The repeal of the Green…

The repeal of the Green Energy Act in Ontario is yet another example of why Ontario continues to go through waves of progress and regression when it comes to overall environmental sustainability. I recently heard the Environment Commissioner talk about this when she described what happened from 1995 to 2005. The commissioner explained the complicated history of the introduction of clean electricity to our grid in 1995 through nuclear plants only to be followed by the aggressive re-introduction of coal when nuclear was deemed "too dangerous" in 1998. This process of progress followed by regression resulted in over 50 smog alert days in the city of Toronto in 2005. Our sky was yellow and there was a haze around the city leading to serious health concerns, such that we decided to make a change. When we look around now we see that we have done extremely well for our environment from 2005 to 2018. We have clear skies and great air quality. The worst that could happen is that we regress again and let all the hard work to continue to drive against climate change go to waste, only to end up back at square one. It seems like we keep taking our air quality for granted...when will we realize that the air we have now was never a privilege and that it was earned through clear cut lines and rules in policy like the green energy act? I have had the opportunity to work on energy projects all across Norther Ontario in off-grid First Nations communities where there is very minimal access to renewable's due to high transportation costs with little access to technical support. The people of these communities rely on dirty diesel power generation for reliable energy and have no other choice even though they would prefer cleaner options. this is just another example of why It amazes that we take for granted that we have options in how we generate power when the first nations people of Ontario who are entitled to this land have no say in how we protect it.