Tuesday November 22, 2016
Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday November 22, 2016
Wynne calls high electricity prices her ‘mistake’
Premier Kathleen Wynne is calling high electricity prices her “mistake,” sounding a note of contrition on one of the major issues threatening the Liberals’ re-election bid in 2018.
Amid the usual rallying of the troops at the Ontario Liberals’ annual general meeting Saturday, Wynne addressed her poor popularity numbers, which she called the “elephant in the room.”
“I think that people look at me and many of them think, ‘She’s not who we thought she was. She’s become a typical politician. She’ll do anything to win,'” Wynne said.
“Frankly, I may have and I think I sometimes have given them reason to think that.”
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Wynne said part of convincing Ontarians that she wants to do what is in their best interests is admitting when she has made a mistake.
“People have told me that they’ve had to choose between paying the electricity bill and buying food or paying rent,” Wynne said.
“That is unacceptable to me. It is unacceptable that people in Ontario are facing that choice. Our government made a mistake. It was my mistake.”
An eight-per-cent rebate on electricity bills comes into effect Jan. 1, but Wynne said she will find more ways to lower rates and reduce the burden on consumers.
After her speech, Wynne wouldn’t point to any specific decision on the electricity file that she deems a mistake, but said her focus was on the big issues facing the system and she hasn’t always paid enough attention to how costs were accumulating on people’s bills. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)