Watts in your hydro bill? That was the title of a series of town hall meetings hosted by MPP for Carleton-Mississippi Mills, Jack MacLaren. One was held in Pakenham, the second in Kanata North. There will also be one held in the village of Kinburn and another in Kanata South. I attended the one in Pakenham on Saturday morning, November 26th. The guest speaker at all four meetings is Parker Gallant.
Mr. Gallant is a retired banker whose 33 year career with the TD bank included lending positions in the domestic market and many years in international banking where he had responsibility as VP for both trade finance and correspondent banking relationships. Now retired, he devotes much of his time to researching the energy sector. He writes for the Financial Post, has been a frequent guest on radio talk shows including CFRA in Ottawa. You can view many of his posts at ottawawindconcerns.com.
As advertised, Gallant walked us through our hydro bills and explained “watt” charges are included (and hidden) in the line items. No wonder our bills are so high!
Most of the meeting was devoted to a question and answer period. The over-arching theme of the questions was “what can we do about the high hydro rates”. It doesn’t appear as if any of the promises being made by the current Liberal government are going to give us much relief any time soon. Its business as usual – give with one hand and take with the other.
Both Mr. MacLaren and Mr. Gallant suggested that writing a letter to the Energy Minister Glenn Thibault would be effective. His mailing address is 4th Floor, Hearst Block 900 Bay Street Toronto, Ontario M7A 2E1. Premier Wynne has admitted that the high hydro prices are her mistake.
There was also a petition at the meeting asking that Hydro One be more transparent about what we are paying for in our hydro bills. You can find the petition and sign online at https://www.change.org/p/kathleen-wynne-ontario-deserves-lower-hydro-costs-help-put-an-end-to-misleading-hydro-bills. Or if you live in or around Ottawa, why not attend one of the meetings on Saturday, December 3rd. It’s well worth the time!
December 3rd, 2016
10:00-12:00pm
Kinburn Community Centre
3045 Kinburn Side Road, Kinburn, ON
December 3rd, 2016
2:00-4:00pm
Intercultural Dialogue Institute
335 Michael Cowpland Drive #112, Kanata, ON
Jack MacLaren is running for the Ontario PC Party nomination in the riding of Kanata-Carleton so he can continue to serve his constituents following the 2018 general election in Ontario. For more information, visit www.jackmaclaren.com.