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November
25, 2004
The Liberty
Grand, Exhibition Place, Toronto |
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Meeting
the Conservation Challenge:
Notes for remarks By
The Honourable Dwight Duncan
Minister of Energy
Conservation Summit
Liberty Grand Complex, CNE
toronto, ontario
Thursday, November
25, 2004
Thank you, and good afternoon everyone.
It’s a pleasure to be here...
Either I’ve got a bad case of déjà vu
or I was standing in this spot back in September speaking about
conservation…
You guys must be friends with Marion
Fraser….
But, you know what -- every day seems to
bring about new achievements that we are very proud of, so I’m happy
to be here to speak to you and to give you an update on the progress we
are making in our province.
First, let me congratulate The
Conservation Council of Ontario for putting on this important event, and
for bringing together some of the leaders of Ontario’s conservation
movement.
I’d also like to thank the Ontario
Trillium Foundation for providing very generous funding to the
Conservation Council, and for helping to make this Conservation Summit
possible.
I also want to thank you all for coming
here today.
It’s is people like you who are being
proactive in creating a better tomorrow, who are making sure our
children have a cleaner future, and who are promoting a we have amore
sustainable economy – and I think you should all give yourselves a big
round of applause.
You have promoted conservation in Ontario
in good times and in bad, and I want you to know that these are good
times, because you have the full support of our government in your
efforts.
Our Premier, Dalton McGuinty, has made
conservation a personal priority, because he understands that for too
long, conservation has been put on the backburner, and he understands
the tremendous benefits a culture of efficiency will bring to our
province.
We are fully committed to helping
Ontario’s residents and businesses improve their conservation habits,
so that we can see measurable improvements in the quality of our
environment, and the quality of air we breathe every day…
I understand that today you’re
discussing the role of Ontario's NGO’s and volunteers in helping to
deliver conservation solutions to the public…and on behalf of the
McGuinty government let me say unequivocally – we need your help.
I have been so impressed with your
enthusiasm and commitment in helping us meet the challenges that face
us, and we need you to keep it up.
As a government, we’re committed to
providing support for conservation programs and solutions across the
province.
We’re committed to providing an
effective and efficient legislative framework to guide environmentally
responsible economic and social development in Ontario.
And we’re committed to establishing
clear goals and targets to guide our conservation efforts.
But we simply can’t do it alone…
So my message today is simple. Don’t
give up. Keep pushing yourself, and pushing your governments – keep
our feet to the fire -- because you are making a real difference, and
together we will make Ontario a conservation leader.
* * * * *
Since our government took office a year
ago, there have been a number of positive changes in our province, not
only on the conservation front, but also in other important areas such
as healthcare and education, which is relevant to your lives and the
lives of your families.
We’re working hard to strengthen the
health of our people, and the education and skills of our people,
because we believe our people are our greatest competitive advantage.
But we all know that no matter how much
progress we make in healthcare and education, if we can’t keep the
lights on in our hospitals, schools and universities, we’re nowhere.
It’s no use purchasing new MRI’s if
you don’t have the power to operate them…
Energy really is the lifeblood of our
economy and our everyday lives…that’s why in promoting conservation
across our province, you should be so proud of what you do, and the
crucial role you play in keeping the lights on in our province…
And, I believe, by tapping
into the wellspring of interest in conservation, and new technologies
associated with it, we are also tapping into a fertile source for
innovation, job creation and competitive growth.
* * * * *
You’ve heard others, including my
colleague the Minister of the Environment, speak about conserving water
and other resources, so today I will focus on energy – in particular,
electricity.
We are at a crossroads in Ontario. We
must choose the proper course for our energy future – a future where
the environmental, health and economic impacts of our decisions are
weighed against the long term benefits, for our children and their
children.
We are faced with huge challenges. In the
coming years, demand for electricity will increase dramatically, while
at the same time our existing generating facilities will be strained to
the limit.
But I firmly believe that where there’s
challenge, there’s opportunity, and that together we can get beyond
the mistakes of governments past and move forward in a new direction to
not only solve today’s energy challenges, but the challenges of
tomorrow.
*********
One of the first things I did as Minister
was to make sure our partners in the electricity sector were encouraged
to take a more active role in being part of Ontario’s conservation
solution.
To that end, we directed the Ontario
Energy Board to remove the current financial disincentives that local
distribution companies face when they help customers conserve energy.
And the OEB rose to this challenge.
The result is that $225 million dollars
will be put back into community based conversation conservation programs
that will be run by local utilities.
We believe that LDCs can and should be
agents of change at the local level, and we will need all of their
expertise, ingenuity and leadership to help us build a conservation
culture across the province.
This makes sense. The local distribution
companies, and I see many are represented here today, are the ones who
understand their customers best.
They know what works and what doesn’t.
I am delighted with the response from the
LDC’s and the efforts of the Electricity Distributor’s Association
and the OEB to help us make this happen.
To date, the majority of Ontario’s
LDC’s have filed submissions with the Ontario Energy Board on local
demand management programs that will be of great benefit to their
communities. Many of these projects are underway, or will be launched
shortly.
These programs represent an investment in
excess of $150 million dollars. And the projects are expected to help
more than 4.1 million customers become more energy efficient across
Ontario.
We have entered into a partnership with
the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance to coordinate a workshop for
LDCs in the new year, which will help them plan their demand management
programs and share best practices. I want to take this opportunity to
thank the Canadian Energy Efficiency Alliance for their involvement.
