consumers do. Makes one wonder which companies these are, considering who is doing the subsidizing – other industrial, residential, and commercial consumers? And yet these large consumers still paid more for electricity than other large cities in Canada.
The report states that Ontario has the largest decline in manufacturing jobs, compared to other jurisdictions, because of our electricity prices and Green Energy Act. The province might try to use "Global factors such as world demand, exchange rates, and technological change" but the report took in the aforementioned, and the 2008 recession stating that between 2008 and 2015 there has been a 64% decline in manufacturing jobs in Ontario because of the cost of electricity.
And what is government, including the opposition, doing? They are putting on good theatrics.
In 2015 the NDP brought forward a Bill to stop the sell off of Hydro and to avoid hydro rate increases. The Progressive Conservatives (PC) voted with the Liberals against this Bill. In 2016 the PC Party brought forward basically the same thing – and the NDP voted with the Liberals against it.
Seeing the pattern, yet? It would seem they all want the sale off of Hydro; they want to continue with the contracts under the Green Energy Act; and they want to force you to conserve electricity, by making you pay beyond the cost of production and maintenance. This is not elected officials working for the people – these are elected officials working against the people!
On February 22, 2018 the Trillium Party MPP, Jack MacLaren presented Bill 197 – the Affordable Electricity Act 2018 to protect the people of Ontario. Isn't it time for Something Different and Something Way Better for the people of Ontario...the Trillium Party of Ontario...we don't need theatrics we need real representation!
Elizabeth Marshall
Candidate, Trillium Party of Ontario
Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound
