Horwath visits family struggling to keep up with hydro bills

Today Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath sat down with Sault resident Charlene Lovelace to discuss how the skyrocketing cost of hydro is affecting her family.

“I have been travelling the province listening to people like Charlene for almost two years now.  Hydro bills are skyrocketing all over Ontario and the NDP  has been putting forward real solutions that will address the immediate needs of Ontarians who are finding it harder and harder to build a good life in our province,” said Horwath.  “As elected representatives, we have a responsibility to every single person in this province to work to make life easier, not harder.  Ontario can be a great place to live, but we need to make sure that the next generation has a future here.”

“I am glad Andrea came to visit today to see for herself how our hydro bills are affecting us,” said Charlene.  “I work two jobs, one full-time and one part-time, and my husband also works full time, yet we just can’t keep up with our hydro bill as it gets more and more expensive.  I have three children, they need clean clothes and real, home-cooked meals and between my two jobs and my husband working, we don’t have time to try and synchronize everything for ‘off peak’ hours.  We are a busy family; we need to get things done.”

“I hear stories like Charlene’s regularly from people all over the province,” said Horwath.  “Just last month I was here in the Sault and I spoke to another resident, a senior on a fixed income who is also struggling to keep her hydro on because her bills have gotten out of control.  Hydro rates are too high, they have been for a long time and Kathleen Wynne isn’t doing much about it.  She is actually making it worse by continuing to sell-off Hydro One which will drive rates even further up.”

Charlene’s hydro bill is causing her family stress but instead of taking steps to ensure she makes it through the winter, like permanently taking the HST off hydro, the government has implemented a temporary rebate that Charlene can’t count on.  The Premier has apologized for her ‘mistake’ - allowing rates to get this out of control - but has taken no action to actually help people get some relief from those rates.

The NDP has called for the immediate and permanent removal of HST from Hydro bills and continues to push the Liberal government to stop its wrong-headed sell-off.