For IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Oct. 8, 2013
SIMCOE – MPP Toby Barrett was shocked when he heard the cost of cancelling the Oakville and
Mississauga gas-fired power plants is pegged at $1.1 billion by the provincial auditor general.
“The cost of cancelling these power plants is such a huge number it boggles the mind,” Barrett said.
Even more shocking was the revelation that local resistance to the plant from Oakville residents and council could have prevented the plant from ever being built at no charge, according to a clause in the contract. “Therefore, given Oakville’s strong opposition to the plant, it may well have been possible for the Ontario Power Authority to wait it out, with no penalty and at no cost,” Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk wrote in her report.
Barrett is infuriated at this waste of taxpayers’ and ratepayers’ money. “I long suspected that the plant cancellation was all about buying Liberal seats in the area,” Barrett said. “The Auditor General now confirmed it. The money didn’t need to be spent to stop the power plant from being built.”
With this blatant waste of money, Barrett is calling for a vote of confidence in the Legislature.
“Former Premier Dalton McGuinty’s office might have been the one originally involved, but this is about saving Liberal seats in the last election. Kathleen Wynne was co-chair of the last campaign. She doesn’t get a free pass on this one,” Barrett said.
Barrett also believes the Liberal Party of Ontario should reimburse the people of Ontario for the wasted money.
“In cases involving private industry, courts order repayment of money that is squandered for personal gain. In this case, it was political gain and the taxpayer should not be on the hook,” Barrett said.
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For more information contact
MPP Toby Barrett at 519-428-0446