Question 1: If elected, will YOU personally support the development of a binding provincial policy that ensures future natural gas power plants are not built close to schools and established neighbourhoods?

Question 2: If elected, will YOU personally support implementation of the Balsillie Task Force recommendations in the Oakville-Clarkson airshed, and the air quality pilot project launched by the Ministry of the Environment on August 17, 2011? 

OAKVILLE CANDIDATE

POLITICAL PARTY

RESPONSE

Kevin Flynn

Ontario Liberal Party

Question 1:
I personally support the development of a binding provincial policy that ensures future natural gas power plants are not built close to schools and neighbourhoods. Unlike my P.C. opponents I do not support building a power plant anywhere in Oakville.

In 2010, I introduced a private members bill that would prohibit the construction of a natural gas power plant unless the plant has a minimum setback from any land zoned for residential purposes or any land on which an educational facility, day nursery or health care facility is located. 

On September 24th, the Ontario Liberals went one step further and announced that if elected, they would work with the local community groups and the energy sector to develop a more rigorous way to site gas plants in a way that works for local families and energy producers.

Question 2: 
The Ontario Government is working with the federal government and other provinces and territories on a new national air quality management system that ties directly with many of the recommendations of the Balsillie Report. 

Over the past year a significant amount of work has been underway to implement the recommendations of the Balsillie Report.  The progress can be tracked on-line at:
http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/environment/en/local/southwest_gta_air/STDPROD_087152.html 

On August 17, 2011 the Ontario Liberals formally announced a pilot project for Oakville-Clarkson to inform this innovative work at the national level.  

I personally support both the continued implementation of recommendations and moving the pilot project forward. 

Larry Scott

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

Question 1:
Yes.
Question 2:
Yes.

Lesley Sprague

Ontario NDP

Question 1:
We must listen to local residents. I will work strongly with Andrea Horwath and Ontario’s New Democrats for change that puts people first to:
• Bring an end to developer lawsuits targeted at community members in order to silence opposition to new projects by passing anti-SLAPP legislation.
• Provide local communities with more say over the approval and siting of large energy projects.

Question 2:
The Ballsillie Task Force recommendations and Air Quality pilot project are important to proving the information needed to improve our environment.
Citizens should have full information and a fair say about planned industrial activities in their communities. Existing levels of pollution should be taken into account when the government is considering adding new sources of pollution to communities. The NDP will reverse the exemptions granted by the previous government, and ensure that all industrial activities and emissions are posted on the Environmental Registry for public comment.

While tax schemes like the HST have made energy more expensive for consumers, they’ve also offered dramatic no-strings-attached tax cuts to some of Ontario’s biggest polluters. The province is not on track to meet its greenhouse gas targets for 2014 or 2020. Those who pollute must take responsibility for their emissions. We will work with other jurisdictions on a coordinated climate change strategy, continuing to push the federal government to move forward with a national plan. Within our first year in government, we will develop a plan for Ontario to meet climate targets of 20% below 1990 levels by 2020.

 To get more cars off the road we need to improve transit province wide. The NDP will start by making transit more affordable by freezing fares.  Ontario’s NDP will achieve this by taking on half of the cost of operating municipal transit systems. By offering to split costs, we free up funds to keep fares low, but also give municipalities the money they need to improve service and make capital investments. We will also move forward with plans to expand our transit system as proposed in the Big Move plan, and we’ll be making more announcements on this topic as the campaign progresses.

NOTE

Green Party of Ontario

The Green Party of Ontario responded to both questions:

The Green Party of Ontario remains committed to developing of a binding provincial policy that ensures future natural gas power plants are not built close to schools and established neighbourhoods.  We will advocate for establishing minimum set-back requirements for large natural gas generating facilities to ensure the safety of our communities.

We are committed to implementing a community planning process and restoring local decision making for energy projects to ensure that benefits flow to the communities hosting the project. We actively opposed the construction of the gas-fired peaker plant in Holland Marsh and Oakville, and are questioning the location of the proposed Mississauga plant.

Green MPPs will develop a plan to reduce air pollution with a special focus on assisting communities already struggling with poor air quality.  We will support programs that help address the air quality problems in the Oakville- Clarkson air shed, including supporting the recommendations from the Balsillie Task Force.

