The Liberal (Andrea Hazell), NDP (Thadsha Navaneethan) and Green Party (Tara McMahon) Scarborough-Guildwood provincial by-election candidates are all opposed to the Government of Ontario’s plans to expand the generation capacity of the Portlands gas-fired power plant on the Toronto waterfront.
The PC candidate (Gary Crawford) did not respond to our questionnaire.
To see the candidates’ complete responses to our questionnaire please click here.
Background information
The provincial government is proposing to expand the size of the Portlands gas plant on Toronto’s waterfront to support its plans to increase the output and pollution of Ontario’s gas-fired power plants by more than 300% by 2030 and by 700% by 2043.
On May 12th and June 15th Toronto City Council passed motions opposing the expansion of the Portlands gas plant.
According to the Independent Electricity System Operator’s Dunsky Report, we can cost-effectively avoid the need for new gas-fired generating capacity by: a) investing in renewable energy; b) shifting electricity demand from peak to off-peak periods; and c) investing in energy storage.
The Dunsky Report’s findings were recently confirmed by a Royal Bank of Canada report that concluded that we can avoid the need for new gas-fired generation capacity and save $500 million per year by investing in energy efficiency and demand management.
p.s. FREE leaflets Expanding Portlands Gas Plant = CLIMATE LUNACY Distribute them to your friends, neighbours and local coffee shops. Help get the word out – thank you! Order them here.