LATEST NEWS 
May 29, 2006
Decision delayed on energy strategy
TORONTO
A surprise Ontario government cabinet shuffle that returned Dwight Duncan to the energy portfolio has further delayed a key report outlining the province’s strategy to prevent future electricity shortages.
The report — a formal response to December recommendations that $40 billion be spent on upgrading and expanding existing nuclear plants to prevent future blackouts — was expected weeks ago.
Donna Cansfield, who was energy minister before the cabinet shuffle, was expected to respond to the Ontario Power Authority’s proposal in the next week or two.
But her move to transportation — part of a domino effect caused by Greg Sorbara’s reinstatement to the finance portfolio — will further hold up the response, which is highly anticipated by stakeholders, including Ontario’s construction industry.
A government source said it could be mid- to late June before Duncan is in a position to release such a statement, which would launch a process that could eventually result in the construction of new nuclear power facilities.
Even after the government responds to the report, Premier Dalton McGuinty has promised months of further discussion about how to meet energy supply targets in an environmentally safe manner.
Without substantial new electricity generating capacity, Ontario is poised for shortages five years from now, the report warned.
The government’s plan of action has been delayed several times.
It was last expected in mid-April, but sources have said that Cansfield was stalling in an effort to squeeze in more measures to encourage energy conservation among Ontarians.
CANADIAN PRESS
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