Mantha’s News from the Park : Hydro Costs
Algoma-Manitoulin NDP MPP Michael Mantha
Day after day, week after week, without a doubt the number one concern raised in our offices is the skyrocketing cost of hydro. Absolutely nothing has been done since this Liberal government was given a majority mandate to alleviate the crippling costs of hydro on hardworking families across this province.
Ontarians are paying the highest electricity prices in Canada, more than twice what our neighbouring provinces pay. The Liberal government says that sky-high hydro bills are just the cost of doing business – but they’re not. They are the cost of how the Liberals do business.
At a time when most Ontarians are struggling to pay their current bills residential hydro rates in the province are expected to increase by 42 per cent over the next five years.
Now the Premier is refusing to say how much Hydro One privatization will cost Ontario ratepayers.
Last week Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath asked the Premier point blank, to “provide any guarantees that hydro rates will not go up as part of the Liberal plan to privatize Hydro One and local utilities.” The Premier could not, or would not, provide any assurances.
The fact remains that every time Liberals and Conservatives privatize part of our hydro system, Ontarians end up paying more. Hydro rates in Ontario have more than tripled since Liberal and Conservative governments began to privatize Ontario’s hydro system. According to the Ontario Energy Board, rates have gone from 4.3 cents/kWh in 2002 to 14 cents/kWh today. According to Manitoba Hydro’s national comparison, Ontarians pay the highest hydro bills in the country.
Ontario’s Energy Minister admitted that if the province privatizes even a small portion of Hydro One that decisions may no longer be in the hands of the public. This should be sounding the alarm bell across this province.
We in Northern Ontario have seen the devastating impact of privatization and downloading of services. The current state winter road maintenance in northern Ontario is downright frightening. We see roads that haven’t been salted or plowed after storms for hours and even days putting motorists and their families in grave danger. Much of the Ministry of Natural Resources and their programs have been cut, services like the Bear Wise Program have been eliminated putting wildlife management in crisis and communities at risk. If it’s not one thing, it’s another. Ontarians are fed up of the scandals and mismanagement which are resulting high costs including hydro and lost services.
We encourage Ontarians to sign and join the campaign to stop the sell-off of our shared public assets: http://www.ontariondp.ca/not_for_sale.
As always, please feel free to contact my office about this issue or any other provincial matters. You can reach my constituency office by email at mmantha-co@ndp.on.ca or by phone at 705-461-9710/1-800-831-1899.
MPP Michael Mantha, Algoma-Manitoulin
