Ontario presents nuclear energy, new technology as an alternative to the carbon price

Ontario’s new energy minister suggests nuclear power and innovative new technology will be a more effective way to reduce the province’s carbon footprint than putting a price on carbon.

Speak with Focus OntarioEnergy Minister Stephen Lecce touted his new plan for the province’s power grid as environmental policy and is trying to convince the federal government that it is a better way to deal with climate change than the carbon tax.

“The whole concept of the carbon tax is to change people’s behavior – and their idea, the federal Liberals, is that if we tax people, retirees and families, those dollars will somehow be put to better use by the government than by individuals,” Lecce said.

The federal government has said the goal of the carbon price is to deter people from pollution by making it expensive.

“Our approach is that we can reduce emissions in this province (and) we choose technology over taxation as a way to reduce emissions,” he continued.

Lecce has been touting its new energy plan all week with daily events and media appearances, as well as introducing a bill that will form the backbone of its vision for the province’s future.

As part of the promotional tour, Lecce released a document outlining its vision for a clean, reliable and affordable electricity grid, and how electricity planning can be integrated with other aspects of the energy system.

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The strategy follows an announcement from the Independent Electricity System Operator, which said demand is increasing faster than previously expected and is expected to grow by 75 percent by 2050.

The Ministry of Energy and Electrification said in its document that the province will continue to prioritize nuclear and hydropower generation for baseload energy, but Ontario also needs natural gas generation for reliability as it is better able to respond to peaks in the question.

“We are going to reduce emissions three times compared to what we generate from the electricity grid,” Lecce said Focus Ontario. “The program we have unveiled really looks at non-emitting options and the signal from the legislation is clear: nuclear energy is the future.”

However, critics have said the Ford government has neglected the energy file.

They say greater reliance on natural gas to generate power as nuclear power plants are renovated means the power grid will become dirtier, at least on days when demand is highest.

“This electricity grid has become 10 percent dirtier under this administration and it will become even dirtier as they expand the gas plants,” said Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner.

“That is going to hurt our economy. Bills will rise and climate pollution will increase.”

The Ford government has made the federal price on carbon one of its main lines of attack against both the federal Liberal Party and its sister party in Ontario. The province claims it makes life more expensive without reducing emissions.

The government is so keen on this line that Premier Doug Ford began looking ahead at a press conference in October to the next price increase on April 1, about six months before it would take effect.

“Think about it folks, on April 1, the crisis is coming,” Ford said during an Oct. 11 announcement.

“The feds are going to implement the worst tax ever: the carbon tax. So you’re going to pay 20 cents a liter – they already have 17 cents – another three cents for every bit of petrol.”

The federal government’s website lays out the logic for introducing a price on carbon, which it says is intended to deter people from causing 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 companies to pollute less,” the government website explains.

Lecce said he presented his vision as an alternative to the federal government, but did not suggest there was much interest in accepting it.

“I met with the federal ministers, I made it clear to them that we have an alternative to the carbon tax,” he said.

“We can take clean technology, Ontario-based technology, and export it around the world. The federal government should work with Ontario to deploy our clean technology, nuclear technology and our clean energy in the US

“We can dramatically reduce emissions, we can create enormous amounts of revenue and jobs for Ontarians.”

Focus Ontario premieres on Global TV on Saturday, October 26 at 5:30 p.m.

– with files from The Canadian Press.

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