NDP BRINGS SOLUTIONS TO MAKE ENERGY AFFORDABLE AND RELIABLE FOR ONTARIANS

QUEEN’S PARK – Official Opposition NDP critic for Energy and Climate Action, Peter Tabuns (Toronto Danforth) is introducing legislation to help Ontarians save money on rising energy bills.

Tabuns’ Bill, Affordable Energy Act, 2023, is co-sponsored by MPPs Jessica Bell (University – Rosedale), Chandra Pasma (Ottawa West – Nepean), and Doly Begum (Scarborough Southwest).

“We are in a cost-of-living and climate crisis. Report after report shows that a focus on conservation and community-based distribution for renewable energy can substantially cut costs of providing energy,” said Tabuns. “It’s time for the Ford government to get serious about Ontario’s energy future and focus on making sustainable, affordable, and reliable energy more accessible for Ontarians.”

This Bill gives residents, including tenants, the tools to cut their energy usage and costs. It calls for the province to set up agencies to finance retrofitting homes and setting up distributed energy systems that will help people afford reliable and sustainable energy.

"These measures will help people access more reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy.”

ADDITIONAL QUOTES

“Ottawa residents need options to generate power closer to home and make their homes as energy efficient as possible. Practical solutions like these will ensure Ottawa residents aren’t left without options following extreme weather events in the future.” - MPP Chandra Pasma, Ottawa West - Nepean

“People are hard pressed now to cover all their bills. We must take the most cost-effective energy options and put them at the heart of our power system. This bill sets out how to do that." - MPP Doly Begum, Scarborough Southwest

“We have the technology to build a reliable and sustainable energy future in Ontario that does not leave Ontarians footing a pricey bill. If the Ford government wants a solution that works – here is one that keeps energy costs low and reduces carbon pollution.” - MPP Jessica Bell, University Rosedale

QUICK FACTS

Ontario is looking at spending $400 billion on our electricity system over the next 25 years. Government scenarios project an increase in electricity prices by up to 30% in that time.
In 2022, Ontario’s electricity system operator put out a study showing that providing electrical generation at or near a home, distributed energy, could substantially cut the costs of electricity in Ontario.
The measures in the bill are new to Ontario but not elsewhere. Just last week Nova Scotia announced a Community Solar Program. Deep retrofits and community energy generation are increasingly part of the energy solutions in Europe and the US.
This Bill creates the framework to set up large scale programs to finance and organize deep home energy retrofits, including installation of heat pumps and facilitate the implementation of distributed energy generation from homes to neighbourhoods using community energy facilities.

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NDP MPPS BRING LEGISLATION TO ADDRESS AFFORDABILITY CRISIS WITH HOME HEATING COST RELIEF

QUEEN’S PARK – MPPs Jennie Stevens (St. Catharines), Tom Rakocevic (Humber River–Black Creek), Guy Bourgouin (Mushkegowuk–James Bay) and Peter Tabuns (Toronto–Danforth) are bringing solutions that would bring down people’s utility bills with Bill 213, Affordable Home Heating Act.

“Ontarians have seen their Enbridge bills double in recent years,” said Stevens. “By passing Bill 213, today, this government can prevent thousands of families and seniors from being forced to choose between heating their home and putting food on the table this winter."

This legislation puts into place recommendations from the Low-Income Energy Network, which addressed the critical need for inclusive on-bill support programs in their 2023 report, a Pathway Out of Energy Poverty.

"No matter how you choose to heat your home, you should qualify for financial help if needed to stay warm,” added Rakocevic. “Ontario winters can get very cold and it's unacceptable that many seniors are switching off their furnaces because they can't afford their heating bill. They deserve better. This assistance serves as a safety net to prevent energy poverty."

Additional Quotes:

“The proposed bill offers much-needed relief for seniors on fixed incomes who are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of living in Ontario”

– Advocacy Centre for the Elderly

“Expanding bill assistance to natural gas and those who heat with expensive oil or propane will help create a universal social safety net against energy poverty. In addition, this policy will help identify the homes who could benefit the most from energy efficiency upgrades - providing a durable energy affordability solution.”

– Brendan Haley, Senior Director of Policy, Efficiency Canada

“Dramatic rate increases, coupled with inflation, are having an adverse impact on vulnerable consumers – including seniors, the working poor, people on social assistance, rural communities and Northern Ontarians. In order to address high natural gas prices, we are recommending that an on-bill credit program, similar to the OESP program available for electricity users, be created for natural gas users. A proactive program that provides ongoing affordability would reduce the need and reliance on emergency assistance funds.”

– Low-Income Energy Network

NDP MPP PUSHES FOR WORKPLACE HEAT PROTECTION LEGISLATION

QUEEN’S PARK – Ontario NDP MPP and critic for Energy and Climate Action, Peter Tabuns, joined workers and the Ontario Federation of Labour to call for workplace heat protection measures.

“As the world gets hotter, more and more people will be risking their health and their lives just by going to work,” said Tabuns. “Workers deserve protection. Extreme heat on the job can result in death on the job, as well as increasing workplace injuries, illnesses and absences from work.

“Today, we are giving Ford the opportunity to say yes to safe working conditions. Because it’s time we put laws in place to protect workers all across the province. This bill is a substantial first step in ensuring they have the protection they deserve."

Tabuns, along with the NDP Labour critic, Jamie West, critic for Workplace Injury, Lise Vaugeouis, and Education critic, Chandra Pasma, will be tabling the Heat Stress Act to develop a framework that protects workers from extreme heat in the workplace.