That McGuinty Government...!

"No comprehensive evaluation was done on the impact of the billion-dollar commitment to renewable energy on such things as future electricity prices, net job creation or losses across the province, and greenhouse gas emissions." Ontario Auditor General Jim McCarter

Ontario Liberal Leader Dalton McGuinty, Progressive Conservative chief Tim Hudak and the NDP's Andrea Horwath address supporters at their respective election headquarters on Oct. 6, 2011. The Globe and Mail

Really, some people can be so irritatingly picayune when presented with the larger picture of what the government of Dalton McGuinty knows is best for the province and for the electorate who have blessed him with their trust and another four years (if he's lucky and we're not) in office. Yet, one can only wonder; if the Auditor General's scathing report of criminal incompetence had been aired at an earlier date, might the election results of 6 October have resulted otherwise?

Likely not. As in, do we really care?

Guess not. He's back in his comfy legislature throne, leading us into the future as he sees it in his fiefdom. An energy-green future, embarked upon with blind faith. Certainly not with due diligence beforehand, nor even requisite oversight throughout the process as we loom into the future of even greater increases fobbed off on the people of Ontario, while Mr. McGuinty smirks complacently.

The list of incompetence is fairly extensive, from wind and solar projects approved sans adequate oversight, leading the government to (us, our taxes) spending billions over what should be required for the purpose at hand. That is, in stark dollar terms, held to be $4.4-billion more than it/we should have to fork out over the course of the next two decades - living green by Premier McGuinty's casual standards.

The government of the Province of Ontario blissfully paid no attention whatever to the recommendations given it by its own agencies to lower renewable power rates. It was the government's view that a stable, albeit horrendously expensive price was worth it to maintain 'investor confidence'. Fully $2.6-billion, according to the Auditor General, could have been saved had the government followed advice given and dropped rates by 9% prior to launching its program.

We will now be blessed, for decades in the future, with excess energy. Which cannot be stored, and will have to continue to be 'sold' at fire-sale prices to users in Quebec and the United States at a cost to Ontario taxpayers. The Government of Ontario, under firm contracts it signed with green-energy producers will pay, on our behalf, electricity generators billions not to produce electricity because it is excess to our needs.

As for the claims of 50,000 green jobs having been created under the wonderful stewardship of the McGuinty government, where are they? Most of them are short-term in nature, and then suddenly they won't be there. The wind power generator deal with Samsung was signed by the Minister of Energy for $7-billion to build renewable power plants, equipment-supply plants and "Neither the Ontario Energy Board nor the Ontario Power Authority was consulted".

Nor, actually was the wisdom of the deal debated beforehand in Cabinet; they were informed after an announcement was made public. "Normal due diligence for an expenditure of this magnitude had not been followed." In addition, Samsung consortium was in line for a gratuitous $437-million bonus to have the plants built in Ontario, which the Auditor General had cut to $110-million after researching the deal.

Pity we couldn't switch roles, placing Jim McCarter in the premier's chair and sending Dalton McGuinty to oversee the Auditor General's department.