Minister's Speech

Speaking Points prepared for:

The Honourable John Gerretsen
Minister of the Environment

Eco-Power official opening
Wolfe Island

September 10, 2009
Time: 11:00 A.M.

(Check against delivery)

Thank you Kent.  (Minister to be introduced by Emcee Kent Brown - CEO of Canadian Hydro Developers)

I’m glad to join my good friend and Queen’s Park colleague George Smitherman, Minister of Energy and Infrastructure … Member of Parliament for Leeds-Grenville Gord Brown and Jim Vanden Hoek, Mayor of the Township of Frontenac Islands as well as all our special guests.

As MPP for Kingston and the Islands … I want to welcome you all here today to Wolfe Island.

This is a beautiful part of our region to visit at any time of year, and as I understand it, there have been a lot of visitors this summer, and tours of the Wolfe Island Eco-Power Centre have already become a very popular attraction.

That’s another plus for the local businesses on the island.

So, this official opening event is exciting for a number of reasons.

As you’ve heard Minister Smitherman, this facility is the second-largest in Canada and it pushes Ontario past 1,000 MW generated from new wind energy.

Clean, renewable energy is now helping power the homes and businesses throughout this area.

As Minister of the Environment … I know this facility is going to make a big difference in helping us reduce greenhouse gas emissions and replace coal-fired electricity in our province by the end of 2014.

Closing coal will be the greatest single reduction of greenhouse gases in Canada and Ontario was the first jurisdiction in North America to take this bold step.

Ontario’s climate change action plan sets ambitious but realistic targets: six per cent below 1990 levels by 2014 and 15 per cent by 2020 … in step with some of the most aggressive targets of any jurisdiction.

It's also a key part of our government’s plan to create green jobs and bring economic growth to Ontario.

The Wolfe Island EcoPower Centre is important to the people and the economy in this area.

It’s creating jobs … around 350 on the island during construction and eight new full-time positions here at the facility.

It’s also providing classroom and site training for students enrolled in the wind turbine technicians program now offered at St. Lawrence College in Kingston.

And it will generate around $3 million dollars to the community.

As we work to fight climate change and transform our province — clean, renewable sources of energy will be an important and integral part of the future of our province.

We are living in a new world where we no longer think about the environment versus the economy.

Today we recognize it’s the environment and the economy together — with exciting new opportunities for businesses to grow and succeed by developing new and innovative, environmentally-focussed technologies.

We are going to continue to work with all our partners to ensure we continue building healthy communities, create good green jobs for Ontarians and fight climate change.

The opening of this unique facility is another big step towards that goal.

Thank you.

 

 

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