Yesterday the City of Kitchener and the Town of Halton Hills became the first municipalities to request the Government of Ontario to start phasing-out Ontario’s gas-fired power plants.
Kitchener City Council unanimously called on the Government of Ontario to phase-out Ontario’s gas-fired power plants by 2030 to ensure that the province can meet its 2030 climate target. Watch the video here (discussion starts 1 hr. 28 min.).
Halton Hills Town Council unanimously requested the province “to reverse its plan for increasing power production at its gas-fired power plants” and instead invest in energy efficiency, wind and solar energy and to “begin negotiations with the Province of Quebec to purchase clean hydro electricity” to replace power from the Pickering Nuclear Station, which is scheduled to close in 2024. Watch the video here (discussion starts at 5 min.).
In February 1999, the City of Kitchener was the first city in Ontario to call for the phasing-out of Ontario’s dirty coal plants; following its lead, 10 additional Ontario municipalities called for the phase-out of Ontario’s coal-fired power plants. And thanks to the strong leadership of Kitchener’s former MPP and Minister of the Environment Elizabeth Witmer, in 2002 the Government of Ontario committed the province to the phase-out of all of Ontario Power Generation’s (OPG) coal-fired power plants by 2015.
OPG, which now owns five large gas-fired power plants, including the Halton Hills Generating Station, is Ontario’s largest fossil-fuel electric utility. We can phase out fossil gas power plants and replace them with low-cost energy efficiency, made-in-Ontario wind and solar, and water power from Quebec.
What you can do
Please ask your municipal council to request the Government of Ontario to phase-out our gas-fired power plants by 2030. Municipal leadership makes a difference! Download our draft municipal phase-out resolution here. And let me know how we can help! We’d love to make a deputation before your City Council.
Individuals can also sign on here.
Please pass this message on to your friends.
Thank you!
Angela Bischoff, Campaigns Director