The proposed generating station planned for northern York Region is inefficient, will damage air quality and is the wrong solution to the power problem in the area.
NDP Energy and Environment Critic Peter Tabuns brought forward Bill 79 today to stop the plant and encourage energy conservation and sustainable solutions. “This big and expensive plant is exactly the wrong way to move Ontario forward,” said Tabuns.
Tabun’s Bill 79 is aimed at stopping the construction of this type of plan in York Region, Bradford and West Gwillimbury, all areas in the green belt or sitting right next to it.
“This bill is the kind of forward thinking environmental solutions that Ontario families need,” said Tabuns. “It promotes innovative energy conservation measures to meet the overall demand for electricity and protects peoples’ health.”
“Respiratory concerns and the increased likelihood of cardiovascular diseases are a major concern for local area residents and I am proud to stand with them to say no to this plant,” he added.
Among the innovative solutions put forward in Bill 79 are demands that Ontario Power Generation engage in activities that promote electricity conservation and facilitate the diversification of sources of electricity supply by promoting the use of cleaner energy.
“By investing in our future and in clean energy sources we can build a new energy economy to bring jobs back to Ontario which has been hard hit by the manufacturing crisis,” continued Tabuns who also noted that this type of plant is very wasteful of the energy it consumes. “This is not the type of leadership that Ontario families are looking for to solve our energy problems. It’s time for renewable solutions and conservation measures.”
Tabuns has been demanding that the Mcguinty government invest the billions of dollars it has focused on nuclear and other expensive and inefficient means of energy to green and renewable solutions instead. Tabuns, a former Executive Director of Greenpeace says that that money is better invested in making Ontario a green energy leader to spur a new energy economy which would support job growth and help combat climate change