[Northern Light]

Can these contracts be cancelled or would that cost too much to make it worthwhile?

The contracts for wind/solar are not that material to the cost being billed out.

That said, I'm not privy to the commercial terms agreed to in the contracts, but I can safely bet ( i think) that buyout costs would certainly be higher in the near term.

Most of the really excessive priced solar (which is inconsequential in total price point impact) is now over 5 years old, on contracts with a 20-year life if I recall.

I'd be inclined to leave those.

The expensive costs that are dubious relate to the gas plants, not merely their cancellation, but how subsequent build contracts were handled; as well on-going good-money-after-bad on the nuclear file.

I've love to re-open some of those, but I don't imagine the various lawyers being in harmony w/me on that.

 

[SunriseChampion]

Yeah, the nuclear problem is a giant sinkhole, isn't it? I'm guessing the German option is off the table then, though they still use coal (really!) so it's not exactly the best template.

 

[Jasmine18]

As I said Ford is taping into an illogical rage that exists out there.

 

[BurlOak]

Yeah, the nuclear problem is a giant sinkhole, isn't it? I'm guessing the German option is off the table then, though they still use coal (really!) so it's not exactly the best template.

We must switch to coal to be considered an environmental leader like Germany.

 

[steveintoronto]

Germany is far ahead of Ontario in many respects:

Germany breaks renewables record with coal and nuclear power responsible for only 15% of country's total energy

• Charlotte England
• @charlottengland
• Friday 5 May 2017 12:51 BST

Germany has broken a new record for renewable energy, with low-carbon sources nearly obliterating coal and nuclear power last weekend.

At one point on the sunny and breezy Sunday, sustainable energy from wind, solar, biomass and hydro power provided a record 85 per cent of the country’s total energy.

Germany has been investing heavily in renewables, as part of the government's Energiewende initiative to transition away from fossil fuels and nuclear power to a low carbon, environmentally sound, reliable, and affordable energy supply by 2050.

Electricity prices fell to negative figures for several hours on Sunday, as renewable sources fed so much power into the grid that supply exceeded demand

Investment in sustainable energy has been so successful that for several hours on Sunday electricity prices fell into negative figures, as renewable sources fed so much power into the grid that supply exceeded demand.

Coal use fell to an all-time low, with public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reporting that on 30 April coal-fired power stations were only operational between three and four in the afternoon and produced less than eight gigawatts of energy, well below their maximum output of about 50 gigawatts. [...]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/...r-energiewende-low-carbon-goals-a7719006.html

 

[Admiral Beez]

This is why I want to see a minority

Is that on the assumption that the minority govt fails, anew election is called, and Wynne fights it out with the new PC leader? Or are you hoping a minority will run well?

On another note, I wonder if he loses if DoFo will circle back and run for mayor? There’s still time to do both.

 

[steveintoronto]

^ An election call is up the Lieutenant Governor, or even to appoint a minority government to form a government, or for one to remain in power. A failed vote of confidence does not automatically mean an election will be held.

 

[PinkLucy]

Is that on the assumption that the minority govt fails, anew election is called, and Wynne fights it out with the new PC leader? Or are you hoping a minority will run well?

On another note, I wonder if he loses if DoFo will circle back and run for mayor? There’s still time to do both.

I am hoping a minority will run well. It can't go too far left or right generally.

 

[SunriseChampion]

As I said Ford is taping into an illogical rage that exists out there.

Which worries me. The only place for illogical rage is at a football stadium. Trust me, I'm expert at this. The things that come out of me at a football match are unpublishable and if I approached all of life in the same way I would be a complete lunatic who would be said to be irrational and sociopathic.

 

[SunriseChampion]

We must switch to coal to be considered an environmental leader like Germany.

They haven't switched to coal, they just haven't finished phasing it out yet and had to keep it online because of their phase-out of nuclear power.
We wish we could be like Germany: manufacturing with high costs isn't a problem and their current account surplus is proof of that.

 

[BurlOak]

I am hoping a minority will run well. It can't go too far left or right generally.

I don't think a centrist minority government is possible in Ontario when Liberals and NDP are far left - and neither would form government with moderate PC's.

 

[SunriseChampion]

I am hoping a minority will run well. It can't go too far left or right generally.

This and the fact that a minority government can't just run roughshod over the majority of people who in our system never supported a "majority" government.

 

[SunriseChampion]

I don't think a centrist minority government is possible in Ontario when Liberals and NDP are far left - and neither would form government with moderate PC's.

A minority government by necessity has to moderate itself. This is the best possible outcome in our FPTP system.

 

[steveintoronto]

I am hoping a minority will run well. It can't go too far left or right generally.

A minority government is forced to govern much like a proportional representation model, as without majority representative support, they fall on legislation requiring a confidence vote.

It does restrict ambitious legislation often, but in the case of Ontario, with three power brokers (and possibly a single or a few Greens and/or independents) it offers the benefit of an official coalition being formed with a pledge to pass critical legislation common to both coalition partners.

Increasingly, this possibility is being noted in the quality press for Ontario, and Horwath's need to start presenting herself with that in mind. The NDP can market itself as "neither of the above", and perhaps even become the dominant partner in a Lib Coalition.

Meantime, see Ford's brakes lock-up as his mouth gets him into fatal skids.

 

[steveintoronto]

I don't think a centrist minority government is possible in Ontario when Liberals and NDP are far left - and neither would form government with moderate PC's.

I think it's very possible. Where the question exists is whether it's formal or informal, and what terms surround either arrangement. Often coalitions, due to their being problematic over time, state a pledge of stability for 'x' number of months or years. How dependable are those pledges? lol...about as dependable as election pledges, or better.

With a 'character' leading the Cons pledging the impossible whenever he opens his mouth (CBC, Hydro One, etc, etc) it sets the bar exceedingly low for the other parties to better. In fact, Ford's bar is buried, it's so low, but I digress...