After cancelling hundreds of renewable energy contracts, the Ontario government has officially passed legislation to scrap the Green Energy Act.

Premier Doug Ford promised during his spring election campaign to repeal the Green Energy Act, which was introduced by the previous Liberal government in 2009 in a bid to grow the province’s solar and wind energy supply.

According to the provincial government, it was a program that “led to the disastrous feed-in-tariff program and skyrocketing electricity rates for Ontario families.”

“The Green Energy Act eliminates a piece of legislation that introduced disastrous changes to Ontario’s energy system that led to rising electricity rates for families and businesses,” said Minister of Energy, Northern Development and Mines, Greg Rickford.

“By repealing this act, we’re restoring planning decisions to municipalities that were stripped by previous government and ensuring local voices have the final say on energy projects in their communities.”

By repealing the act, the provincial government says it will have the authority to stop approvals of wasteful energy projects where the need for electricity has not been clearly demonstrated.

Moreover, this would put the brakes on extra projects that would add additional costs to electricity bills that the people of Ontario simply cannot afford.

The new legislation also gives municipalities the final say over the siting of future energy projects in their communities.

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