26 Groups Urge Toronto to Reject Ontario’s Dirty Energy Plan
Toronto — On the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat, a coalition of 26 environmental, health, legal, and community organizations across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) has united to oppose the province’s new energy strategy.
The groups, including Environmental Defence, the Ontario Clean Air Alliance, Toronto East Residents for Renewable Energy (TERRE), the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), and Seniors for Climate Action Now! Toronto, are calling on Toronto City Council to dismiss the provincial plan.
They warn that the policy undermines Toronto’s climate objectives and risks locking residents into decades of fossil fuel reliance.
On October 31, the Independent Electricity System Operator (IESO) issued its final Integrated Regional Resource Plan (IRRP) for Toronto, a move many groups consider a setback to the city’s ambition for net-zero emissions.
This proposal contradicts the direction set by Toronto City Council under the TransformTO plan, which commits to shutting down the Portlands Energy Centre by 2035 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2040. Instead, the new provincial plan charts a course away from those goals.
Author’s Summary
Environmental, health, and community groups across Toronto urge the city to reject Ontario’s energy plan, arguing it endangers climate goals and entrenches fossil fuel use.