HYDRO RATES HOT ISSUE AT ROUNDTABLE

The cost of electricity for residents in Glengarry-Prescott-Russell is one of the burning issues for the provincial election campaign. Three candidates vying to become the next MPP for the riding agree that something must be done, but they don’t all agree on what.

Liberal candidate Pierre Leroux, Libertarian candidate Darcy Neal Donnelly, and NDP candidate Bonnie JeanLouis all accepted an invitation to sit down with EAP editorial staff for a roundtable discussion, May 17, on several key concerns in the GPR. One topic of contention was the cost of hydro.

“I understand these things because I live with them every day,” said Leroux, noting that more people should also be aware that a rural savings program exists for hydro.

Leroux criticized both the previous Progressive Conservative and NDP provincial governments for failure to invest enough in regular asset replacement for Ontario Hydro. One of the big challenges for the Liberal government, he said, is the cost of dealing with the existing aging hydro infrastructure.

Jean-Louis argued that the NDP opposed the Liberal government’s decision to sell of part of Hydro One to the private sector. She blamed that as part of the reason for the cost of electricity in Ontario.

“Returning Hydro One to the public sector is one of our biggest goals,” JeanLouis said, adding that it will be easier for the government to oversee a publicly-owned utility and reduce the cost of electricity for consumers. Donnelly said a Libertarian government would repeal the Green Energy Act, do away with “time of access” billing for hydro, abolish subsidies for alternative energy sales to the power grid, and also “terminate all government appointees” to the Hydro One board. He emphasized that the Libertarian philosophy favours as little government policy intervention as possible.

the government from the industry,” he said, “and let the free market run things.”

Le coût de l’électricité est un enjeu important pour trois des candidats de la circonscription de Glengarry-Prescott-Russell aux élections provinciales. Ces trois candidats avaient accepté l’invitation de la Compagnie d’édition André Paquette à une table ronde éditoriale la semaine dernière. Mais les candidats ne sont pas tous d’accord sur une solution.