(Reposted from BLY - May 17, 2011)
The pledge by Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak to roll back key provisions of the Ontario Green Energy Act is a courageous move and deserves to be applauded. It will likely spark intense debates as we head into the upcoming election. It is hard to say whether public opinion will be on his side, but the facts certainly are.
The Green Energy Act (GEA) was proposed as both an environmental policy and a job-creation policy. It is misguided on both scores...
Some of the money quotes:
...An industry that depends on subsidies for its survival is not a net source of jobs. The funds for the subsidies have to be raised through taxation, and the burden of taxes kills more jobs than the subsidies create. This is as true for wind power as it is for greenhouse cucumbers, and it doesn't matter if the taxes are visible or are hidden in the form of feed-in tariffs and artificially inflated electricity bills...
...expanding the renewables portfolio is redundant since 75% of Ontario's electricity comes from nuclear and hydro power, which do not generate emissions. Twenty-two per cent comes from coal-and natural gas-fired power plants. Ontarians have paid hundreds of millions of dollars for installation of advanced emission control devices on those plants. As a result, Ontario air pollution levels have fallen dramatically since the 1970s and 1980s, a point easily confirmed by consulting any edition of the government's annual Air Quality in Ontario report...
...Whether the goal is to create jobs or protect the environment, the GEA is a failure, and the provincial Tories should be applauded for taking on the challenge of phasing it out.
This is a MUST-READ column on so many levels (H/T Lorrie Goldstein via Twitter).
Now all that remains is for Dalton McGuinty to come clean on the penalty question in the secret Samsung deal. Does one actually exist, and if so how much is it?
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Related
Matt Gurney: McGuinty, self-styled bargain hunter, will better any union offer - Full Comment
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Wednesday Update
PC Leader Hudak bringing in some big names - Adam Radwanski, Globe:
...along with Mr. Denley, Mr. Rossi and Mr. Gaudet are at least a few other high-profile candidates – among them former North Bay mayor Vic Fedeli, Hamilton television personality Donna Skelly and Ben Shenouda, the president of the Independent Pharmacists of Ontario. And it’s expected that there will be a couple more quasi-star candidates unveiled in the near future, including at least one member of the business community.
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