Wynne continues to ignore Chatham families and businesses: Nicholls

CHATHAM – Today Chatham-Kent-Essex MPP Rick Nicholls slammed Premier Kathleen Wynne for rushing through the community for a photo-op without taking time to meet with hardworking families.

“After 14 years of ignoring rural Ontario, the Wynne Liberals are finally pretending to pay attention a year before an election,” said Nicholls. “This visit does nothing to change the fact that under the Liberals, Chatham families are paying more and getting less.”

Kathleen Wynne’s visit comes as Hydro One customers in Chatham-Kent-Essex are facing yet another rate hike that would see them paying $141 more per year. Just last month, Hydro One justified the rate hike as a necessary cost to fix a backlog of repairs, yet it was recently announced that Hydro One spent $7 billion to buy a foreign utility company.

“Why should Ontario ratepayers be on the hook for yet another rate hike when Hydro One clearly has billions of dollars to throw around? While the Wynne Liberals have remained silent, I was proud to attend hearings on behalf of my constituents and call for the rate hike to be rejected,” added Nicholls.

Wynne is also visiting a local greenhouse at a time when numerous greenhouses are struggling with ballooning hydro costs and the Liberals’ cap-and-trade cash grab.

“Under the Liberals, greenhouses throughout the province are being driven out of business,” said Nicholls. “The Wynne Liberals seem to be indifferent to the fact that they are crippling an entire industry. An Ontario PC government would scrap the Liberals’ cap-and-trade cash grab, and put money back into the pockets of Ontario families and businesses.”

“The next election will be about who will make it easier for families to make ends meet and get ahead,” concluded Nicholls. “Unlike the Wynne Liberals, the Ontario PCs will continue to stand up for rural Ontario and Chatham-Kent-Essex so that hardworking families can get ahead.”