“Liberal government not serious about energy conservation” Tabuns

Peter Tabuns, Ontario NDP Energy Critic, said that the report from the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario shows that by setting its conservation goals 17 years into the future with no interim targets for almost two decades, the Liberal government isn’t serious about energy conservation in the province

“It’s like saying your New Year’s resolution is to lose 20 pounds by 2032. It’s meaningless,” said Tabuns. “If the government is serious about sticking to its conservation goals, it needs to set regular targets so the public can tell whether the government is on track right now, not 17 years from now.”

Conservation policies with regular interim targets will save Ontarians energy by reducing the need for costly new plants and infrastructure, said Tabuns. “Before we drop billions on costly nuclear refurbishments, we need a true ‘Conservation First’ energy policy in Ontario. That means regular interim conservation goals to hold the government accountable.”

Tabuns said the ECO report showed that the province’s Smart Meter system was an expensive failure, echoing similar findings by the Auditor-General of Ontario last month. Tabuns said the $2 billion spent on the Smart Meter program would have been better spent on energy retrofits and other policies to help residents save energy.

The ECO also urged the government to move ahead on carbon pricing, something that Tabuns said was long overdue. “The NDP supported legislation passed in 2009 that was supposed to get a cap-and-trade system up and running by January of 2012.  Five years have passed and we are still waiting. We have fallen three years behind Quebec and California. The government needs to take climate change seriously.”