October 5, 2011
Energy tops concerns
at candidates debate
by Terry Myers
The province of Ontario needs to be involved in the future of the Chalk
River Laboratories.
PC candidate and incumbent MPP John Yakabuski told about 60 people at
last week's provincial all-candidates meeting in Deep River that
Ontario cannot afford to stand on the sidelines while the province of
Saskatchewan aggressively pursues nuclear research facilities.
Yakabuski said he has met with members of the Chalk River Employees Ad
hoc Task ForcE (CREATE), which is advocating a future for CRL as a
national laboratory.
The MPP said he tried to present CREATE's plan to ministers in the
current McGuinty government, but “not one of them, not one minister”
took an interest in the issue.
“Ontario needs to be in that game,” Yakabuski said.
“This is where nuclear research began, and this is where it should
stay.”
The all-candidates meeting was held last Tuesday at the Deep River
Legion and was sponsored by the Deep River Community Association.
After doubts about who would attend the meeting, all five candidates in
Thursday's vote turned out for the debate.
And not surprisingly, energy - and specifically the province's plans
for nuclear power - was one of the main issues of the meeting.
Audience member Bob Cowhey said the province's push towards green
energy is one thing, but solar panels only work when the sun shines and
windmills only turn when the wind blows above 30 km an hour.
What are the parties' policies on nuclear, he wanted to know.
Yakabuski said the Conservatives “completely support” nuclear because
“we realize how vital it is.”
Nuclear provides the baseload power that keeps the lights on across the
province, he said.
“We need to build new nuclear plants, and this government has dragged
its feet for eight years.”
But Liberal candidate John O'Leary said the government has plans to
refurbish 10 of the province's existing units over the next 20 years
and to build two new units at the Darlington station.
O'Leary said the Liberals support green energy, but 50 per cent of the
province's power comes from nuclear and “that needs to stay.”
“We support the nuclear industry here in Ontario,” he said.
Kyle Jones of the Green Party said his party would keep the province's
existing nuclear plants but would not invest further in nuclear.
Instead, Jones said the Green Party would invest in existing green
alternatives like solar and wind, and new technologies like geothermal
power.
Jones said the Green Party would also invest in conservation, through
things like retrofit plans to make homes more energy efficient.
“Our capacity to generate power is fine as it is right now,” he said.
With efforts to expand green energy and conservation, “we'll be fine”
to meet future demand.
New Democrat candidate Brian Dougherty admitted that the NDP and
nuclear have not always been a good mix, but he said times have changed.
“I know personally that nuclear is safe and the NDP knows nuclear power
is safe,” he said.
“Unfortunately (the Fukushima reactor crisis in) Japan has left a bad
taste in people's eyes, but here in Ontario, we know nuclear is safe.”
Dougherty said the NDP would continue with the refurbishment of the
Darlington nuclear station, but when it comes to other units, they
would want to take it on a case by case basis.
“We need to look at the cost of those so we don't get stuck with
another huge stranded debt,” he said.
While nuclear power is one side of the coin, the candidates also
debated the merits of the province's move towards green energy through
its Feed-In Tariff (FIT) program.
Helene Burke questioned O'Leary about the economics of the program,
saying the province is paying up to 80 cents per kilowatt hour for
power that customers are billed at 10 cents.
“I'm wondering how anyone can balance a budget when the cost is 800 per
cent more than the price,” she said.
O'Leary defended the FIT program, saying it will lead to new jobs in
the province.
And when it comes to the price of electricity, “there's not a party up
here that will tell you the price is going down.”
“It's only going up,” he said.
Part of the reason for the increase in the cost of power is that the
government has had to make investments in the province's power
infrastructure, “because previous Conservative governments didn't,” he
said.
O'Leary said that in response to higher prices, the Liberal government
introduced the Clean Energy Benefit, which takes 10 per cent off the
bottom line of consumers' hydro bills.
But Yakabuski blasted the FIT program, saying it provides subsidies to
favoured companies “while everyone else pays.”
“It's not sustainable and it doesn't create jobs,” he said.
A solar power farm in southern Ontario, for example, was touted as
creating 800 jobs, Yakabuski said.
In fact, only eight people work at the facility.
And the province's deal with Korean giant Samsung will cost the
province $1 billion a year for the next 30 years, he added.
“And for what? For power that only works when the good Lord decides it
works.”
Given a chance to respond, O'Leary said it was always clear the 800
jobs announced as part of the creation of the solar farm were
construction jobs, not permanent positions.
“Short term or not, those are good jobs,” he said.
“My car is sitting in the parking lot. It's not creating jobs, but
building it sure did.”
Murray Reid of the Confederation of Regions Party said it's inevitable
that many of the province's FIT contracts are going to be broken.
“Hopefully after the election, we're going to clean things up,” he said.
But Jones said the Green Party sees a lot of opportunity for
Renfrew-Nipissing-Pembroke to take advantage of green energy solutions.
And he said one way or another, the money has to be paid to put the
province's energy infrastructure in place.
“Times are changing,” he said.
“We absolutely need green energy alternatives in place.”
Dougherty said one of the ways the NDP would deal with the cost of
hydro would be to put the pieces of the former Ontario Hydro back
together again.
Dougherty said right now, more than 11,000 employees across the five
agencies that came out of Ontario Hydro make more than $100,000 a year.
And Dougherty noted that the New Democrats opposed the addition of the
HST to the province's hydro bills since day one.
While it has become one of PC leader Tim Hudak's main promises to
remove the HST from hydro, he was initially in favour of it, Dougherty
said.
“Then he decided to see what the other side of the pancake looks like.”
Voters will go to the polls Thursday to choose the next MPP for the
riding.
Yakasbuski won the 2007 election with more than 62 per cent of the
ballots cast, outpolling Liberal challenger Sean Kelly by more than
15,000 votes.
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