TORONTO — The Ontario NDP believes there is blood in the water after the cancellation of the Nation Rise Wind Farm, and it could become the Ford Government’s version of the gas plant scandal that scarred the former Liberal government.
With that in mind, the NDP is following the playbook from the gas plants issue by asking the auditor general to investigate how much cancelling the wind farm will cost the province. The critic for energy and the climate crisis, Peter Tabuns, sent a letter to the auditor general’s office requesting she look into the issue.
“Given the significant costs to taxpayers when energy contracts are cancelled, I request that your office review the costs associated with cancelling the Nation Rise Wind Farm project at …
... more [truncated due to possible copyright]TORONTO — The Ontario NDP believes there is blood in the water after the cancellation of the Nation Rise Wind Farm, and it could become the Ford Government’s version of the gas plant scandal that scarred the former Liberal government.
With that in mind, the NDP is following the playbook from the gas plants issue by asking the auditor general to investigate how much cancelling the wind farm will cost the province. The critic for energy and the climate crisis, Peter Tabuns, sent a letter to the auditor general’s office requesting she look into the issue.
“Given the significant costs to taxpayers when energy contracts are cancelled, I request that your office review the costs associated with cancelling the Nation Rise Wind Farm project at this late stage in its construction,” wrote Tabuns.
“Additionally I request that your office, in your new role as commissioner of the environment, conduct a review of the decision making process that led to the revocation of the project’s approvals, including any scientific evidence the minister used to justify his government’s decision to scrap this renewable energy project.”
Speaking with the Standard-Freeholder on Friday, Tabuns said he is convinced there is no scientific basis for Environment Minister Jeff Yurek’s decision to revoke the project’s Renewable Energy Approval in the middle of construction. Instead, he believes it was a political decision, just like the decision made by the Liberals during the 2011 election to cancel the gas plants in Mississauga and Oakville.
“The minister said he felt that there was a risk to endangered species of bats, but his own ministry didn’t feel there was a risk, the Environmental Review Tribunal didn’t feel there was a risk, and the residents who were appealing didn’t even raise the issue of bats,” said Tabins. “This is a government with an otherwise miserable record on endangered species. So we would like to know what the real reason was.”
Tabuns also believes it will be an immensely costly decision for Ontario and is certain the auditor general will agree.
The NDP has warned that unless the cancellation is overturned by courts or reversed by the government, the company behind the project, EDP Renewables, will be forced to sue the province for damages, which could cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
EDP has filed for judicial review of Yurek’s decision, but has not made any public indication it would sue the province if its approval is not reinstated – but it does seem likely. In its court filing, the company notes many of the turbines from the project are fully or partially erected, meaning the $230 million it has spent so far would be lost entirely if the project does not resume.
Tabuns said he believes an auditor general would conclude Ontario is on the hook for that $230 million. When asked if potential damages from a lawsuit that hasn’t been filled are something the auditor general would be able to quantify, Tabuns noted that is precisely what happened after the investigation into the gas plant closures.
“It was the auditor general’s assessment of the potential losses that we used all used as the figure: $1.1 billion. She based that on the lost profits that the province would be expected to make up for,” he said.
Local MPP Jim McDonell argued there is nothing out of the ordinary for an energy project to be cancelled over environmental concerns, and is skeptical that having the auditor general look into what the potential costs are is appropriate at this stage.
“I’m not sure there would be any costs, and even if there are, I think it’s a little premature to be looking into them now. I guess we’ll have to see how that unfolds,” said McDonell.
Back in January of 2018, McDonell told that the Nation Valley News that cancelling the Nation Rise Wind Farm would be akin to what the Liberals did during the gas plants scandal.
“We can’t do what the previous government did,” he said at the time.
When asked about this, McDonell waved off comparisons with the gas plants scandal by arguing, unlike what had happened then, the appropriate process had been followed and a decision was made for legitimate environmental reasons.
“(The Liberals) closed those plants for purely political reasons … and put in some restrictions that forced the province to pay over a billion dollars,” said McDonell. “This decision was done through an environmental review triggered by residents. Our experts came back and identified (the bats) issue. It’s as simple as that.”
Who these experts are is not clear. The Ministry of the Environment endorsed the wind farm project before the Yurek reversed course, as did the Environmental Review Tribunal.
“Dalton McGuinty told us he followed a process as well,” retorted Tabuns.
A decision on whether the auditor general will investigate the cancellation is expected in the coming weeks.