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2018 Ontario Provincial Election Discussion

Juan_Lennon416 said:
In general, people are just tired of the Liberals governing in Ontario. They have held power since 2003
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I think there is definitely a "Liberal Party fatigue" provincially. By next year they will have had 15 years of baggage... more than the Rae Era and PC Common Sense Revolution combined.
 
Something up and afoot? Let's hope so.

sweepingpines said:
A good friend of mine works for Hydro One and she told me there's a lot going on right now with people being shifted around to different departments and jobs being cut. Particularly managers who make upwards of 100k a year. My friends department in particular has about 12 people and they were just cut down to 6. The higher ups aren't telling them why this is suddenly happening but she suspects that all of the public pressure to lower rates is causing them to make cuts in order to be able to pass the savings on to customers.
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But of course:
darrrrrren said:
My brother used to be a bank teller and he always talked about how everyone cashing huge Hydro one pension cheques had the same subset of last names. Apparently nepotism is rampant there.
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We'll see if any blood can be squeezed out the stone that is Hydro One, or if it's just management covering their asses.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ontario/comments/5p3y6t/premier_wynne_vows_more_hydro_relief_before/
 
Not good for the ONDP or OPC. Just shows how irrelevant they have become when an unelected federal leadership candidate can elicit a response and they cannot.
 
I think Wynne needs to shut up and stay low until she can figure out a more durable solution to the energy and economy issue.

At this point O'Leary has thrown down the gauntlet and basically out loud in public what many people mutter to themselves in private. It's exactly not good- he has no political reputation to lose (coming in as the politically-incorrect Wildcard), and the Liberals are clinging to theirs.

“I’m getting involved in the Conservative leadership race because I can’t stand watching incompetent politicians destroy my country. You and (Prime Minister) Justin Trudeau are two of them. (Alberta Premier) Rachel Notley would be the third,” O’Leary wrote on Facebook.

“You and your policies have all but bankrupted a province that was once an economic powerhouse in Canada. If you were the CEO of one of my companies I would have fired you long ago,” said the businessman and star of ABC’s Shark Tank.

“Your complete disregard for the people of Ontario has caused hydro prices to become completely unaffordable for families, sometimes forcing them to choose between groceries and heat,” he continued."
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http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2017/01/23/kevin-oleary-kathleen-wynne_n_14337316.html


As for the other parties, I think they're just staying out of the mud- hoping to stay clean. They've got no skin in the game and only their credibility and reputation to lose if they get dragged down.
 
People that are feeling that they're not being heard, who want someone more popular than they are to publicly voice the general sentiment (few punches at Wynne doesn't hurt as well).

Of course, this was largely done for O'Leary's benefit, but I think that many will share in his opinions of the Liberals.
 
He should think first about winning the Conservative race. The loudmouth doesnt even live in Canada.
 
Ironically as-is delivery charges do reflect the cost it takes to service an area (rural areas are far less efficient due to the larger amount of infrastructure needed to service them). However, on average rural areas do make less money and we do need to take those considerations into hand.

Why Kathleen Wynne might tackle hydro delivery charges to cut electricity bills

On average, the delivery charge makes up nearly 30 per cent of a typical residential hydro bill, but the amount varies widely from place to place. Different local hydro distribution companies charge different rates, unlike the cost of electricity generation, which is standard for all residential hydro customers in the province.

A typical Hydro One customer in a medium-density area pays nearly $68 a month for delivery — more than double the delivery charge for a Thunder Bay Hydro customer. The difference adds up to $409 a year.

Questioned by reporters after her speech, Wynne affirmed that delivery charges are on her radar.

"The delivery charge is something that comes up repeatedly," she said. "I am hearing it consistently as I talk to people across the province."

A Hydro One customer living in a rural area and heating with electricity would face an average monthly bill of $400. The delivery charge alone would be $143. (Colin Perkel/Canadian Press)

But Wynne declined to offer details about the changes she's considering.

