Huron Expositor, 2017-01-11, Page 41)
4 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, January 11. 2017
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ad'a
Cana
Asthis was written, nuclear
ower was providing 61.2
per cent of Ontario's electricity
needs.
Go to the website of Ontario's
Independent Electricity System
Operator (ieso.ca) any time of
any day of any week, and you'll
see the same thing.
Nuclear power is the back-
bone and the workhorse of
Ontario's energy system, provid-
ing more than half of the prov-
ince's electricity needs.
Without nuclear power,
Ontario's Liberal government
would not have been able to
eliminate coal-fired electricity
from the province's energy grid
two years ago.
Solar, biomass and wind
power simply aren't reliable
enough, nor could they provide
enough power, to replace coal,
which previously supplied 25
per cent of Ontario's electricity.
For all their boasting about
making Ontario a global leader
in so-called green energy, Pre-
mier Kathleen Wynne and her
predecessor, Dalton McGuinty,
in fact replaced coal power with
two conventional energy
sources -- nuclear power and
natural gas.
Natural gas is the cleanest fos-
sil fuel, burning at half the car-
bon dioxide intensity of coal,
while nuclear power emits nei-
ther greenhouse gases nor
pollution.
Of course, no form of energy
generation is perfect.
Nuclear plants are expensive
and have chronically gone
massively over budget in the
construction phase.
The byproduct of nuclear
power is radioactive waste,
which has to be stored, given
that we have no reliable way at
present to get rid of it.
But the reality is this.
Without nuclear power, there
would have been no practical
way to eliminate the use of
coal-fired electricity in Ontario.
While some (not all) envi-
ronmentalists campaign
against nuclear power, as Rob-
ert Bryce puts it in his book,
Power Hungry, which argues
'S future
nuclear power and natural gas
are the real green energy
sources of the future: "If you
are anti -carbon dioxide and
anti-nuclear, then you are
pro -blackout.'
That's why the most impor-
tant energy projects in Ontario
in the coming years will be the
$26 billion refurbishments of
the Bruce and Darlington
nuclear stations and a $307
million project to extend the
life of the Pickering nuclear
plant until 2024.
Keeping a close eye on those
projects will a one of the most
impo nt lobs of the Ontario
government, no matter what its
political stripe is, in the com-
ing years.
A year to remember --and that's not good
t is with a sigh of relief that
we bid farewell to 2016, a
year memorable for its
bleakness.
It started off on a worrisome
note, with suspicions (later
confirmed) that the previously
innocuous Zika virus was caus-•
ing devastating harm to babies
in Brazil whose mothers con-
tracted it while pregnant. It
wound down with a Russian
diplomat being assassinated
on camera in Turkey and a ter-
rorist ramming a truck through
a crowded Christmas market in
Berlin.
Prince, David Bowie,
Muhammad Ali, Harper Lee,
Shimon Peres, Gordie Howe
and Leonard Cohen are among
the luminaries who left us.
Sure, 2016 had its positives.
The performance of Canadian
women at the Rio Olympics
was inspirational. And the
ordinary Canadians who wel-
comed some 35,000 Syrian ref-
ugees within the last year or so
merit special mention.
But events around the globe
have left us rattled and uncer-
tain. Was 2016 an aberration,
or is the existing world order
giving way to something
unsettling?
There was the Brexit referen-
dum, where British voters
rejected the recommendations
of mainstream politicians and
decided to leave the European
Union.
During the U.S. election, out-
right lies, boasting about sex-
ual assault, threats to jail his
rival and denial of basic politi-
cal orthodoxies didn't prevent
Donald Trump from winning
the presidency. His candidacy
might also have had help from
unlikely sources: the director
of the FBI and Russia. It's no
wonder Oxford Dictionaries'
word of the year was "post -
truth," defined as "circum-
stances in which objective
facts are less influential in
shaping public opinion than
appeals to emotion and per-
sonal belief."
Russia helped Syrian Presi-
dent Bashar al-Assad's forces
recapture rebel -held parts of
Aleppo. Civilians were slaugh-
tered or left to die in the worst
humanitarian catastrophe of
the early 21st century.
While Canadians can be
grateful we live in peace, the
year's international events
hold significant concerns for
this country. Canada's trade
and defence relationships with
our biggest partner have been
thrown into question with
Trump's election as has the
Paris Accord on climate
change.
Canada has the potential to
be a beacon of hope in a dark-
ening world. This country has
remained a supporter of inter-
national trade while some oth-
ers are turning to protection-
ism. And it has continued to
welcome newcomers while -
some others are blaming
immigrants for their problems.
The year gone by was one to
remember for all the wrong
reasons; bring on 2017.
Statement from Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown on the Nomination of Lisa Thompson
The following is a statement
from Ontario PC Leader Patrick
Brown on the nomination of Lisa
Thompson as the Ontario PC
candidate for Huron -Bruce:
"I congratulate Lisa Thomp-
son on her nomination as the
Ontario PC candidate for 1luron-
Bruce for the upcoming 2018
election."
"We in the Ontario PC Party
are very excited to have Lisa back
as a member of our team. Since
2011, Lisa has represented
Huron -Bruce with passion,
enthusiasm, and c9nviction. Lisa
cares deeply about the interests
of her constituents and gets
results.
"For years, Lisa has been a
strong advocate for rural
Ontario. She was successful in
passing a motion calling on
the government to support
the agri-food industry by
including it in the high school
career curriculum. More
recently, Lisa introduced a
bill that would support farm-
ers against the Wynne Liber-
als' needlessly restrictive neo-
nicotinoid ban.
"As our Environment and Ch -
mate Change critic, Lisa has
been leading the charge against
Premier Kathleen Wynne's cap -
and -trade cash grab, which will
make life even harder for Ontario
families.
"After 13 years in power, life is
harder under the Liberal Gov-
ernment. Electricity prices are
skyrocketing. Health care is
being slashed. Billions of tax dol-
lars are being wasted on scandal
after scandal. It's time for a
change in Ontario.
"I look forward to continuing
to work alongside Lisa as we
share the Ontario PC Party's
message of a more prosperous
future with the province"
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