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Bisson: Ontario’s new climate change plan doesn’t take northern Ontario into consideration

Queen’s Park is introducing a new action plan today to encourage drivers to switch to electric cars. Some of the measures include free overnight electrical charging, and making garage plugs mandatory in new homes. However, this is not a plan that takes northern Ontario into consideration, according to Timmins-James Bay MPP Gilles Bisson.

Bisson says it’s important the province takes steps to become greener, but the current plan doesn’t help the north. He says we need to do what we can to fight climate change, but the way the province is planning to do that, it just means energy prices are going to go up. He says there is no choice in the north during the winter, we have to heat our homes, and there isn’t a lot in the way of subsidisation.

Bisson says since many of the subsidies and incentives aren’t viable in the north, residents could end up being the victim of rising gas and hydro prices, without getting anything in return. He says the plan has an urban view to it, as many of the politicians are from Toronto, but it doesn’t have a greater view of the rest of the province.

Bisson also points out that electric cars aren’t feasible in the north, because of the many sparse communities within it. He says Queen’s Park hasn’t figured out how to do this for all of Ontario to help make the planet greener while not hurting pocketbooks at the same time.

It’s not all bad news though, as the 85-page plan does include incentives for rural residents to switch out older wood-stoves to move efficient ones, among other, smaller changes.

(With files from: Greg Rosser)

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