01.13.2011 01:43 PM

Dear Timmy

Some days, you feel like you’re living in la-la land. Take yesterday, here in Ontario, for example.

For a while now, Ontario has had a Green Energy Act. A popular one, with around 22,000 people signing up in the first year. Thousands of jobs have been created or are soon on the way.

And across rural Ontario, farms are diversifying their income by making renewable energy.

Then along comes Tim Hudak, the Tory leader, quoting all these so-called facts. Facts that come from sources even the Wall Street Journal — owned by the same guy who owns Fox News — question. About how renewable energy is so bad for our economy. A study supported by climate change deniers and supporters of California’s controversialProposition 23. The US government has also debunked the study, citing flawed methodology, contextual oversights, and a lack of transparency and supporting statistics.

I’m all for an intelligent debate about energy policy. And if people disagree with Ontario’s HST, that’s their right. Anyway, back to la-la land, where people like to have their cake and eat it, too.

Because you can’t scrap a job-creating, farm-income-generating law without being honest about everything that will happen next.

So what’s Tim Hudak’s plan for all the farms receiving farm income?

For the Niagara Falls church putting in solar?

For the new manufacturing plants in Windsor, Guelph, and more?

If Mr. Hudak wants to shut these down, then say so.

But renewable energy simply is not behind the electricity price hikes Ontario has seen. And the jobs, farm income and cleaner air that more Ontarians are enjoying deserve a better debate than what we’ve seen on the HST. A tax Mr. Hudak opposes but will keep.

See what I mean about la-la land?

Dr. Rick Smith
Executive Director

5 Comments

  1. Bill King says:

    Of course the author of this attack is objective, and non-partisan, and an expert in this particular field of renewable energy, right?

    I rest my case.

    Cheers,

  2. Art Williams says:

    To be fair to Tim Hudak, an election hasn’t been called so he doesn’t have to have a detailed plan just yet. Same for Iggy, for that matter. Warren, your criticism of the PC Leader in this fashion is just good old politicking. Anyhow, the general public won’t give a thought to the election until the fall.

    Hudak’s problem is that he comes across as a Mike Harris clone. Now, I was a big Harris fan because he was a man for the times. After, successive NDP and Liberal spendfests in Ontario, someone had to steer our Provincial ship in another direction and he was the man. As for Hudak, ho doesn’t face the same situation. Sure the deficit is high but the provincial government is in better shape than most. If Hudak just tries to sell himself as a free enterprise Blue Tory then he is in trouble because that is not what the public wants.

    It will be interesting to see how the parties try to mold the ballot question and what it will eventually be.

  3. Matt says:

    The world is changing, and the market price for fossil energy is also going up–that’s why the market is able to support development of affordable renewable sources. Spain’s economy was on the way down anyways, and no single policy can be blamed for that. You can’t stop progress, but you can benefit by embracing it. Ontario needs to transform its economy to compete for the jobs of the future.

  4. hugger says:

    Speaking of a Culture of defeat, enter the naysayer. You know Gord it is really simple to understand that it took a lot of time to develop fossil fuel based infrastructure. Investment too. Spend money to make money and all that.

    Then there are things like our military and human costs in Afghanistan, heavy lift helicopters, $65 to $135 million initial cost for each F35 that Harpoor wants to borrow for, etc. Wimpy economics; I’ll gladly repay you tomorrow, the price of a hamburger today.
    Did you read the Auditor Generals comments on the two items above?

    From a very quick comparison of electricity rates;

    Ontario Regulated Price Plan (RPP) – Tiered Prices average 6.9 cents /kwh

    http://www.oeb.gov.on.ca/OEB/Consumers/Electricity/Electricity+Prices#rpp

    Alberta variable to 1 year fixed – 6.58 to 6.99 /kwh. 3 yr. fixed rate to 7.79 /kwh

    http://www.energyshop.com/es/prices/ab/eleAB.cfm?ldc_id=358

  5. Leo says:

    If Mike Harris and his gang half-wit ministers didn’t ignore Ontario’s hydro system to the point of almost complete failure when they were in power and privatize the system leaving Ontarians with a $20-billion debt, we wouldn’t have the hydro rates we have today. And if Tim-the-Mike-Harris-wanna-be-Hudak has his way, he’ll cut, cut, cut, too, and leave it up to the next generation to pay just like we’re paying now for Harris’ past transgressions against the people of Ontario.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.