Ontario’s new energy minister is suggesting nuclear power and innovative new technology will be a more effective way to cut the province’s environmental footprint than charging a price on carbon.
Speaking to Focus Ontario, Energy Minister Stephen Lecce touted his new plan for the province’s power grid as an environmental policy and is trying to convince the federal government it is a better way to handle climate change than the carbon tax.
“The whole concept of the carbon tax is to change behaviour in people — and their idea, the federal Liberals, is if we tax people and pensioners and families that somehow those dollars will be better used by government than by individuals,” Lecce said.
The federal government has said the purpose of the carbon price is to deter people from pollution by making it expensive.
“Our approach is we can reduce emissions in this province (and) we choose technology instead of taxation as a way to drive emission reductions,” he continued.
Lecce has spent the week touting his new energy plan with daily events and media appearances, and also tabling a proposed law which is set to form the backbone of his vision for the province’s future.
As part of the promotional tour, Lecce released a document that outlines his vision for a clean, reliable and affordable grid, as well as how to integrate electricity planning with other aspects of the energy system.
The strategy follows an announcement from the Independent Electricity System Operator, which said that demand is increasing faster than previously anticipated and is set to grow by 75 per cent leading up to 2050.
The Ministry of Energy and Electrification said in its document that the province will continue prioritizing nuclear and hydroelectric generation for baseload power, but that Ontario also needs natural gas generation for reliability as it is more able to respond to peak demands.
“We’re going to reduce emissions three times out of what we generate out of the grid,” Lecce told Focus Ontario. “The program we’ve unveiled is really looking at non-emitting options and the legislation signal’s clear: nuclear is the future.”
Critics, however, have said the Ford government has slipped on the energy file.
They say an increased reliance on natural gas to generate power as nuclear power stations undergo refurbishment means the grid is dirtier, at least on days when demand is highest.
“This grid has gotten 10 per cent dirtier under this government and it’s going to get even more dirty as they ramp up gas plants,” Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner said.
“That’s going to hurt our economy. It’s going to increase bills and it’s going to increase climate pollution.”
The Ford government has made the federal price on carbon one of its key attack lines on both the federal Liberal Party and its sister party in Ontario. The province has claimed it makes life more expensive without reducing emissions.
The government is so keen on the line that at a news conference in October, Premier Doug Ford began looking ahead to the next increase for the price on April 1, roughly six months before it is set to come into effect.
“Just think folks, April 1, the crunch is coming down,” Ford said at an Oct. 11 announcement.
“The feds are going to add the worst tax ever, the carbon tax. So you’re going to be paying 20 cents per litre — they already have 17 cents — another three cents on every little of gas.”
The federal government’s website sets out its logic for introducing a price on carbon, which it says is designed to deter people from creating emissions.
“Pricing carbon pollution is one of the most effective ways to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. It creates a financial incentive for people and businesses to pollute less,” the government’s site explains.
Lecce said he has pitched his vision as an alternative to the federal government — but didn’t suggest there was much interest in accepting it.
“I met with the federal ministers, I made the case to them, we have an alternative to the carbon tax,” he said.
“We can use clean tech, Ontario-based technology, exporting it around the world. The federal government should be working with Ontario to deploy our clean technology, nuclear tech, and our clean power into the U.S.
“We can dramatically reduce emissions, we can create massive amounts of revenue and jobs for Ontarians.”
Focus Ontario premiers at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 26, on Global TV.
— with files from The Canadian Press.