<html><head></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:HelveticaNeue, Helvetica Neue, Helvetica, Arial, Lucida Grande, sans-serif;font-size:16px"><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11967"><font color="#cc0000" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11968"><big id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11969"><span style="font-weight: 700;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11970">Ontario and Quebec flip the switch to a new electricity era</span></big></font></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11971">Today, the Ontario and Quebec governments started a new era by agreeing to a firm electricity import-export deal.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11972"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://cleanair.hosted.phplist.com/lists/lt.php?id=f0wPUAtEBwECGlUFWlAA" style="color: rgb(25, 106, 212);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11973">Ontario will import 2 billion kWh of water power from Quebec </a>each year for the next seven years – enough power to keep the lights on in a city the size of North Bay.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11974"><font color="#cc0000" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11975">This is an important beginning to a new, more integrated approach to meeting the needs of both provinces: Ontario gets reliable, low cost, clean renewable power while Quebec gets more value from its growing surplus of water and wind power.</font></div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11976">Of course, this should be <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://cleanair.hosted.phplist.com/lists/lt.php?id=f0wPUApEBwECGlUFWlAA" style="color: rgb(25, 106, 212);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11977">just the beginning of a beautiful friendship</a> as our two systems are well matched: Ontario needs to lower costs and move away from its overwhelming reliance on <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://cleanair.hosted.phplist.com/lists/lt.php?id=f0wPUg9EBwECGlUFWlAA" style="color: rgb(25, 106, 212);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11978">increasingly expensive nuclear power</a> and Quebec needs to find new buyers for its growing supply of renewable energy.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11979">I talked about how Ontario could benefit from making a deal with Quebec <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://cleanair.hosted.phplist.com/lists/lt.php?id=f0wPUA1EBwECGlUFWlAA" style="color: rgb(25, 106, 212);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11980">on TVO’s the Agenda last night</a>. Now we have broken the ice and made the first step toward really tapping into the benefits that would come with <font color="#cc0000" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11981">replacing ever more expensive nuclear with low-cost water power</font>. I am hoping our governments will quickly go further and seal a deal that would enable us to close the aging and dangerous Pickering Nuclear Station when its licence expires in 2018.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11982">This breakthrough comes just as Ontario is reaching out and asking citizens to comment on this province’s energy future. The provincial government is <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://cleanair.hosted.phplist.com/lists/lt.php?id=f0wPUAxEBwECGlUFWlAA" style="color: rgb(25, 106, 212);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11983">launching consultations</a> on the next version of its Long Term Energy Plan next week. I strongly encourage you to get out and participate in <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://cleanair.hosted.phplist.com/lists/lt.php?id=f0wPUAxEBwECGlUFWlAA" style="color: rgb(25, 106, 212);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11984">the in-person consultations in your area</a> and make it clear that Ontario will thrive by committing to renewable energy, not by turning back the clock to the fading nuclear age. If you can’t get to a meeting, you can provide comments online. We need the government to hear loud and clear that the <a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://cleanair.hosted.phplist.com/lists/lt.php?id=f0wOVwlEBwECGlUFWlAA" style="color: rgb(25, 106, 212);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11985">high-cost Pickering Nuclear Station must go no later than 2018</a>.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11986"><a rel="nofollow" target="_blank" href="http://cleanair.hosted.phplist.com/lists/lt.php?id=f0wPUA9EBwECGlUFWlAA" style="color: rgb(25, 106, 212);" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11987">Our vision is for a 100% Renewable Ontario</a>. Today, we took an important step toward that goal.</div><div style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, "Lucida Grande", sans-serif; font-size: 13px;" dir="ltr" id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1477110845839_11988">-Angela Bischoff, Outreach Director</div></div></body></html>