Wynne talks hydro rate reductions, wants 'shovel in the ground' at Ring of Fire

During a question and answer period involving Premier Kathleen Wynne and the northeastern municipal delegates, one woman in the crowd brought up the subject of hydro rates. Said the woman: "Why do we in Northern Ontario pay such high delivery charges for our hydro?" After the applause from the audience subsided, she continued by asking, "Why must this aging population, living on a pension, have to make a decision between paying the hydro bill or buying food?"

Wynne replied, "We are making changes, residential ratepayers will see a 25 per cent reduction by summer. A number of utilities where the distribution charges have been very high, those are coming down. People who are paying those high distribution charges in the rural and remote communities will see up to a 40 or 50 per cent reduction because the distribution charges will be taken down to what they would be paying in a large urban centre."

Jason Corbett, a board member with the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund served as moderator for the chat with the Ontario Premier Thursday. Wynne was the keynote speaker at the FONOM/Ministry of Municipal Affairs (MMA) Northeastern Municipal Conference, being held until Friday at Nipissing University.

Regional points of interest from the moderated portion of the event included Wynne's position on the Ring of Fire. The Premier went off script with Corbett, saying that she would like to address the mining development that has been beset by delays and controversy before moving on to health care.

PC Leader Patrick Brown, in his address to the same delegates (and later in a question and answer period with local media) on Wednesday, stated that claims from Minister of Energy Glen Thibeault that a $70 million budget cut from the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines was a one-time cost were "government spin." 

Brown continued, saying "it's categorically incorrect. It's a $70 million cut. I understand that he [Thibeault] has to take his marching orders from the Premier's office back to Northern Ontario. I would hope that he, instead of regurgitating Kathleen Wynne's talking points, would stand up for Northern Ontario."

Said Wynne, "I just want to set the record straight on the Ring of Fire. We have one billion dollars that is available to invest in infrastructure in the Ring of Fire, particularly to get roads, or, a road built."

Wynne said that working with the Indigenous people in the area is an important and necessary phase, adding "As recently as two weeks ago, I met with [one of] the Chiefs and we're working to find consensus. It's not easy because the communities aren't evenly lined up around the Ring of Fire. There are many different needs," for the different communities.

"The money is there and nobody wants a shovel in the ground more than I do," declared Wynne.

Brown, on Wednesday, spoke about the $1 billion commitment. "I think they're running out of excuses." Brown elaborated, saying that the Liberals could no longer blame their halted progress on Stephen Harper's government. "They've lost someone to point a finger at, and I think it's pretty apparent that they've given up on the project, and I think it's sad because this is a tremendous generational opportunity for Northern Ontario."

Transitioning to health care, Corbett referenced the Premier's announcement earlier in the day at One Kids Place of an initiative to offer a free prescription drug plan to young Canadians until age 25, beginning in 2018. Wynne told the assembled delegates that "we recognize that even though there has been an increase in the budgets every year, it hasn't been enough."

"For North Bay, in particular, there will be a $30 million injection because they're undergoing some restructuring needs," said Wynne, "we recognize that hospitals have undergone a lot of change." The Premier noted that people are looking for more care in the community and this shift has "taken its toll," on hospitals.