It was just going to be a quick meeting, 10 minutes in and out max, but a funny thing happened between that time and when the agenda was released a few weeks ago. Mostly, a couple of councillors wanted to have their say about more provincial overreach, in this case when it comes to how Queen’s Park is looking to override the Ontario Energy Board. So did council lay the smack down, and how many of them wanted no part of it? Read on…
Regular Meeting of City Council – March 27
If it weren’t for that one item then this might have been a historically short meeting, but Councillor Leanne Caron wanted council to weigh in on a complicated matter involving the Ontario Energy Board, Government of Ontario oversight and interference, and the metrics of the City of Guelph’s fight against climate change.
At issue was the Ontario Energy Board’s decision that Enbridge can no longer tag infrastructure costs for new developments onto existing natural gas customers. The Ontario government is presently working on Bill 165, which will override the OEB decision, and Caron calls it the subsidisation of fossil fuel development. The climate activist group Environmental Defense was looking for municipal councils to back up the OEB, but the Guelph & District Home Builders Association wanted Guelph Council to take a pass.
The five delegates that appeared at the meeting also supported the OEB including one of the staffers from Environmental Defense, Evan Ferrari from eMERGE Guelph and two Grade 11 students. There was concern about the environmental impacts of natural gas development, and there was also concern about overbuilding natural gas infrastructure that will then become under-used as alternatives become cheaper and cheaper. There were also remarks about how the OEB decision does not ban natural gas, it just doesn’t force customers to subsidize the installation of natural gas pipelines for new homes.
When it came time for council to talk, it didn’t seem like there was a lot that needed to be said. Many of the councillors that offered some pre-vote commentary agreed about they need to speak out about the provincial government’s overreach with regulators, and that cities, who are already bearing the brunt of climate action, need to take a stand.
Mayor Cam Guthrie had an alternative take though. He said that the issue was more complicated and that he did not feel comfortable voting in favour of a motion without having more information. He also said that he didn’t want to interfere while the decision was being appealed and how he wasn’t convinced that Bill 165 counted as political interference.
Three councillors – Dan Gibson, Christine Billings and Ken Yee Chew – agreed with Guthrie and voted against the motion, but it still passed with eight votes.
Click here to see the complete recap of the meeting.
Guelph Politico 