"There are so many people who'd like us to deal with the delivery charge, but we've not necessarily landed on how to do that," she said.

"We have to really pull that apart and figure out how do we make sure that there's a fairness across the province in terms of the costs that people are bearing," she said. "We actually have not made those decisions, so I am not going to pre-empt that process."

Households that don't heat with electricity consume on average 750 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per month.

Right now delivery charges rise when a household uses more electricity. But the Ontario Energy Board has ordered local utilities to transition to a flat delivery charge per household within the next eight years.

The biggest savings from a flat delivery charge would go to households with the highest bills — those that heat with electricity.

Hydro One's customers are divided into three categories for delivery charges: urban, medium density and low density (rural). The utility says most of the 330,000 low-density customers heat with electricity, typically consuming 2,000 kWh per month.

Such a rural customer's monthly delivery charge alone would be $143 (on a bill totalling $400). That bill is already subsidized by $60.50 per month, paid for from regulatory charges levied on all residential electricity users in Ontario.

The government has one new source of revenue it could use to subsidize high electricity users: funds from the cap and trade program to limit greenhouse gas emissions. The argument could be made that since Ontario's electricity generating sector has made significant cuts in carbon emissions in recent years, heating homes by electricity is greener than other methods.

Whatever action she takes, Wynne is promising it will come quickly.

"We are going to be bringing forward some of the changes that we are going to make before the budget," she said.

The budget date has yet to be announced, but Finance Minister Charles Sousa has indicated it will be in the spring after the federal government tables its budget.
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http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ontario-hydro-delivery-charge-1.3948106


At this moment ON hydro prices have risen to become the most expensive in Canada.

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http://www.hydroquebec.com/publications/en/corporate-documents/comparaison-electricity-prices.html


A little bit of irony on the side- BC's hydro system is now facing some of the same conditions that preceded Ontario Hydro's breakup:

http://vancouversun.com/news/politics/b-c-s-credit-rating-at-risk-as-hydros-debt-grows
 
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That's nice to know- but our competition is primarily the other Canadian provinces and Midwest American states- not the expensive coastal regions and especially not Detroit.

Hence the reason why the XStrata smelters in Timmins were closed down and moved to Quebec.

Hence the reason why Leland Industries chose Illinois over Ontario for their next plant.

Hence the reason why Leamington farmers are choosing Ohio for the next farms.

We are heading into headwinds with the new carbon tax and the economic policies down in the US (as non-labor friendly as they are). We need to be able to take them on and ensure that our economic fundamentals are sound- subsidies and grants won't cut it.
Mid-sized businesses ‘falling through the cracks’ of Ontario energy programs
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http://www.theglobeandmail.com/repo...s-of-ontario-energy-programs/article33705040/

Tech and service does well in Toronto, but it does well anywhere regardless of electrical costs (see Quebec)- our lower wages and talent are the main constraint there.


Adjei said:
He should think first about winning the Conservative race. The loudmouth doesnt even live in Canada.
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He is- that's why he's attacking the Liberals- he knows that they're unpopular and doing so will win him support in Ontario.

And an update to the whole O'Leary debacle- Wynne is now sending out Glenn and Brad to counteract O'Leary's messages- they should know better to stop and let this this whole thing fade away instead!
 
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Perhaps electricity is something that people in major urban centres should be paying a higher rate for, in order to subsidize rural and industrial users.

AoD
 
I haven't made any suggestion that what Brown's statement is true (and it's political posturing)- just posting sourced statistics from Hydro Quebec showing that our electric rates are now the most expensive in Canada- and how this will impact us.

Regardless- our current situation is nothing to envy.
 
Kevin O'Leary is a flawed man but he is very good at focusing anger at his opponents unlike the provincial PC leaders.

I think if he ran for the Ontario Premier job, I think he would easily beaten Wynne by riling people up into a frenzy.
 
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