Cambridge MPP Rob Leone was pleased to be joined by PC Energy Critic Vic Fedeli to tour thriving local businesses connected to the energy sector. As part of the PC Caucus energy tour, Leone and Fedeli made stops at Aecon Industrial, Babcock & Wilcox and Engineered Electric Controls.

“Cambridge has a thriving energy sector and the three businesses that we have visited today provide the region with good paying jobs. This is something we need to see more of in Ontario”

The tour comes on the heels of the PC Caucus white paper Paths to Prosperity:  Affordable Energy, which presents 13 bold ideas to transform Ontario’s energy sector and restore its job-creating competitive advantage. Leone was pleased to see the way these companies can hold their own and a reformed energy policy would give them the ability to thrive here in Ontario.

“The facilities are here,” said Leone. “Look around the region and you will see Ontario companies fighting for a piece of the pie in the energy development sector.  We need a government that will work with them and help them grow, and we don’t see that today.”

In addition to raising taxes on businesses, the Ontario Liberal government has wasted billions of dollars on missteps in the energy sector during their time in power. From cancelling gas plants for political reasons, to million dollar subsidies to prop up unsustainable companies, to the feed-in tariff program, the government has got it wrong time and time again.

“Companies like the ones we visited today will always be better at creating jobs than the government,” Fedeli added. “We need our government to make smarter decisions on behalf of Ontarians, to ensure money isn’t wasted on pet projects.”

The three businesses on today’s tour provide Cambridge with more than a thousand good paying jobs in the nuclear, biomass, natural gas and hydroelectric industries.

“The Ontario PC party is the only party that will bring much needed reform the energy sector and job creation,” concluded Leone. “It’s time to be smarter about how we approach marrying the two.”