Hydro, hydro, hydro.
As MPPs return to the Legislature on Tuesday, Ontario’s electricity rates are top of mind for all three major party leaders.
Premier Kathleen Wynne, who has already lowered prices by removing the 8-per-cent provincial portion of the harmonized sales tax from bills as of Jan. 1, is promising more relief for hydro consumers.
“How do we lower people’s electricity bills? How do we deal with the reality that electricity bills for many people in the province are not affordable?” Wynne told reporters last week when asked about her government’s priorities for this year.
“We’ve put the 8-per-cent decrease in place and one of the things that I have heard from some people is that that. . . actually isn’t enough,” the premier said Wednesday.
“They still need to see a greater decrease in their electricity bills,” she said.
“The reality is that there has been an increase in everyone’s electricity bills, but there are some people who are carrying a disproportionate burden.”
Wynne said the Liberal government will introduce “a package of changes” before Finance Minister Charles Sousa tables the budget this spring.
“At this point, those decisions are just being made, but we recognize that everyone across the province has seen increases in electricity . . . so we recognize that there’s more that we need to do for everyone.”
Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown, who leads Wynne in public-opinion polls, said the Liberals are only taking action because an election is set for June 7, 2018.
“With the new session beginning, we’re seeing an out-of-touch, self-interested Liberal government that’s desperate to cling to power,” Brown said in an email on Friday.
“For 13 years this government has created an affordability crisis in our province. They’ve driven up hydro rates, slashed health care services, and made Ontario an uncompetitive place to do business,” he said.
Repeating his party’s mantra — and a possible campaign slogan for an election that is 67 weeks away — Brown stressed “life’s harder and more unaffordable under the Wynne Liberals.
“No matter how often they backpedal or how many promises they make, Premier Kathleen Wynne always goes back to her old ways,” he warned.
While Brown said he would “continue to advocate for a more affordable province,” his party is not holding its policy convention until November.
That means the Conservatives will continue to be short on details when asked for their specific plans on reducing electricity rates.
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, for her part, believes “Ontario is at a tipping point.
“From hydro bills that make it impossible for families to get ahead, to soaring housing prices in some communities, to crushing student debt levels that this government continues to profit off, it’s getting harder and harder to build a good life here in Ontario, especially for young people,” Horwath said Friday.
“It’s like Kathleen Wynne hasn’t had to open her own hydro bill in the past five years. The premier acts like she has no clue whatsoever of what’s going on in people’s lives, no clue what’s happening at kitchen tables across Ontario,” she said.
Horwath — who, like Brown, opposes the Liberals’ partial privatization of Hydro One – vowed to “ratchet up the pressure to stop the sell-off” of the provincial electricity transmission utility.
Even though the sale has no impact on electricity rates, which are set by the independent Ontario Energy Board, both the NDP and the Tories believe the initial public offering of shares is hurting the government.
The Liberals have defended selling up to 60 per cent of Hydro One for about $9 billion by emphasizing the proceeds will go toward public transit, roads, and bridges.
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