MPP calling for solutions to high gas bills
After her office was inundated with emails and calls from residents who have been “pushed to the brink” by heating bills they cannot afford to pay, St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens is asking the provincial government for solutions.
In the months since Enbridge increased its rates in January — in many cases doubling the cost of heating a home compared to a year ago — Stevens said she has heard from a lot of seniors and young families who are already struggling with inflationary increases.
“Everything has pretty well doubled in price, and when Jan. 1 came around people started calling,” she said, adding many of them, particularly seniors, are living on fixed incomes.
She said people were bringing in their Enbridge bills with circles drawn around the “unaffordable charges” that increased by about $100.
“Story after story has come through and that extra $100 a month could be put towards putting food on the table or even getting their medications,” she said. “We had to do something … This is something we have to work on.”
Stevens discussed the concerns during question period at Queen’s Park Thursday, urging the government to implement programs to help.
“Seniors and young families are being pressed to the limit as your government has allowed Enbridge to pass along increases in gas process that are making life very hard for Ontarians,” she said.
“The Ontario electricity support program provides immediate relief for families who struggle to pay their electricity bills, but there’s no similar program for families struggling to pay natural gas bills or other heating bills.”
Energy Minister Todd Smith said it’s his goal to “ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy system in the province.”
“Under the mess that was left to us by the previous Liberal government, we have brought electricity prices under control and we’re doing the same thing with natural gas prices … There are programs in place through Enbridge that the member should be passing along to her constituents to be aware of.”
He went on to criticize the provincial NDP for its support of the federal carbon tax.
Stevens said Ontarians deserve a solution.
“People have to heat their homes and there is no way around it. Prices to heat your homes are going up and up. People are in desperate trouble,” she said.
Stevens said her constituent Charles Christianson, a 67-year-old retired manufacturing worker, saw his Enbridge bill increase by $100.
“This is a senior on a fixed income making only $1,500 a month. We owe it to our seniors who built our province and all Ontarians to have a solution,” she said. “Does the premier or anyone else on that side of the aisles believe that it’s OK to stand by and do nothing as gas rates double in the middle of the winter, and continue to push seniors and young families right to the brink?”
While blaming increasing natural gas prices on the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Smith said the cost is now decreasing.
“It’s pretty rich, though, from the NDP to talk about affordability when it comes to energy prices,” he said. “This is a party that wants us to get rid of natural gas … and thinks that natural gas is a bad thing when more than 76 per cent of homeowners out there are heating their homes with natural gas.”
In an interview, Stevens said Smith’s comments were “a distraction” from the real issues at play, and she is “getting used to the bullying tactic.”
She said the province should be responding with solutions rather than “pointing fingers.”