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TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW www.otx.ca Liona Boyd THE MEETING HOUSE 2700 BRISTOL CIRCLE OAKVILLE, ONTARIO GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS $49.50 VIP PACKAGE TICKETS $88.00 PLUS TAXES & SERVICE CHARGES OAKVILLE CENTRE for the PERFORMING ARTS www.oc4pa.ca/boxo ce LIVE IN CONCERT LOUCIN GUITAR CO. PRESENTS WITH SPECIAL GUEST SRDJAN GIVOJE Two Voices & Two Guitars FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 5 - 2010 8:00PM SHOWTIME supporting Halton Family Services - building strong community Call 905-815-2021 or Toll-Free 1-888-489-7784 5 Friday , O ctober 8, 2010 O A KVILLE BEA V ER w w w .o akvillebeaver .co m ented the project from getting started. C4CA members called Thursdays announce- ment a validation of their hard work. I think its fantastic, its incredible, said Doug MacKenzie, former C4CA president. I developed a plan a year ago, they took it to the minister and the Premier, that said exactly this. We dont need the power and we havent needed it for two years. Frank Clegg, the chair of C4CA, was also overwhelmed by the news that what his group has been fighting for, for more than a year, has finally happened. Were just thankful the Province listened. Were grateful to the mayor and the staff and the council for all the work they did and obviously were grateful for Kevin (Flynn) and his work, said Clegg. Were just humbled by all the work the citi- zens of Oakville did. They came together, pulled together and represented a great cause. This is a great way to start the Thanksgiving weekend. With the object of their opposition now gone, Clegg said he does not yet know what will hap- pen to C4CA or the money it has raised. Weve got to sit down together as a group and figure all this out, he said. With news of the announcement sinking in, the scene turned to one of jubilation outside Otellos. MacKenzie could be seen with tears running down his face as he hugged and congratulated C4CA colleagues while councillors lifted Flynn and Oakville Mayor Rob Burton off their feet in victory and celebration. I think everybody on council is as exhilarat- ed as I am, said Burton. When Brad Duguid became minister we talked that day and he promised me that he would have this decision reopened and re-exam- ined from the bottom up and he would make the right decision about it once he had done that thorough examination. He warned me it would take time and as he explained today he kept his word and he did that re-examination and he changed the decision. Theres a minister who kept his word, theres a minister I will always appreciate. Burton said the decision to scuttle the plant because the energy was not needed was vindicat- ing because this was part of the case the Town had made to the Province. Duguid would not comment on whether TransCanada was compensated for the loss of the contract. He would only say the government had a positive relationship with the energy giant. Trans Canadas response In a press release issued by TransCanada, it was noted the discussions regarding compensa- tion have yet to begin. We acknowledge the Governments decision that, in its words, a gas plant in Oakville is no longer needed and, as a result, the plant will not proceed, reads the statement. In order to comply with the Governments direction, TransCanada has been informed that the Ontario Power Authority (OPA) wishes to begin discussions where both sides mutually agree to terminate the contract and discuss rea- sonable payments TransCanada is entitled to. We appreciate the fact that the Ontario Government and TransCanada have had a posi- tive working relationship and we look forward to discussing potential opportunities of working together in the future as the governments Long Term Energy Plan is developed. A representative from Ford said the company is looking to the Province for further details about this decision at this time. Myopic, short-term political decisions could add $1 billion to the cost of energy in Ontario, said Halton MPP Ted Chudleigh, upon hearing the McGuinty government will scrap plans to build a controversial gas-fired power plant in southeast Oakville. We told the government that the plan to build in this location was short-sighted, that they shouldnt build, but they went ahead any- way and made a deal that is going to cost taxpay- ers a huge amount of money now that theyve changed their minds, said Chudleigh in a release. The inability to see beyond their imme- diate decisions to the implications of those deci- sions is a hallmark of this government. Chudleigh suggested that todays announce- ment is politically motivated in that current Oakville MPP Kevin Flynn would have trouble facing voters in a year should the power plant have been constructed. This power plant simply did not make sense from a safety standpoint, said Chudleigh. It was foolish to have entertained construction of this plant in the first place and downright reck- less to financially bind the people of Ontario to this plan. It is possible that the plant will be built in another location, such as Nanticoke which had lobbied for the plant, but today's announcement suggested the power the plant should have gen- erated is no longer required for Ontarios power grid. Chudleigh was skeptical given he had asked the minister this very question last March. I asked Energy Minister Brad Duguid if there was any need for this plant, given that electricity demand has fallen substantially from a peak of 27,000 megawatts in 2005 to just over 22,000 megawatts in 2009. At that time he said that the Oakville plant was being built to take up the capacity of coal plants that were going to be closed. As far as I know no coal plants have been closed recently, said Chudleigh. It seems to me that the Liberal government is willing to forego their plans to close coal plants and spend up to $1 billion in taxpayer funds to try to hold onto Mr. Flynns riding. That is shameful. Chudleigh blasts Liberals for short-sightedness C4CA thanks province for listening Continued from page 4