A provincial by-election is a valuable opportunity for local voters as well as all Ontarians to understand where the parties stand on critical issues like climate change and nuclear safety.
So why have we heard nothing from the Liberal and Progressive Conservative candidates in the upcoming Hamilton by-election on phasing out climate-damaging gas-fired power, or implementing safer storage solutions for radioactive waste?
We know where the Green Party stands: They are fully behind phasing-out gas power by 2030 and building above-ground, attack-resistant, reinforced concrete vaults for the safer interim storage of Darlington’s nuclear wastes.
The NDP says it wants to see the government do everything in its power to achieve a 2030 gas power phase-out, and supports legally-binding federal regulations to move Ontario’s electricity grid to net zero-carbon by 2035. On radioactive waste storage, the NDP wants to see Ontario act on the recommendations of the International Joint Commission’s Great Lakes Water Quality Board to create hardened storage away from areas that are vulnerable to flooding or erosion.
The New Blue Ontario Party does not support phasing out gas-fired power by 2030, but does support building above-ground, attack-resistant, reinforced concrete vaults for the safer interim storage of Darlington’s nuclear wastes.
With current plans to build new gas plants and expand the use of existing ones by more than 700%, we need the PC candidate to explain how this will affect the Ford government’s climate plans. For the Liberalcandidate, we need clarity on whether they will push Prime Minister Trudeau for strong federal Clean Electricity Regulations that require real action to get rid of gas-power and close the loopholes that allow the construction of new gas plants.
And we need to know where both parties stand on the continued storage of deadly radioactive waste in conventional warehouses right beside Lake Ontario. After all, Ontario Power Generation wants to build morestorage facilities for its ever-growing pile of radioactive waste at the Darlington Nuclear Station even closer to the lake! Do the Liberals and PCs think this is a good idea? We don’t know. Their answer matters because the Nuclear Waste Management Organization (NWMO) says that radioactive waste will remain at Darlington until at least 2088 and has just announced yet another delay in selecting its preferred site for an underground storage facility for highly radioactive waste.
You can see the full responses to our questionnaire from the parties here.
Ask your Liberal and PC candidates and representatives where they stand on these critical issues.