Hastings Prince Edward MPP Todd Smith says taking the harmonized sales tax off Ontario hydro bills gives some relief but isn’t the answer to the escalating cost of electricity.
The Liberal government’s throne speech Monday said Ontario’s eight per cent slice of the HST will come off electricity bills starting in January – putting Ontario ratepayers on the hook for $1billion a year to pay for the plan.
MPP Smith said the liberals don’t seem to realize that wind and solar are not the answer.
Smith added cutting the HST is “nice for a little bit” but the electricity cost is going up again in November and next May.
The government said the HST reduction will save the typical Ontario household about $130 a year, but the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said Premier Kathleen Wynne is trying to bribe Ontarians with their own money.
Liberal Northumberland Quinte West MPP Lou Rinaldi said he feels this is exactly what Ontarians have been asking for especially rural residents who will see a 20 percent reduction. He said it breaks down to about $50 a month adding those who already qualified for a low income rate will see about $100 in savings.
However, Quinte Community Development Council executive director Ruth Ingersoll explained isn’t going to make a huge difference within household budgets that are already stretched thin.
Meanwhile, MPP Smith is hosting a public meeting on September 28, surrounding Hydro One bills with the Ombudsman Fiona Crean and Belleville city councillor Paul Carr. It takes place at the Gerry Masterson Community Centre in Corbyville at 6:30 p.m.
Our newsroom has reached out to the Belleville Chamber of Commerce for further comment to which CEO Bill Saunders has respectfully said he would like to go over the plan before making an official comment.
Other initiatives in the throne speech include a commitment to create an additional 100,000 licensed child care spaces for kids aged four and under over five years, starting in 2017.
MPP Rinaldi, MPP Smith and Ingersoll agreed more daycare spaces are desperately needed in the Quinte region.
Since 2011, there has been a 36% decrease in infant spaces available in the city and 14% drop in toddler spaces according to numbers previously provided by Belleville’s First Adventure Child Development Centre. Smith also pointed to the induction of the Ontario Early Years and Child Act in 2014 which also reduced private child care spots in the city.
The government also promises to put a new emphasis on math skills after half of all Grade 6 students failed to meet the provincial math standard this year, continuing a steady decline in test scores over the past five years.
Here’s some of what our Quinte News readers had to say about the announcement on social media.