Peter Tabuns MPP, Toronto-Danforth

QUEEN'S PARK — Peter Tabuns released this statement in response to the Ford government re-instating standard tiered and time-of-use electricity pricing this week in all regions in Ontario —including in areas where the stay-at-home order remains in place —causing electricity bills to jump while people are still coping with a pandemic:

"So many Ontario households and small businesses are doing their best to stay on top of their bills right now, as the pandemic continues to rage and incomes continue to be impacted. They need things to get more affordable, not more expensive. To cancel this little bit of relief right now is callous. 

Thanks to Doug Ford's hydro rate hike, households must pay as much as 17.6 cents per kilowatt hour, up from 8.5 cents. After the former Liberal government sold off Hydro One, and presided over skyrocketing and unaffordable bills, Ford promised a 12 per cent drop in electricity bills. Instead, he’s hiked them higher and higher. So far, hydro bills have gone up almost two per cent on Ford’s watch.

People need a government with a plan and the political will to fix the hydro system and bring down prices for families and businesses, for good.”