Working together, we will ensure that
these local programs are effective, and will achieve measurable results
in building and promoting energy efficiency in communities all across
our province.
*******
I said earlier that I was impressed by
the commitment and enthusiasm of NGOs, but I am equally impressed by
your innovative ideas and fresh approach to solving the challenges we
face.
You had the ideas, and all you needed was
some support to get them moving, so I am also thrilled today to announce
substantial funding for a number of conservation projects that you and
others have brought forward.
Programs like the Farm Energy Audit
Program, which will be a joint program of the Ministry of Energy, the
Ministry of Agriculture and Food and the Ontario Federation of
Agriculture, to help Ontario farmers remain competitive by reducing
their energy costs and increasing their bottom line.
We’re also helping Toronto’s Cool
Shops Program expand to the Niagara Region, London and Peterborough, in
order to help small businesses stay competitive by providing energy
audits and advice on how to save money on energy costs.
Through this and other innovative
programs, the Clean Air Foundation is making great strides to help
Ontario become more energy efficient, and I congratulate them on all of
their efforts to bring positive change to our province.
We’re also assisting the Ontario Eco
Schools program to replicate their successful program in other school
boards across the province.
GTA School boards and York University
have achieved great success with this worthwhile program, and I
congratulate them.
Our government recognizes that education
is the only sure way to achieve the culture shift I spoke of earlier –
that’s why we’re also working with the Ministry of Education, to
develop curriculum to ensure that our primary and secondary school
children have the resources they need to learn about conservation.
Through our partnerships, we’re also
ensuring that low income dwellers get the support they need to save
energy and save money. That’s why we’ve entered into a partnership
with the Social Housing Service Corporation for a pilot project to
develop centralized energy management services in 20 non-profit
buildings in Ontario.
Next year, this organization plans to
expand the program right across the province to 1,500 social housing
providers representing over 250,000 units of non-profit,
municipally-owned or co-operative housing.
The federal government, and Canada
Mortgage and Housing, also recently offered support and funding to this
program. I also understand that the Social Housing Services Corporation
has been overwhelmed by the number of providers who want to participate.
My thanks to them and to everyone involved in this project for helping
us ensure that no one is left behind in our conservation efforts.
***********
While we are committed to providing
support to programs such as these, we also recognize that the key to
creating a lasting conservation culture is ensuring the proper
legislative framework is in place.
So, I am very pleased to announce that
Bill 100, The Electricity Restructuring Act, is near a final vote in the
legislature. Many of you, in fact, provided valuable comments on this
important piece of legislation and I thank you for your input.
If passed, this will allow us to create a
Conservation Bureau, which will be headed by a Chief Energy Conservation
Officer to lead Ontario’s conservation efforts, and to help ensure
that conservation becomes entrenched in our everyday lives.
We’re also actively working on new
legislation to entrench conservation in other policy areas by removing
existing regulatory codes and hurdles that are acting as barriers to
efficiency. We plan to introduce a conservation bill early in the new
year, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts and views on this
important piece of legislation.
Make no mistake, we’ve only chipped the
top of the iceberg when it comes to conservation, so I encourage you to
keep working with us – because the best is yet to come.
*******
The initiatives I have talked about today
will help us meet our government’s target to reduce Ontario’s
electricity consumption by 5% by 2007.
And last night, I was thrilled to
announce 10 new renewable energy projects for Ontario, which will help
us meet our target of 5% of Ontario’s electricity capacity to come
from clean, renewable energy in the same timeframe.
As a result of these projects, we will
increase Canada’s wind capacity by approximately 80%, and I can’t
tell you how proud of that we are.
The 10 projects I announced last night
will bring us 395 megawatts of clean, green electricity capacity, which
is enough to power over 100,000 homes.
The projects also represent a total
capital investment of close to $700 million dollars – which will bring
more jobs and significant economic benefits to Ontario.
We’re taking down barriers to create
new renewable energy. In fact, this month, my colleague David Ramsay,
Minister of Natural Resources, announced a plan to allow water power
producers the opportunity to obtain sites on Crown Lands, in order to
help Ontario achieve its true water power potential.
And yesterday, our government announced a
retail sales tax rebate to include a variety of renewable energy
systems.
The new rebate would apply to wind
energy, micro hydro-electric and geothermal energy systems that are
installed in residential premises so that homeowners can pursue
renewable energy solutions for their homes.
With our vast Great Lakes shorelines, our
favorable winds, our rivers and streams, and the innovation of Ontarians
and Canadians, there is real opportunity for growth in renewable energy
in our province, which will mean cleaner air, more jobs, enhanced
competitiveness and a healthier, more prosperous Ontario.
And we plan to move quickly in the new
year to bring even more renewable energy into Ontario’s generation
mix, so that we can lessen our reliance on coal fired generation and
improve the quality of life of Ontarians.
* * * * *
Our first year in government has been
marked by some great successes and I am grateful to have such dynamic
support from Donna Cansfield, who is chairing today’s event, and who I
now affectionately call the “Conservation Queen”.
We also have two members of our
government’s Conservation Action Team in the room today – Richard
Patten and Wayne Arthurs – and I want to thank them for working so
hard to promote conservation across the province.
And once again, I want to thank all of
you in the room for stepping up to the plate to play an active role in
meeting the challenges that face us.
We have come very far in the last year,
but we have so much more to do.
So I urge you to keep up the good
work…remain as enthusiastic and committed as you are today, because
working together we will create a better tomorrow and an enduring
culture of conservation in our province, and we will leave Ontario in a
better place than we found it.
Thank you.
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