Liberals Covered-Up Return of Debt Retirement Charge

Today in Question Period, Kathleen Wynne and Energy Minister Glenn Thibeault again tried to cover up the fact that they’re bringing back the Debt Retirement Charge, which is a charge on electricity bills that has been widely unpopular with Ontarians.

“The Liberals say they have a real plan but their own leaked cabinet document says otherwise. We’ve been sold a false bill of goods, a farce. Their own cabinet report shows that bills will skyrocket,” charged PC Leader Patrick Brown.

The return of this charge was revealed in an internal leaked cabinet document made public last week. However, this charge was not mentioned by Premier Wynne and Minister Thibeault when they released their so-called ‘Fair Hydro Plan’ in March 2017.

“This is the debt retirement charge we all remember from our bills – only now on steroids,” said Ontario PC Energy Critic Todd Smith. “The Liberals can call this charge whatever they want. The fact is that it’s not just going to pay for energy costs. People’s bills will pay interest to bankers – all to try and rescue this premier’s rock-bottom approval ratings.”

The Liberals have also not been forthcoming about the fact that hydro rates will spike after the next election, which was revealed in the leaked document last week.