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“The City of Toronto’s TransformTO Net Zero Strategy indicates that meeting our climate goals and reaping the benefits to health, equity, prosperity, and resilience, is heavily dependent on the availability of affordable, reliable, low-carbon electricity. The City identified that the need for all parties to work together to transition Ontario’s electricity system away from natural gas to a resilient system focused on low-carbon energy sources, distributed local renewable energy generation, storage, and energy efficiency.”

“Natural gas is a fossil fuel responsible for over half of Toronto’s annual greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions as the primary energy source for heating buildings…Enbridge Gas Inc. (“Enbridge”) is the utility serving Toronto's consumption of natural gas through a network of transmission and distribution pipelines that connect to over 550,000 gas customers in Toronto.”

“The Government of Ontario is moving forward with plans to increase electricity generation in our province by including in the mix additional natural gas-fired power production despite the increase in greenhouse gasses this will bring. The Electricity Distributors Association, of which Toronto Hydro is a member, has produced studies showing that investment in conservation and efficiency would meet the Province's energy goals at a much lower price than adding more natural gas-fired power generation. Locally the new provincial policy could mean burning more fossil fuels at the Portlands Energy Centre on our waterfront when the City of Toronto has repeatedly committed to combatting climate change through reduced emissions.”

“Through the Home Energy Loan Program (HELP), the City offers low-interest loans to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in support of the City’s TransformTO climate action strategy and net-zero emissions target.” New funding “will be used to enhance the City's current HELP program and help Toronto homeowners undertake home energy efficiency retrofits and support the local economy.”

“We can't wait any longer for action. Our youth and future generations have the most to lose from a lack of immediate action to stop fossil fuel expansion as they face major and lifelong health, ecological, social and economic impacts from prolonged and cumulative effects of climate change, including food and water shortages, infectious diseases and natural disasters and entire communities are impacted by the health and safety risks of fossil fuel expansion, especially those who also face socioeconomic and health inequities.”

“The Government of Ontario is planning to increase its reliance on gas-fired electricity to replace the output of the Pickering Nuclear Station (its operating licence expires on December 31, 2024) and to meet a rising demand for electricity.” Toronto “must join 13 municipal governments across Ontario, to ask that the Provincial government develop and implement a plan to phase-out all gas-fired electricity generation as soon as possible, to help municipalities in Ontario meet their climate targets.”