2006 By-election -- Toronto-Danforth; Nepean-Carleton and Whitby-Ajax

Where do the candidates stand on cleaning up our air?

Responses to 2006 Provincial By-Election Questionnaire

Toronto-Danforth | Nepean-Carleton | Whitby-Ajax

Toronto Danforth

Note: No response received from Progressive Conservative candidate

Question #1: Do you support the phase-out of all of Ontario's coal-fired power plants by 2009?

Ben Chin, Liberals: Unequivocally yes.

Peter Tabuns, NDP: Yes

Paul Charbonneau, Green Party: I wholeheartedly support the complete phase out of coal-fired power plants by 2009 in Ontario.

Mehmet Ali Yagiz, Independent: Yes

Question #2: If your response to Question 1 is "no," do you support the phase out of all of Ontario's coal-fired power plants by a different date?

N/A

Question #3: Are you opposed to the construction of new nuclear reactors in Ontario?

Ben Chin, Liberals: If there's a way to meet Ontario's supply needs without using nuclear power, I will support it.

Peter Tabuns, NDP: Yes.

Paul Charbonneau, Green Party: I am completely opposed to new nuclear reactors in Ontario.

Mehmet Ali Yagiz, Independent: Yes. We should find alternative ways other than nuclear and coal for a clean and cheap energy like wind and solar powers.

Additional comments:

Peter Tabuns, NDP: As MPP, I will continue to fight for coal phase out, and for clean air. We must stop electric generating plants from dumping smog producing chemicals into our air shed. We have to move on that now, not four years from now. The longer term solutions lie in energy and conservation; not new nuclear and mega plants. If you want to understand the Liberals' priorities, follow the money: after two years of dithering, billions for nuclear power, no real plan to shut down Nanticoke -- the worst polluter in Ontario -- and little or nothing for conservation.

I am proud to be an advocate for cleaner air in Ontario, as I have been for years.

Paul Charbonneau, Green Party:

The crisis in energy in Ontario is not in production but in demand.

We know that what got us into this mess will not get us out. We also know that the people of Ontario are not mere "beer and popcorn" as some political parties seem to believe but that the people of Ontario and specifically of Toronto-Danforth have the integrity, smarts and willingness to do the right thing in regards to energy.

We take the stand that in Ontario we can cut back on our wasteful use of energy by 30 % long before we would ever be able to afford building nuclear reactors and afford the ill health and destruction caused by coal-fired plants. The remaining "shortage" is made up in production of energy using friendly, sustainable technologies and the retrofitting of the power grid to accept this new production.

Our policies lead to consumers becoming producers and with a proper Standard Offer contract this is starting to become financially sustainable.

This venture into using nuclear has bankrupted Ontario to the point we can't have a decent economy to sustain our education and health care on top of which coal fired plants are causing illnesses; in effect overloading our health care facilities. A very real example of this are smog days in Toronto where air conditioners are cranked up to alleviate stress from heat and this demands that coal burners in Ohio burn more to sustain our demand, causing more smog, and the dwindling spiral goes on.

We have realized that splitting of atoms and burning toxic fuels is not the way to go. A very Toronto-Danforth riding specific issue of concern is the idea that the Toronto Portlands can start to be re-industrialized by installing a gas burning power plant as proposed by the 3 other Ontario parties. Although not coal, burning of a gas which is becoming short in supply, that causes illness, is not a solution and is equally part of the problem.

With true conservation, load management and a massive renaissance of alternative green energy production we will be rid of the need for nuclear and coal.

This is not our choice to make, this is the only choice we have.

Nepean-Carlton

Note: No responses were received from the Progressive Conservative candidate.

Question #1: Do you support the phase-out of all of Ontario's coal-fired power plants by 2009?

Laurel Gibbons, NDP: If elected to Queen's Park, I will push for the phase-out of all of Ontario's coal-fired power plants by 2009.

Peter V. Tretter, Green Party: Yes, I think we need to come up with an alternative to coal and nuclear energy. We need to come up with a sustainable energy plan that will see 100% of Ontario's electricity needs generated "in house."

Brian Ford, Liberal: Yes

Question #2: If your response to Question 1 is "no," do you support the phase out of all of Ontario's coal-fired power plants by a different date?

N/A

Question #3: Are you opposed to the construction of new nuclear reactors in Ontario?

Laurel Gibbons, NDP: Yes.

Peter V. Tretter, Green Party: Yes.

Brian Ford, Liberal: No

Additional comments:

Laurel Gibbons, NDP: If elected MPP, I would continue to fight for the phasing-out of Ontario's coal-fired power plants, and fight for clean air. We must stop electric generating plants from dumping smog-producing chemicals into our air shed. We have to move on that now, not three years from now.

Whitby-Ajax

Note: No response was received from the Liberal or Green Party candidates.

Question #1: Do you support the phase-out of all of Ontario's coal-fired power plants by 2009?

Julie Gladman, NDP: Absolutely, but I feel that we can and should be moving much more quickly on this -- and certainly more quickly than the current government's stated intentions and its ongoing inaction indicates.

Question #2: If your response to Question 1 is "no," do you support the phase out of all of Ontario's coal-fired power plants by a different date?

N/A

Question #3: Are you opposed to the construction of new nuclear reactors in Ontario?

Julie Gladman, NDP: Yes.

Additional comments:

Christine Elliott, Progressive Conservatives: Thank you for your fax dated March 13, 2006, requesting my position on our Province's energy needs. I, along with 88% of Ontarians, believe the government should re-think its energy plan.

In my opinion, the McGuinty government lacked a feasible energy plan when it came into power in 2003 and still lacks one today. The Liberal government has lost the confidence of its own party's supporters. Only a slim majority of provincial Liberals (51%) have confidence and 47% do not have confidence that the McGuinty government has a plan to fix our energy problems.

Closing the Lakeview Coal-Fired Plant in Mississauga makes sense. It is the oldest coal plant in OPG's fleet, it's falling apart, it's off-line more times than it is on-line and it only provides electricity during peak-energy use times. In contrast the massive Nanticoke Coal-Fired plant on Lake Erie provides as much as 20% of the province's energy and operates 24/7. Nanticoke is key to the part of the grid in Western Ontario.

The responsibility of supplying safe, affordable and reliable energy to Ontarians is a challenge. In order to make certain our citizens have a guaranteed and secure supply of power, and to ensure our commercial and industrial sector has the confidence to make investment decisions, the Ontario government needs to implement a sustainable and well-balanced energy supply policy. While I support the use of renewable energy whenever practical, we will never be in a position to satisfy the needs of Ontario using renewable alone. If our goal is to reduce emissions as a result of producing electricity, we must get on with the refurbishment of our nuclear fleet. I maintain that we need a realistic mix that includes clean, renewable energy wherever practical.

Julie Gladman, NDP: In response to your questions , as MPP, I would fight for coal phase out, and fight for clean air. We must stop electric generating plants from dumping smog producing chemicals into our air shed. We have to move on that now -- not four years from now.

The longer term solutions lie in energy efficiency and conservation, not new nuclear plants. The Liberals' priorities are very clear when one follows the money: their priorities are found in two years of dithering, billions for nuclear power, and little or nothing for conservation.