Watching the news last night, I was reminded once more of how personally repugnant my decision to vote for the McGuinty government is. I cited the reasons for my shift in
yesterday's post, and although from my perspective there is no reasonable alternative in my riding, it still does not sit well with me.
During a news scrum yesterday, McGuinty was asked how much the decision to halt the still-ongoing construction of
the Mississauga power plant (a decision the Premier insists was not prompted by electoral concerns) is going to cost taxpayers. His reply: “That is the subject of continuing conversation.”
He was then asked how much it had cost to halt the Oakville power plant last year after sustained demonstrations and representations by the people. His answer, this time with a smirk, was “That is the subject of continuing conversation.”
Now I realize that politicians never want to hand any ammunition to their opponents, especially during an election campaign, but the 'wink-wink, nudge-nudge' demeanour of the Premier makes us all complicit in the lie he is telling. To brazenly feign ignorance about such costs is in fact to lie to the electorate, the very people our government is supposed to be representing, and the saddest part is he realizes he can get away with it because of our natural passivity and ignorance.
My feelings of impotence and anger grow daily.
UPDATE: The Ontario Premier's professed ignorance notwithstanding, a story in today's
Star puts the cost at shutting down both the Oakville and Mississauga power plant projects at about $1 billion.
