NDP wants hydro rebate

NDP leader Andrea Horwath wants the government to give Ontarians a $100 rebate on their hydro bill.

In a letter sent to premier Wynne last night, Horwath asked the premier to adopt her party’s plan to cut hydro costs. She wouldn’t say however if a spring election could be triggered if the Liberals ignore her request.

The Toronto Star’s Richard Brennan asked her point-blank. “You keep sending these letters to the premier saying her government’s the worst thing since the plague, and, yet you keep propping them up. Like, what is it? If you don’t like her, you don’t like the government so come the budget why don’t you just pull the plug and get rid of them?”

“There’s no doubt that we have been very careful to try to get results for Ontarians over the last couple of budget sessions, we don’t know what this next budget is going to look like but we are going to wait and see before we make any prejudgement.”

Wynne says Horwath’s approach doesn’t change the system. “A one-off does not guarantee reliable energy, it doesn’t guarantee clean energy, it doesn’t guarantee a go forward in terms of reducing those energy costs, and so there is nothing about what I’ve heard this morning that would suggest that there is a plan to actually reduce costs over time, or an acknowledgement that there needs to be a systematic approach to planning for energy in this province, none of that is there in that letter that I’ve seen.”

This is the second letter Horwath has sent to the premier. She has already warned Wynne she would topple the Liberals if any new taxes, tolls or fees are including in the spring budget.