Safety of Ontario smart meters questioned

Potentially dangerous hydro smart meters have drawn the attention of the Ontario government’s opposition parties.

A series of house fires has already prompted Saskatchewan to remove smart meters. Today at Queen’s Park NDP safety critic Lisa Gretzky and PC deputy leader Christine Elliott demanded action from the government on what have been called potential “ticking time bombs”.

Gretzky: “When it was brought to the minister’s attention the minister seemed kind of wishy-washy as to if the province knows if we have those smart meters installed in our homes. Then the minister went to question Saskatchewan’s decision to pull the smart meters. I think that’s its incumbent on the government to investigate fully whether or not we actually have these smart meters in our own homes and to act quickly.”

Elliott: “This Liberal government has been fairly non-chalant about significant security concerns, so of course they should be looking into this with grave urgency and reporting back to people so they know whether their homes are going to be safe with these meters installed in them.”

Energy minister Bob Chiarelli’s office did issue a statement this morning. It says Hydro One does not use the meters in question. They are working with the Ontario Energy Board to confirm what model type is used in the province.