Premier Kathleen Wynne’s government is back in black - meaning the coal business.

Specifically, the use of coal to generate electricity, a practice it outlawed in Ontario on Nov. 23, 2015, after shutting down the last of the province’s coal-fired power plants in 2014.

As the Wynne Liberals proudly proclaimed back then:

“Ontario passed legislation today to permanently ban coal-fired electricity generation in the province - a first in North America and a significant step in the fight against climate change.

“The Ending Coal for Cleaner Air Act prevents new and existing facilities from burning coal for the sole purpose of generating electricity. It sets maximum fines for anyone who violates the ban and enshrines the health and environmental benefits of making coal-fired electricity illegal in law ...

“Closing coal-fired power plants represents one of the largest greenhouse gas reduction initiatives in North America ... Climate change is not a distant threat - it is already costing the people of Ontario. It has devastated communities, damaged homes, businesses and crops and increased insurance rates.

“The cost of inaction is far too high. Closing coal-fired electricity generation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario up.”

But that was then, before Wynne sold a majority stake in Hydro One to the private sector (the province maintains a minority ownership) to raise funds for her cash-strapped government.

And this is now, Hydro One announcing Wednesday a $6.7 billion cash deal to buy U.S. energy company Avista Corp., to be finalized next year.

Avista, based in Spokane, Wash., burns coal, lots of it, to supply electricity to its customers in four states in the U.S. northwest, through its part ownership of the giant Colstrip coal-fired power plant near Billings, Montana.

According to a February, 2014 article in the Spokane Spokesman-Review: “Colstrip produced nearly 13 1/2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in 2012, according to EPA data.

“Among Northwest power plants, Colstrip by far is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases and it ranks 15th nationally.”

That’s almost half the 30 million metric tons of annual emissions the Wynne government boasted about eliminating when it closed Ontario’s coal-fired power plants.

The Liberals will argue they have no jurisdiction over the power supply in the U.S. but that’s irrelevant.

As the environmentalists say, the planet doesn’t care where greenhouse gas emissions come from, since they all end up in the Earth’s atmosphere. That’s why it’s called GLOBAL warming.

Another concern is what Hydro One’s acquisition will do to Ontario electricity rates.

PC Leader Patrick Brown pointed out, in denouncing the Avista acquisition, that Hydro One is already seeking a rate increase of $141 over five years before the Ontario Energy Board.

For anyone wondering, Wynne’s promised 25% cut to our hydro rates doesn’t mean they won’t go on increasing after that cut is made, although the government says annual hikes will be limited to inflation for four years.

Then again, Wynne promised in 2013 to cut auto insurance rates by 15% by August, 2015 and, when she failed to achieve even half that, called it a “stretch goal.”

Now her government is promising Hydro One’s Avista acquisition won’t raise electricity prices.

Gee. What could possibly go wrong?