Hydro prices are blowing through the roof, largely as a result of Ontarions not have had to pay the actual cost of electricity due to extreme mismanagement from both the Liberal and Conservative parties.
We use 50% more energy per person in Ontario than they do in New York State. That's ridiculous, so the first part of our platform will be to invest in energy efficiency through a smarter power grid and reinstating/expanding the home energy saving program.
Here are some of the specifics:
-$600 Million in tax credits for home and business retrofits
-Revise the building code to require new buildings to be more energy efficient
-Work with Banks to create energy save mortgages to assist homeowners who want to retrofit
-Negotiate agreements to purchase inexpensive hydroelectricity from neighboring provinces and increase hydro generation in Ontario (the most a homeowner pays for electricity in Quebec is 7.5c/kwh!)
To learn more about what the Green Party of Ontario has to say about Energy, click here: http://www.gpo.ca/sites/gpo.ca/files/attachments/gpo_issues_paper_energy.pdf
Look for a post on the micro-FIT, FIT programs from me soon!
*Update from original post: 4:45pm
What does this mean for Guelph?
-It means that homeowners and business owners who may not currently have the money to retrofit can retrofit their buildings, saving them money in the near term in energy costs and reducing environment impact.
-It means that local contractors will have increased demand for business, in turn creating more local jobs so that people can live, work and play here (as opposed to being swallowed as a bedroom community)
-It means that suppliers will have increased demand for their products to contractors, creating more jobs.
-It means that suppliers of energy efficient materials will be looking for competitive edge, likely increasing money in Research and Development. Don't forget that the technology to develop the oil sands was created as a result of the industry funding University's to do research (partially with government subsidies!. The same thing can happen with energy efficiency and generation.
What about Leadership?
These are good ideas that have clearly laid out paths to success. Voting Green is a vote for a representative who can have transparent, honest and straightforward conversations with representatives from all parties and is a move away from electing representatives who can only tow a party line.
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