For immediate release:
March 8, 2012
QUEEN’S PARK — The Official Opposition continues to hammer the costly impacts of the Green Energy Act across the province through the introduction of three separate pieces of legislation.
As a busload of Haldimand and Norfolk anti-wind tower residents watched on this afternoon, MPP Lisa Thompson’s Private Members motion for a wind moratorium was met with derision from the McGuinty troops who again stood against reviewing the impacts of wind power.
“While Mr. McGuinty’s government continues to turn a deaf ear to our mounting calls for common sense on renewables, opposition only grows louder in our rural communities,” MPP Barrett pointed out following the vote. “We look forward to continuing to pressure government to listen to the people of Ontario literally crying out to be heard.”
Today’s result echoed Mr. McGuinty’s pre-determination of a lost vote for Tory MPP Todd Smith’s private members bill in December, also aimed at the Green Energy Act and wind policy. Before the bill even made it to the debate, McGuinty made it clear his MPP’s would vote “no”, citing uncertainty that would, “run counter to the determination expressed by all Ontarians”.
“With the Green Energy Act applying what amounts to a municipal gag order, refusing local decision making on wind and solar, it’s up to us in Opposition to voice the frustration, and impacts we hear from those forced to live next to monstrous power towers they have no say over,” added Barrett. “We also have an obligation to attack the unaffordable costs on our electricity bills driven by this same Green Energy Act, something we will again address with Opposition Leader Tim Hudak’s bill later this month.”
Hudak’s bill, the Affordable Energy and Restoration of Local Decision Making Act, 2012 treats energy policy as market-driven economic policy, ensuring providers of a balanced supply mix, including renewables, would compete for the best price using the most efficient technologies.
The Bill would end the Liberals’ Feed-in Tariff (FIT) and microFIT schemes – which pay unsustainable subsidies to developers through 20-year contracts. The Bill also proposes that industrial wind and solar farms, not yet connected to the power grid, would require Ministerial consultation with the affected communities, prior to a final decision by the Minister on whether a project should proceed, be renegotiated, or in some cases ended before they really get going.
Haldimand and Norfolk Counties are two of – at last count – 80 municipalities that have passed resolutions objecting to industrial wind turbines and/or Dalton McGuinty’s Green Energy Act.
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For more information, please contact MPP Toby Barrett at: (416) 325-8404,
(519) 428-0446 or 1-800-903-8629