A child-care advocate says a proposed cut to Ontario’s childcare funding could cripple child care centres in Toronto.

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The only thing missing from Cathy Crowe’s victory party was the victory.

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The landmark agreement between the Ontario government and a South Korean consortium is expected to create more than 16,000 new jobs over the next six years, but only a number of them will be permanent.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty announced details of the new green-energy deal during a news conference Thursday at the Toronto Stock Exchange tower.

The consortium, which comprises Samsung C&T Corporation, the Korea Electric Power Corporation and their manufacturing partners, is worth $7-billion and promises to harness 2,500 megawatts of wind and solar power.

“We’re doing more than just creating jobs, although creating jobs is very important,” McGuinty said. “We’re trying to lay the foundation here for new economic growth in Ontario. We’re not going to make it by pulling gas and oil out of the Earth.”

Under the deal, the South Korean consortium will be paid 13.5 cents per kilowatt hour of wind power and 44.3 cents for each kWh of solar power.

In addition to these standard ‘Feed-In-Tariff‘ prices, the province has sweetened the deal with an ‘Economic Development Adder’ tied to the creation of four manufacturing facilities which, when up and running, would bring 1,440 long-term manufacturing jobs for the province.

The total cost of the EDA, over the 25-year life of the deal, is estimated at $437 million. This will add about $1.60 annually to a residential electricity bill, which equates to about 0.1 to 0.15 per cent increase.

Progressive Conservative energy critic John Yakabuski said Ontarians will be paying for this deal for a long time to come.

“About 1,400 of the jobs could be permanent.” Yakabuski said. “The rest are just part short-term jobs involving construction at a very, very high subsidized cost of electricity, 13.5 cents, that consumers and businesses are going to be taking it on the chin.”

Yakabuski said another point of contention is the project was never put up for public bidding: “It offered no opportunity for Canadian or Ontario based companies to be involved in the process.”

Premier McGuinty assured that the EDA will only be paid if the facilities are fully operational on time.

The first two plants to build wind towers and solar inverters must be operational by March 31, 2013. They will be built in Chatham-Kent and Haldimand County in south-western Ontario.

The place to build the two remaining plants is still a matter of discussion. One will be a solar module assembly, and the other will make wind blades. They have to be operational by Dec. 31, 2013 and Dec. 31, 2015 respectively.

“This is about building the industry for the future,” McGuinty said. “The reason that we are taking this giant step forward today, the reason that Samsung approached us in the first instance, is because of Ontario’s Green Energy Act.

“Our Green Energy Act is the best of its kind, best in class in North America, and is doing what it’s supposed to do. It’s making Ontario the place to be for the green economy, the place to be for green energy jobs,” the premier said.

This single-largest investment in renewable energy is set to triple Ontario’s renewable energy output

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty reshuffled his cabinet Monday, bringing in fresh new faces and moving some familiar ones around. Continue Reading

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and the city of Toronto couldn’t be any happier after winning the rights to host the 2015 Pan American Games.

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When Canadian Olympic hurdler Priscilla Lopes-Schliep was growing up, Toronto had a severe lack of sporting infrastructure.

That situation has changed now that Toronto has won the bid to host the 2015 Pan American Games.

The winning city was announced Friday and supporters say holding the events will bring countless opportunities for the next generation of Canadian athletes to excel in their sport.

“This is going to help bring more opportunity for the younger generation,” said Olympic hurdler Priscilla Lopes Schliep, just before the announcement. “Once the Games have taken place and the facilities are there, it’s going to enrich those kids and help with other events.

“I wish we had more facilities when I was growing up because we were kind of limited to certain places to go and work out.”

Athletes from all over the world will compete in 50 venues in 17 municipalities across the Golden Horseshoe.

Potential projects in the bid include a Pan American stadium and velodrome to be built in Hamilton. The stadium will be able to seat 15,000 spectators.

A Pan American aquatic centre, two new 50-metre, 10-lane pools, and the Canadian Sport Institute Ontario, are also slated for the University of Toronto’s Scarborough campus.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty noted Canada’s struggle to compete on the world stage and believes the new venues will help change that trend.

“On a per capita basis in terms of competitive athletes on a national level, we have fallen considerably behind,” he said.

“What I really want to do is extend the net a lot wider so that more kids from all backgrounds who have the talent and the desire will have the opportunity to participate in amateur sport.”

The Toronto games will include $1.4 billion going towards sporting infrastructure. Along with the construction of six new facilities, existing venues such as the pools at the Etobicoke Olympium and the track at Centennial Park will be refurbished.

“The benefit to our athletes would be immeasurable,” said rhythmic gymnastic Alexandra Orlando. “I think this is the largest investment in sport infrastructure this province ever will have seen.

“Not only will it be putting up new facilities, which is incredible, but it also will be renovating existing ones.”

But it’s not just athletes who will benefit from the new venues. The construction of the aquatic centre will speed up the building of the TTC’s Scarborough-Malvern Light Rapid Transit Line so it is expected to be ready in time for the Games.

Also included in the bid proposal is $1 billion athletes village in the West Don Lands, expected to become a mixed-income neighbourhood after 2015.

Existing venues in Toronto’s plan include the Rogers Centre, BMO Field, the Air Canada Centre, Rexall Tennis Centre, Copps Coliseum, Fletcher’s Field, the Hershey Centre, Ricoh Coliseum, Ryerson University, Roy Thomson Hall, and the Royal Canadian Henley Regatta.

The venues will be separated into three Games Zones. The Central Zone will consist of facilities in Toronto, Brampton, Markham, and Mississauga.

Pickering, Ajax, Whitby, and Oshawa will make up the East Zone, and the West Zone will include Burlington and Hamilton.

Adding the latest chapter to the scandal-plagued eHealth Ontario saga, provincial Auditor General Jim McCarter said Wednesday that hundreds of millions of dollars have been wasted while Ontario taxpayers got little, or no, value for their money. Continue Reading