Ford’s short-sighted energy policy will cost Ontarians

August 29, 2018

TORONTO — The Premier is misleading Ontarians about how much his 'cut first; think later' approach is going to cost them.

Rather than putting forward real climate change solutions, he prefers to pay lawyers to defend his campaign slogans – whether it’s a pointless legal battle with the federal government or the mishandling of the electric vehicle rebate cancellation.

“The Premier is underestimating the costs of abruptly scrapping pollution pricing without an orderly phase-out. He has declared victory before we know the legal fallout of denying companies compensation on the $2.8 billion in worthless pollution permits,” said Stacey Danckert, Finance Critic for the Green Party of Ontario.

Why does Ford refuse to talk about energy conservation, proven to be the best way to save money on bills? According to Clean Energy Canada, energy efficiency actions can add 118,000 jobs to the national economy, while saving Canadians $1.4 billion annually. And yet the first thing that Ford did was cancel the rebate programs that helped people to get smart thermostats, purchase new furnaces and better insulate their homes.

“Instead of taking real action to lower energy bills through energy efficiency and conservation, the government is spending $1.1 billion of taxpayers’ money to keep the fourth oldest nuclear plant in North America open past its expiration date,” said Danckert.

At today’s news conference, the Premier also dodged a question about climate change, quickly passing the microphone to the Minister of Energy. This, in the aftermath of serious allegations that his office issued a moratorium on the use of the term ‘climate change’ in social media.

“After months of gutting all climate action, it’s astounding the Premier is unable to say even a single word about the costs of extreme weather – which has already cost Ontario $696 million in the first five months of this year – and the actions his government will take to lower emissions,” said Danckert.

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