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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Wednesday, May 15, 2013 | 6 Editorial A shortage of credibility Former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty says he had no idea how much it would cost to cancel power plants in Mississauga and Oakville before the 2011 election. He also apparently didn't know where the plants were to be built as he now claims they were axed because they were too close to residential areas and could cause respiratory problems. Current Premier Kathleen Wynne says she only learned from media reports that the 2011 Liberal reelection campaign had decided to cancel the plants -- a campaign team of which she was vice-chair. Equally amazing is the fact neither premier seemed to be able to pin down the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) on the cost of cancelling the plants -- costs we now know are $310 million for scrapping Oakville and $275 million for Mississauga. That $585M tab is still just an estimate until the Auditor General releases his full report in September -- it could be higher. The Liberals pegged the cost of the Oakville plant cancellation at $40 million and Wynne claims it was only on March 20 when she learned it would be between $33 and $136 million (that's quite a gap). The current premier never discussed the higher gures publicly and now "regrets the situation has come to this" -- $585 million to relocate the plants to Sarnia and Napanee. In long-awaited testimony before a legislative committee investigating the controversial cancellations -- which opposition parties charge was done to save ve Liberal seats in the 2011 election -- McGuinty maintained the plants were axed because they were too close to residential areas. "Our government was wrong" in picking the locations, McGuinty said in his opening statement. Locally, who can forget the formation of Citizens 4 Clean Air (C4CA) and its very public campaign that cited the already shabby condition of the Oakville-Clarkson Air Shed, the signs that sprang up in east-end Oakville, the municipal election in which the proposed gas plant was an item of debate, the appearance locally of environmental activist Erin Brockovich to gain national media attention and the rally on Queen's Park, the private member's bill proposed by Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn -- all of which carried the message that the siting of the proposed Oakville gas plant was inappropriate? The recent testimony from McGuinty and Wynne before a legislative committee investigating the controversial cancellations leaves us to one of two conclusions: That the premiers were so inept on this matter that they didn't know where the plants were to be built, anything about the plan to cancel them or how to get cancellation costs from the OPA. Or, it was a blatant political move to protect Liberal seats that has left Ontarians with a $585-million tab to pay. Incompetence or questionable politics? That's quite the choice. "Connected to your Community" 467 Speers Road, Oakville ON, L6K 3S4 General Inquiries: (905) 845-3824 Editorial Department: (905) 632-0588 Fax: (905) 337-5566 Classi ed Advertising: (905) 632-4440 Circulation: 5300 Harvester Rd., Burlington (905) 631-6095 Volume 51 | Number 57 The Oakville Beaver is a division of Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. Vice ­President and Group Publisher of Metroland West Regional General Manager Halton Region Editor in Chief Advertising Director NEIL OLIVER DAVID HARVEY JILL DAVIS DANIEL BAIRD Managing Editor ANGELA BLACKBURN RIZIERO VERTOLLI Photography Director Business Manager Director of Production SANDY PARE MARK DILLS MANUEL GARCIA Production Manager Director of Distribution CHARLENE HALL KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Not everyone agrees with survey I was surprised to see a recent report in the Oakville Beaver (Oakville more livable than other GTA areas: survey, Wednesday, May 8, 2013) indicating there was an above 90 per cent approval rating for Parks & Recreation -- they obviously did not take my vote. For the last three years I have been living beside Oakville Trafalgar High School, which connects to Albion Park, which I have been walking through with my children to school -- and one that is not pristine or livable in my opinion. I still continue to write, e-mail, phone the director of Parks, the mayor, Town of Oakville representatives and the high school principal of OTHS in response to the litter. It is truly upsetting when you send constant e-mails, receive responses that they are going to monitor the situation more thoroughly, or a team of students will be set up to clean up this space and yet I continue to walk through the garbage with my small children. I am told that it has been a constant battle between the Town and the high school as it is Town's property where the youths are hanging out and littering but it's youths of the high school that are doing it -- let's stop the blame game and resolve it. A few weeks ago there was an article in the Beaver about a gentleman that was experiencing the same issue in another part of Oakville, did they get his vote on the survey? I question what it is about the youths and their disregard for the environment that they live in -- do they really want to sit, hang out where there is garbage? It is ultimately frustrating when, as a mother of young children, I am trying to teach my children to respect the Earth -- we only have one Earth and we must care for it -- put garbage and recycling in its place. Mr. Burton, Parks and Recreation, stop making excuses, don't use this survey to say everything is great at our parks -- start cleaning. Keri Currie, Oakville Letters to the Editor Proud Official Media Sponsor For: Canadian Circulations Audit Board Member Recognized for Excellence by Ontario Community Newspapers Association Canadian Community Newspapers Association Proud Official Media Sponsor For: The Oakville Beaver welcomes letters from its readers. Letters will be edited for clarity, length, legal considerations and grammar. In order to be published all letters must contain the name, address and phone number of the author. Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Oakville Beaver, 467 Speers Rd., Oakville ON, L6K 3S4, or via e-mail to; ablackburn@oakvillebeaver.com. The Beaver reserves the right to refuse to publish a letter. The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone 416-340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline.