Why I can’t vote Liberal
www.stratfordbeaconherald.com 28 September 2011
I can’t vote Liberal for two main reasons: handling of wind turbine issues and management of our hydro.
If an industry wants to build or operate a business nearby to a residential area, the residents have the right to have their concerns about pollution, noise, traffic etc. heard and addressed. However, in the case of wind turbines, we have a government that has taken away the rights of municipalities to object to such developments. Moreover, when about 300 citizens met recently in Sebringville to express their very real concerns about a proposed local development, our representative, John Wilkinson, did not attend nor did he send a representative from his constituency office. I cannot vote for a representative who won’t listen to his constituents’ concerns. That is not democracy.
In 2009, Hydro One paid to its sole owner (the Province of Ontario), the amounts of $188 million in dividends and $77 million in payments in lieu of corporate income taxes. Perhaps, these amounts should have gone to debt repayment. Additionally, Hydro One is prepared to offer about $0.80/kWh for some renewable energy installations and is refunding customers 10% of their monthly bill for green energy. Customers are currently paying about $0.09/kWh. What is going to happen to our hydro rates in the future? What is going to happen to the debt load? I have not received a satisfactory response to these concerns.
JOE VANDEN HEUVEL
SEBRINGVILLE
URL to article: https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2011/09/28/why-i-cant-vote-liberal/