For immediate release:

October 22, 2003

McGuinty coal-fire positions place 600 OPG Nanticoke workers in limbo

More questions than answers in McGuinty coal confusion - Barrett

Simcoe – Premier Designate Dalton McGuinty may already be backing away from election promises while creating uncertainty for the people of Haldimand-Norfolk-Brant before even assuming power, according to MPP Toby Barrett.

Just days before assuming government, the provincial Liberal party website is now claiming coal-fire plants “will be removed from service only after we have a replacement up and running.” During the election Dalton McGuinty promised to “shut-down Ontario’s coal-burning power plants by 2007.”

“I’ve been telling people ever since the hare-brained 2007 closure plan was first announced that the proposal would be too expensive, create a shortage of energy production, and cause the cost of energy to skyrocket,” said Barrett. “Make no mistake, Dalton McGuinty has promised that coal-fired energy production will be closed down in three years, and time is ticking – rather than shedding new light on the future of OPG Nanticoke and the 600 people it employs, this move to simply omit the closing date leaves workers in limbo and creates more questions than answers for our power producer on the shores of Lake Erie.”

“Questions like, what type of energy production will be utilized as a replacement? Where will these replacements be located?  Is a 2007 closure date still in play, and what happens to jobs at Nanticoke?” Barrett continued. “I look forward to the opportunity to seek these answers and fight to protect our friends and neighbours who help to provide a significant proportion of this province’s energy.” 

Barrett is encouraging people to sign a petition available at his Simcoe and Caledonia constituency offices asking the government to “maintain pollution abatement initiatives and power production at the Nanticoke Generating Facility.”