To the Ministry of Energy: …

To the Ministry of Energy: I am notifying the Ministry, and hence the Minister, of my opposition to the proposal to eliminate the requirement for renewable energy installations to steadily replace fossil fuels in Ontario's electricity portfolio. Supporting growth of renewable energy installations in our province is needed as part of the suite of activity to reduce our province's total CO2e emissions, and to develop a strong renewable energy sector. Failure of the provincial government to support and encourage this energy sector will mark Ontario as a province that does not understand the significance of Climate Change, and that its current government is ill equipped to develop policy to address a changing economy; the message to business and to investors, and to the people of Ontario, is that the province is living in the past and uninterested in the key energy technologies of the future. Renewable energy such as solar and wind are not the only energy options available to the province, but they are common technologies, decreasing in cost and expanding in global use, and with opportunities for Ontario industry to develop markets at home, nationally and internationally.

The cancellation of 750 renewable energy projects by the Ontario Conservative Government upon gaining power was short-sighted, and the cavalier termination of contracts identified the Government as lacking commitment to business ethics and governance. This new proposal appears to be continuation of the same short-sighted approach to the future of the energy technology in Canada and around the world.

I hope the current Ontario Government will rethink their approach and support the implementation of renewable projects and development of technical expertise in renewables across Ontario.