To address the long term problems of poor air quality, we will support a comprehensive transportation strategy that will reduce air pollution. We will fund active transportation initiatives such as complete streets, public transit and commuter benefits, supporting the development of healthy, liveable, recreation-friendly communities.
The Green Party is committed to completely phasing out coal generated electricity by 2014, immediately placing our coal plants on stand-by reserve for emergency use only and halting all exports of coal generated electricity to improve air quality. Coal is the most polluting form of power generation, and we believe it has no place in Ontario’s energy supply mix.

To find out more about the energy plan for Ontario, please visit www.itstimeforgreen.ca

Andrew Chlobowski

Green Party of Ontario

Please see Party response.

Mississauga candidates were asked the following question:

If elected, will YOU personally support implementation of the Balsillie Task Force recommendations in the Oakville-Clarkson airshed, and the air quality pilot project launched by the Ministry of the Environment on August 17, 2011? 

CANDIDATE

POLITICAL PARTY

RESPONSE

Riding: Mississauga-Brampton South

Amrit Mangat

Ontario Liberal Party

No response received.

Amarjeet Gill

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

No response received.

Karanjit Pandher

Ontario NDP

No response received.

Keith Foster

Green Party of Ontario

Please see Party response .

Riding: Mississauga East-Cooksville

Dipika Damerla

Ontario Liberal Party

No response received.

Zoran Churchin

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

Yes I will support Dr. David Balsillie Task Force recommendation, it is very important to me personally as well.

Waseem Ahmed

Ontario NDP

No response received.

Lloyd Jones

Green Party of Ontario

Please see Party response.

RIDING: MISSISSAUGA-ERINDALE

Harinder Takhar

Ontario Liberal Party

No response received.

David Brown

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

No response received.

Michelle Bilek

Ontario NDP

Yes!!!

Otto Casanova

Green Party of Ontario

Please see Party response.

RIDING: Mississauga South

Charles Sousa

Ontario Liberal Party

Thank you for your question about the implementation of the Balsillie Task Force recommendations.

I am proud to say that my answer is an unqualified yes. If re-elected, I wholeheartedly commit to keeping our community moving forward towards cleaner air and better health for generations to come. I continue to support the implementation of the Balsillie Task Force recommendations.

As you know, I have worked with community members to protect our air from new power plants and commission the Southwest GTA Air Quality Task Force.

I also tabled a resolution in the Legislature calling on the Ministry of the Environment to take into account the cumulative impact of emissions before issuing Certificates of Approval.

These efforts have already borne fruit. On June 21st the Ministry of the Environment announced their response to the AQTF’s recommendations, indicating that work is underway in the areas of provincial responsibility.

Then, on August 17th, we took a major step forward by announcing that Ontario will launch a new air management pilot project in our airshed to help us reduce emissions and create a model that can be applied Canada-wide.

These accomplishments come after years of dedication and advocacy from many in our community and I feel privileged to have been able to work alongside them to help deliver this progress.

Thank you again for your question and your advocacy.

Geoff Janoscik

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

No response received.

Anju Sikka

Ontario NDP

No response received.

Cory Mogk

Green Party of Ontario

Please see Party response.

Riding: Mississauga-Streetsville

Bob Delaney

Ontario Liberal Party

No response received.

Wafik Sunbaty

Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario

No response received.

Raed Ayad

Ontario NDP

We will move ahead with the announced pilot project of an airshed management system in the Oakville-Clarkson area.

We have a long way to go in this province towards strengthening the protection of air quality.

The current government has backtracked on air quality protection, for example by reducing requirements for certificates of approval, public comment and public right of appeal under its Open For Business Act (2010). The Canadian Institute for Environmental Law and Policy, Canadian Environmental Law Association and Ecojustice called for “major revisions” to the Act “in a manner which ensures the protection of the environment, human health and the public’s right to participate in the environmental decision‐making process in Ontario.” The NDP proposed such amendments to strengthen environmental protection, but the McGuinty government refused to incorporate them.

The McGuinty government has also failed to make progress in ensuring that prevailing levels of pollutants are taken into account when considering approvals for additional emissions. It is crucial to consider the cumulative impacts of emissions from proposed facilities to ensure that new emissions do not compromise already stressed airsheds. In the words of the Canadian Environmental Law Association: “The government has not yet addressed this fundamental weakness in Ontario’s air pollution laws, despite being repeatedly asked to do so.”

Scott Warner

Green Party of Ontario

Please see Party response.

Mr. Warner also said: “I think the answer is a resounding YES. AS a GPO candidate this as well as our water quality concern me greatly, as a farm boy, now living in the city, I want to help.”