REPORT NO. 107 of the WINDSOR ESSEX COUNTY ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE of its Electronic Poll held on October 21, 2020

Approval of the E-mail Poll as of October 21, 2020

• Councillor Chris Holt, Chair

• Councillor Kieran McKenzie

• Keri Banar

• Derek Coronado

• Katie Kuker

• Michael Schneider

• Radwan Tamr

• Richard St. Denis

Your Committee submits the following recommendation from Subcommittee of the Windsor Essex County Environment Committee: the

Air

WHEREAS the Government of Ontario is planning to ramp up the greenhouse gas pollution from Ontario’s gas -fired power plants by more than 300% by 2025 and by more than 400% by 2040; and,

WHEREAS to help fuel this massive increase in fossil fuel electricity and climate threatening pollution, the provincial government recently purchased 3 gas plants at a cost of $2.8 billion and Enbridge is hoping to build a new pipeline through Hamilton to import fracked gas from the U.S.; and,

WHEREAS Ontario is set to throw away more than a third of the greenhouse gas reductions it achieved by phasing-out its dirty coal-fired power plants due to a power plan built around ramping up gas-fired generation to replace the output of the Pickering Nuclear Station (scheduled to close in 2024); and,

WHEREAS there is a better way to keep our lights on. We can meet our 2030 climate target and lower our electricity bills by phasing-out our gas-fired power plants by 2030 and embracing lower cost and cleaner options:

• Reverse cuts to energy efficiency programs and stop under-investing in this quick to deploy and low-cost resource. We can ensure we maximize our energy efficiency efforts by paying up to the same price per kilowatt-hour (kWh) for energy efficiency measures as we are currently paying for power from nuclear plants (e.g., up to 9.5 cents per kWh).

• Return Ontario to leadership in developing increasingly low-cost renewable energy resources. Support renewable energy projects that have costs that are