Ontario – Things Are Good

Renewables Sweep Ontario’s Latest Energy Auction

solar retaining wall alongside a road

Ontario is getting more renewable power. Despite the best efforts of conservative Premier Doug Ford renewable energy keeps being a solid option for powering places. Ford has gone out of his way to mandate new homes to use gas, tear up wind turbines, make it harder for EV drivers, and so much more! Suffice to say For despises a clean economy that provides jobs and growth to the people of Ontario. It is with joy that renewable energy solutions are outperforming all the direct and indirect subsidies that the conservative party has given to the dying fossil fuel industry. Go renewables!

When it launched its latest call for bids from developers for new electricity generation, the provincial government said cost would be the deciding factor. That wind and solar beat other proposals — including natural gas — to every contract is another signal that the global shift towards clean energy is being driven by affordability above all else. Today, renewables are simply the cheapest source of electricity available.

Ontario Just Made it Clear: Get Solar or Pay More

solar retaining wall alongside a road

Homeowners in Ontario are about to pay a lot more electricity with no sign of rate increases stopping anytime soon. The far right Conservative government has torn up renewable developments (at a cost to taxpayers of $231 million) and done very little other than make announcements about nuclear power. You’re probably wondering where the good news is in all of this. Surely, a government hellbent on destroying the planet and people’s pocketbooks isn’t good. To spin the news: there has never been a better time in the history of Ontario than now to get on renewables. If you own a home then you should be investing in solar, wind, or geothermal to save tons of money (and the planet); otherwise you should at the very least get better insulation so you pay less for heating and cooling.

Ontario’s electricity market needs a deeper conversation, one that goes beyond time blocks and rebates.

How do we make energy fair? How do we protect households from volatility? And how do we incentivize solutions—like rooftop solar, battery storage, and smarter appliances—that put power back in people’s hands?

These aren’t fringe questions. They’re central to the future of energy in Ontario.

Because if the last few years have shown us anything, it’s this: betting on lower hydro bills is no longer a safe strategy.

Protests Work: Ontario to Repeal Anti-Worker Legislation

Last week the Conservative Ontario government did what was previously unthinkable in Canada: take away charter rights from people who work. This unprecedented act was met with widespread opposition from unions coast to coast as the Conservatives made it clear that collective bargaining (like NHL and MLB players have) will no longer be respected. People said no and launched massive protests defending worker’s rights and now the weak Conservatives admitted they were wrong and will repeal their legislation.

Protesting works and don’t let anybody try to convince you otherwise.

“(Workers) took on the Ford government and the government blinked,” said CUPE national president Mark Hancock.

…

Opposition to the law had been gathering steam over the past several days and the unions used the press conference to give Ford a glimpse of what he faced had he not promised Monday morning to repeal the law.

Strikes Work for Everybody: How We Got Maternity Leave

Presently in Ontario the Conservative governemnt has used “the nuclear option” to take away rights from workers. Not going to lie: it’s really bad, like Canadian Charter of Rights are no longer relveant bad.
The union the government is picking on is primarily made up of women and many of them aren’t even earning a living wage. The Conservatives want to pay them less and are fining them more than a month’s wage everyday they’re on strike.
Where’s the good news?
Histrorically labour actions make the working world better for everyone. Given how much damage the Conservatives have done to the averaging working person in the province we have nowhere to go but up. Just like back in 1981. One union’s strike brought the entire country of Canada maternity leave.

With negotiations going nowhere, CUPW went out on strike. Their demands were multifaceted, but maternity leave was singled out by capital, media, government, and the public.[3] In turn, maternity leave was deemed egregious, unnecessary, and even greedy. Risking it all, postal workers and their allies fought for forty-two days and won. Their victory reverberated across Canadian society. Other unions quickly followed suit and, before long, the government institutionalized and expanded maternity leave to equalize the playing field. What started out as a gain for postal workers quickly turned into a gain for all Canadian women.

Ontario: Go Vote!

It’s Election Day in Ontario, so if you’re in the province go practice some democratic action. Basically every party is trying to make the province better except for the one in power, so go vote for anybody else. Last election the planet-destroying and inequality increasing Conservatives won with a minority of voters, so just getting out to vote can make a difference. The good news is that more people asked for mail in ballots than before, which could mean a more engaged citizenary.

Go vote!

More than one million people – about 9.92 per cent of eligible voters – cast a ballot in advance polls, according to Elections Ontario. The agency said it has sent voting kits to 126,135 eligible residents, a sharp increase from 2018, when only 15,202 ballots were doled out that way. Voting kits must be received by 6 p.m. on election day and can be mailed or dropped off at a returning office.

How do I vote?

Ontario residents can vote in person on election day (today, Thursday, June 2) from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. ET at their assigned polling station, based on the location of their current residential address.

Check out Elections Ontario.