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MPP Sylvia Jones condemns Liberals over cost of hydro

March 2, 2017   ·   0 Comments

By Mike Pickford

With hydro costs soaring to almost unmanageable levels for residents throughout Dufferin County in recent months, local MPP Sylvia Jones has called on Premier Kathleen Wynne to “step up and take action” in an attempt to prevent the provincial pandemic from getting any worse.

In addressing the premier during Question Period in the legislature last week, Ms. Jones noted that the high cost of electricity was “hitting all Ontarians hard” and condemned the provincial Liberals for allowing the issue to spiral out of control.

“This is one of those issues that just keeps on growing,” Ms. Jones told the Citizen. “Whether it’s people coming into my office and speaking to me about their concerns, whether it’s people sending letters in, or whether it’s just having a friendly conversation out in the community – the message is exactly the same. People are very unhappy and I think it’s time (the government) did something about it.”

While Premier Wynne did not directly respond to Ms. Jones’ comments, Ontario’s Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault said the government has a plan in place to help alleviate rising hydro costs, but stopped short of revealing what that plan was.

“We’re working on the fine details,” Mr. Thibeault said. “We’ll be bringing forward that plan to help all Ontarians in the very near future. We recognize that this is actually getting to be unaffordable for some, and that’s why we’re acting.”

The cost of hydro has been a hot-button topic in Ontario for several years now, but the issue has intensified over the past 12 months with residents starting to see the direct results of a number of questionable decisions the Liberal government has made in recent times.

Top of that list, according to Ms. Jones, is the Ontario government’s decision to lock itself into numerous hefty multi-year contracts with several green and renewable energy sources, which sees the province paying “an arm and a leg” for electricity, according to Ms. Jones, only to sell on its surpluses to our neighbours south of the border at a steep loss.

“When people ask me why we’re in the position we find ourselves in today, I often point back to the auditor general’s report that was released in 2014. One of the things highlighted in that report is that the Ontario government signed off on a number of high contracts for wind and solar energy, we’re talking 20-year contracts at very high rates – buying electricity for 50 cents (per kilowatt hour), or in some cases a high of 82 cents (per kilowatt hour), and then selling it on for 8, 10 or 12 cents.”

She added, “It doesn’t take you very long to figure out that somebody has to pay the difference, and that difference, so far, has been put on people’s energy bills.”

In response to Mr. Thibeault’s promise that the province was putting a plan in place to help reduce the cost of hydro for Ontarians, Ms. Jones said she’s heard enough empty promises from government officials, calling for the energy minister to allow his actions to do the talking for him.

“It’s a running joke at this point… There has always been a very consistent message (from the Liberals) saying they understand how Ontarians are feeling and they know that this is an issue they have to deal with, but at the end of the day that’s all we’ve seen so far – words,” Ms. Jones said. “We haven’t seen any actions yet, and I think it’s high time we did.”

With a CBC report claiming the average Ontario household is currently paying more than double for electricity than it did ten years ago, Ms. Jones said this was “easily” the number one issue residents in her constituency were facing today.

“This is number one in Dufferin-Caledon, quite frankly I think this is number one in almost every community in Ontario. I’m sure the different ministers and even the premier herself are hearing about this from their own constituents. It’s such a huge issue that is affecting Ontarians everywhere,” Ms. Jones said. “Families are being forced to make tough choices to either pay their hydro bills, or put food on their tables. Seniors living on a fixed income now have to figure out a way to stretch every dollar on order to make hydro payments.”

Ms. Jones noted her office had opened 20 files in December of 2016 alone in order to help constituents deal with their hydro bills.

Reports emanating from Toronto on Wednesday indicated that Premier Wynne was set to announce the province would be cutting all hydro bills by 25 percent come the end of 2017, although her office would not confirm the plan when contacted by media. Keeping her ear to the ground down in Toronto, Ms. Jones offered her thoughts on how she thinks the Liberals will look to slash costs for residents.

“Based on what I’m hearing down in Toronto, and based on rumours circulating down at Queen’s Park, it looks like the next thing the government is going to look to do is moving the delivery charge off of hydro bills and simply putting it onto the Ontario taxpayer in another way,” Ms. Jones said. “Basically, they’re looking to take it out of one pocket and putting it another.”

She added, “I think there are other options, but they have to get this thing under control one way or another.”

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