TORONTO – Today during Question Period Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath called on the Premier to take action to fix high hydro rates across the province.
After the Premier told Liberal Party supporters over the weekend that high electricity prices were “her mistake”, Horwath challenged the Premier to fix that mistake and stop any further sell-off of Hydro One.
“Families who have to choose between paying huge hydro bills or putting food on the table, businesses that have to lay off staff just to keep the lights on, or municipalities that have seen their hydro costs nearly double in under a year, none of them are interested in empty platitudes from this Premier – they want action – they want to keep Hydro One in public hands,” said Horwath.
This past Friday Mayor John Henry of Oshawa spoke out about the rising cost of hydro in his city.
“Mayor Henry said that Oshawa paid just over $151,000 in one month to light the city’s streets in 2015,” said Horwath. “In 2016, the same month cost more than $221,000 – that’s an increase of $70,000 in one year! If high Hydro prices are the Premier’s mistake, when will she begin to fix the problem and stop any further sell-off of Hydro One?”
Horwath’s calls come after months of visits with families, businesses and municipalities across the Province where she has been listening to horror stories of skyrocketing hydro bills. The Ontario NDP has been steadfastly opposed to the Premier’s wrong-headed Hydro One sell-off since it was announced and has been calling for a halt to any further selloff of the utility as a first step in addressing the problem of high electricity rates.
