In March 2000, then Mayor Hazel McCallion called on the Premier of the day – Mike Harris – to shut down the dirty Lakeview coal-fired power plant on Mississauga’s waterfront. Thanks to Mayor McCallion’s strong leadership, Lakeview was shut down in 2005 and all of Ontario’s five dirty coal plants were closed by 2014.
We now need strong leadership from Mayor Chow and Toronto City Council to shut down the dirty Portlands gas plant on Toronto’s waterfront.
The good news is that by investing in energy efficiency, local renewables and energy storage, we can:
· Phase-out Toronto’s #1 smog and climate polluter;
· Lower our electricity bills;
· Create good jobs in Toronto; and
· Increase our energy independence & security by eliminating the need to import gas from the U.S. to keep our lights on.
Unfortunately, Doug Ford wants to ramp up the output and pollution from the Portlands gas plant instead. Under his plan, twenty years from now Ontario’s gas plants will produce 23% more electricity than they did last year. As the rest of the world rapidly builds out new sources of renewable energy and storage, Ontario will remain stuck with polluting fossil fuels.
It’s time for Toronto Mayor Chow and city councillors to stand up for the people of Toronto just like “Hurricane Hazel” stood up for the people of Mississauga. We need them to direct Toronto Hydro to develop a plan to phase out Portlands and guide this city to a renewable future. If Doug Ford won’t do it, Toronto needs to forge its own path.
To learn more, please click here to read our report: Toronto’s Electricity Future: Affordable Renewable Energy or U.S. Nuclear & Gas?
What you can do
Please contact Mayor Chow and your city councillor and ask them to direct Toronto Hydro to develop a plan to phase-out the Portlands gas plant by 2035 (except during extreme, exceptional and emergency circumstances totalling less than 88 hours per year). Remind them that we can not meet the city’s climate targets without action to close Portlands.
Send your message to Toronto’s Mayor and Councillors here
Thank you for your help turning Toronto’s energy future around.