MACLEOD SPEAK TO OPPOSITION DAY MOTION ON SMART METERS PDF Print E-mail
Tuesday, 28 September 2010 10:04

Ms. Lisa MacLeod: That was a very disappointing conclusion to his speech. Let me tell you why, and why I'm supporting this resolution by Mr. Yakabuski and why Tim Hudak and the PC caucus will continue to stand up on behalf of Ontario families.

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We're calling on Mr. McGuinty to suspend his smart meter program until the problems with the program's implementation have been fixed and families in Ontario are given the choice to participate in the time-of-use program or not.

We're talking about what we can do right-and I'm using a direct quote from the previous speaker, the member from Brant: "What can we do right?" Well, we know, for example, that this government ignored warnings that smart meters were flawed. They didn't get it right, despite the warnings from members on this side of the chamber.

I can also tell you, anecdotally, when I was first elected in a by-election and these costly and expensive Liberal energy experiments started taking effect back in 2006 after they had taken over the reins of power in 2003, my constituents were calling, very nervous about these smart meters. They thought a few things were happening: one is, their prices were going to go up; the other was that they were going to lose choice and, in some cases, their own freedoms and their own rights.

Guess what's happened four years later? We know for a fact that prices are going up because of this government, and we know for a fact that people feel they do not have choice. We see it each and every day. Ontario families are now afraid to open their hydro bills because they know they only go one way, and that way is up. They're not going down. They're going up, and they keep going up. That's why this motion is important for this Legislature, to recognize that Ontario families can no longer afford the McGuinty Liberal government.

As many people here know, I'm on the Twitter and other social media. Today I put a call out: "Let me know what you think." I went and looked on my Twitter for different buzzwords, whether it was "smart meters" or "hydro." Here are some of the comments.

"You have to do laundry at 10 p.m. to save money." They can tell that mother she's wrong, like they're trying to tell this mother.

They say, "This elected official"-and by that, I think they mean Mr. McGuinty--"redefines the free world." It goes to that attitude of anti-choice that this government has.

They also say, "We live in a northern climate. We can't use the clothesline in January. I expected a jump by my energy, but I didn't expect a 50% jump. I'm not impressed."

These are some of the comments that are coming from Ontarians.

The reality is, this Liberal government run by Dalton McGuinty is out of touch. They have lost sight of the importance of everyday Ontarians. They don't get it, or they don't care, or they're so wrapped up in their own ideology that they don't want to fix a problem that they knew existed as they forced these smart meters on Ontarians. They knew full well that their so-called smart meter plan was botched, but they still continue to go ahead, full steam.

That's why our caucus is calling on Dalton McGuinty to suspend the smart meter program until the billing problems are fixed, so that we can let Ontario families decide if they want this program or not.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak. I look forward to hearing from our critic Mr. Yakabuski, as he concludes this debate.