The McGuinty government’s credibility is on the line as the public awaits a final decision on the proposed rate cuts to the province’s solar MicroFIT program. The unexpected announcement proposing to reduce the feed-in tariff rate for small ground-mounted solar projects by 27% has sparked outrage from thousands of farmers, solar energy entrepreneurs and citizens who have invested thousands of dollars in helping Ontario develop a vibrant solar industry.

The Ontario Power Authority (OPA) is expected to announce its final decision later this week, but whatever final decision is reached, the MicroFIT debacle offers important insights into the priorities and values of the current Liberal government as well as lessons for those who support a stable, fair and transparent investment climate promoting sustainability in Ontario.

Last year, the Liberal government introduced the MicroFIT program to stimulate the development of small-scale renewable energy in the province. The program offered landowners who invested in solar energy projects smaller than 10 kilowatts the opportunity to sell power back to the grid at $0.802 per kilowatt hour under a 20-year, fixed price contract. The government said the offer would remain in effect until a review in 2011, and everyone who met the contract conditions would be offered a contract.

The response showed a deep ground-swell of support with over 16,000 applications received by the start of last month and installation companies, distributors and manufactures began investing in staff and equipment to meet the demand.

Then, on the Friday of the July long weekend, Energy and Infrastructure Minister Bud Duguid made the surprise announcement that wreaked havoc in the emerging solar energy industry. The government would no longer stand by its commitment to pay $0.802 kilowatt hour for ground mounted solar projects. Worse yet, this change would be applied retroactively to the nearly 10,000 project owners who had already submitted an application but did not have a contract because of processing delays at the OPA.

The instability and uncertainty created by the unexpected cuts caused a domino effect. Betrayed and outraged project owners, mostly farmers, cancelled outstanding orders. Renewable energy entrepreneurs saw business collapse overnight, leaving them on the hook with millions of dollars invested in inventory and training. Solar manufacturers halted job-creating investments in new facilities. Sadly for some, RRSP investments and savings may be lost.

There is no dispute that the government has the right to review programs based on changes to the economy or budget resources. What farmers and solar energy entrepreneurs have demanded, with the support of the Green Party, is that the government honour it’s commitment to all those who had submitted a contract application by the start of July, and that any review of the feed-in tariff going forward should be done in an open, transparent and predictable way.

Renewable energy, including community-based renewable energy, needs to be a key pillar of Ontario’s energy strategy moving forward. A community focused energy strategy will lead to a decentralized and distributed system of power generation that will be more resilient and secure. Such an approach creates opportunities for every Ontarian to be green energy entrepreneurs generating income and creating jobs in communities across the province. To achieve this vision, the public must demand the Liberal government honour its commitments and support a transparent, open and predictable process.

— Schreiner is leader of the Green Party of Ontario

VANCOUVER — The Green Party of Canada is pleased to announce NHL star player Georges Laraque as the new Deputy Leader.  “Georges is a very committed Green, passionate about a number of causes, including the relief effort in Haiti, animal welfare and sport,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May.  Originally from Montreal, Mr. Laraque officially joined the ranks of the Green Party of Canada earlier this year.  Mr. Laraque will join Adriane Carr as Deputy Leader, as under the Green Party of Canada constitution there are two deputy leaders.

“I am so pleased that we are here today in my riding of Vancouver Centre, the day before our Pride Parade, to welcome Georges Laraque as Deputy Leader of the Greens and to put a focus on the link between an active society and a sustainable society,” said Deputy Leader Adriane Carr.

“After working for many years on key issues like animal welfare and improving lives in Haiti, I am so pleased to have joined a political party that truly cares about building a healthy and just society,” said Georges Laraque. “I believe that the world becomes a better place one person at a time and that every single individual should do their part to make a difference.  Canada has a serious problem with inactivity and obesity that deserves attention.  I look forward to working with the Green Party on making Canada the world’s healthiest and most sustainable country,” continued Mr. Laraque.

“As Deputy Leader, Georges will help us realize our goal of promoting active, healthy, sustainable lifestyles as part of the Green agenda,” said Elizabeth May, Leader of the Canadian Greens. “The Green Party would implement a broad-based national program of active living to both lower health care costs and improve the overall health of Canadians. We would also introduce a national standard of daily, quality participation in physical activity for our youth to combat the epidemic of obesity.”

“Of course, the reason I was drawn to the Green Party is that it has excellent policies on a wide range of issues. From standing for social justice to strong fiscal policies, from supporting youth and the arts to eliminating poverty, I strongly believe that Green values and policies are the best for this great country of ours,” said Mr. Laraque.

The provincial CA and federal EDA executives had a joint meeting a week ago and here’s a brief update on what was discussed, what the near term plans are, etc.

Next meeting
The next EDA and CA combined meeting is on August 18th at 7:30pm (in the Glebe).  If you’d like to attend then drop me an email.

PRIDE Parade
Things are coming together nicely for pride parade. It’s a dutch date between us and Ottawa-Vanier – but of course EVERYONE is welcome to walk with us.  We won’t have Adriane Carr’s awesome “Shades of Green” swag from last year but we’ll bring all the enthusiasm nonetheless.
Green Party of Ontario Nomination Race
The CA has passed a motion that a nomination meeting will be held in September. A final date hasn’t been selected yet because we’re trying to coordinate the date with Ottawa-Vanier so Mike Schreiner will be able to make one trip up and attend both nomination meetings. If you’d like to seek the nomination you can contact the CA President, Paul Merriam (pmerriam at technologywise.net).

Carleton – Orientation Week
The Carleton Greens rebuilt themselves last year and I’m looking forward to getting out to the campus to help run a table during orientation (or anytime really). So join the Carleton Campus Greens and stop by when we get something going. Jon – I’m looking at you!

Fall Fundraiser
Look for a GPO fundraiser in the last week of September – we’ll be doing a dinner/talk/something-fun the week after the nomination meeting to get the ball really rolling for the provincial election next fall.  The plan for this event just hatched – so if you’d like to bring ideas forward for speakers, etc, I’m listening!
EDA Constitution
It was a long journey, but the federal EDA is now officially the “Ottawa Centre Federal Green Party Association”, courtesy of a motion the national council passed in June.  I realize this isn’t the most exciting news, but to anyone that was involved in getting the EDA’s constitution fixed up in 2010 you’ll be happy to hear the last item has been stricken from the TODO list!