Can You Have Your Cake And Eat It Too?

There is no question that the Ontario McGuinty Government is committed to preventing climate change and making Ontario the greenest place to live in North America. However, in the pursuit of a green Ontario, Dalton McGuinty has upset quite a few Ontarians.

Recently, the Ontario government has been trying to have a power plant built on the outskirts of GTA in the town of Oakville. The need is due to growing demand from the GTA, including the Town of Oakville and its neighbouring City of Mississauga. The proposed power plant is going to be the cleanest possible energy producing type of power plant. In the midst of this, the bad news is that Oakville citizens are outraged. After incidents of industrial accidents all over the country and the recent power plant explosion in the United States, the people of Oakville don't want a power plant explosion happening there.

Oakville Mayor Rob Burton and Liberal MPP Kevin Flynn have teamed up to fight the power plant from coming to Oakville. The dispute over the power plant between the Liberal Premier and his MPP has been in the headlines for months. Flynn, who has directly gone against the vision of the government he is apart of is the right thing to do. Flynn stated this past week that “I really think it’s a decency issue. It’s really, ‘Who do you work for at the end of the day?’ It’s for the constituents.” No doubt, the decision to go against the Premier isn't the best move career wise but in the end its about the people, and Flynn has not forgotten the people he is representing.

However, one must also see the situation from the other side. The suburbs are building houses that resemble castles more than suburban homes, no doubt generating large energy bills to match. Houses that big require more energy to light, heat, cool and maintain in general. Are people prepared to reduce their energy needs in order to reduce the need for a new power plant?

In closing, the people and politicians of Oakville and the Provincial government have quite the dilemma on their hands. The power is required but the closeness of the facility to the houses and schools in east Oakville are too close for comfort. Obviously, increased power generation has to come from somewhere - so perhaps people need to look in the mirror and think - you can't have your cake and eat it too!