Kitchener-Centre debate
Posted Sep 27, 2011 05:40:08 AM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The provincial election candidates for Kitchener Centre debated the issues on Rogers TV last night.
The candidates answered a range of questions, including one on the hot topic of time-of-use electricity pricing.
NDP Candidate Cameron Dearlove talked about the larger picture, saying his party would lower hydro bills by removing the HST and by helping people invest in energy retrofits.
Liberal Candidate John Milloy explained that power is most expensive to produce and transmit during the mid-day, so time of use pricing allows for better management of the system. He took a shot at the Progressive Conservatives saying, “The cheaper time starts at 7 o’clock, Conservatives are always doing their laundry at midnight, but (hydro is cheaper from) 7 o’clock until the morning. By allowing people to manage their costs they can save some money and also it manages the overall demand.”
PC Candidate Dave MacDonald shot back while explaining that his party would make smart metres optional. “Well, conservatives don’t want to do our laundry at midnight but the Liberals are forcing us to do that and we think people should have a choice,” he said.
Green Party Candidate Mark Vercouteren said there should be more focus on conservation and smarter energy production.
The issue of the HST came up when a caller asked MacDonald why the PC’s won’t commit to dropping the harmonized tax altogether. “We have committed to removing the HST from your home heating and your home hydro bill,” he explained. “To get rid of it all together would mean we’d have to pay back the federal government some $4 billion and that would not be a good deal for the tax payers.”
Dearlove explained that the NDP HST plan is much like the PC’s but, “We want to go a step further and start to remove it off of gasoline.”
Vercouteren said focusing on conservation will save people more money than simply removing the HST from hydro bills.
Milloy defended the harmonized tax, saying every economist says it’s good for the economy. He added that it saves businesses money, savings that get passed to the consumers.
The candidates also talked crime prevention, with Milloy saying the government needs to have a holistic approach. “The simple fact is, we need to make sure our police have the resources they need and over the past number of years there have been significant investments…but we also have to work with the community as a whole,” he said.
Dearlove said instead of getting tough on crime, the government needs to get tough on poverty so people aren’t falling behind.
Vercouteren agreed that the focus should be on crime prevention.
MacDonald said his party believes in putting victims’ rights ahead of criminals’ rights. He outlined some of the PC plans to do that, including GPS monitoring for sex offenders.
You can follow this link to see the debate in its entirety on the Rogers TV website.
