Category: Canadian politics

From Sudbury Northern Life

But in September, the Hanmer couple received a bill for $2,000 from Hydro One for three months’ worth of hydro. They say they think the problem stems from a smart meter installed at the cottage in the summer of 2009. 


Hydro One took an “actual” reading from the smart meter for the first time this past summer, and found the cottage was drawing 123 kilowatts per hour each day, Lise said. On previous bills, the average amount of electricity the family was using was about 20 kilowatts per hour each day. 


“I had about 10 different conversations with different people (at Hydro One),” Lise said. “The final one was Oct. 22, when they did finally say they were going to get the integrity of our meter checked.” 


Lise said a few Hydro One employees said she and her husband must have added an appliance that was using a lot of electricity. “We tried to tell them that there isn’t anything that has changed,” she said. 


Although the couple is sure there’s been a problem with the smart meter, Hydro One still insists they have to pay their bill, Lise said. 

The smart meters don’t seem so smart for some families in the North.

Today marks a victory for the sports fan in Ontario. the government  has officially given the green light to mixed martial arts in the province.

From the National Post
Ontario announced Monday it would begin accepting applications on Jan. 1, 2011 from mixed martial arts promoters who want to stage fights in the province.


“We have heard from fans across the province and it’s clear that MMA is a popular sport Ontarians are following,” said Consumer Services Minister John Gerretsen. “Now we have the tools in place to help keep competitors safe, while providing an economic boost to communities that want to host professional MMA events.”

This is one of the more notable backtracks of the nannies at Queens Park.

The Ontario government depending on your perspective is a leader or the last defender of the Green dream.

From Financial Post

But Ontario’s new-found status didn’t arise because Ontario newly increased its level of its subsidies. It arose because the world’s other extreme green jurisdictions — to avert the economic and political ruin that comes of unaffordable green power — recently swallowed their pride, slashed their subsidies and backstabbed their renewables industries. Like its extreme green counterparts elsewhere, Ontario will follow suit soon enough.

 

Tis the season of wrapping paper and red tape. The sound of the famous Salvation Army bells have been silenced in many Toronto area malls including the Eaton center. Another quintessential Christmas tradition ends.

From CBC online

Eaton Centre spokesman Brian O’Hoski points out the mall is an indoor environment with no overhead music or competing noises.


A few years back, he said, management asked the Salvation Army to stop ringing the bells because of noise complaints from some of the mall’s 230 tenants.


“In order to try and appease everybody and accommodate everybody, we’ve asked them not to ring the bells,” O’Hoski said.


Eaton Centre shoppers were surprised to hear that noise complaints could shut down the Salvation Army bells.


“But it makes no sense,” said Tristan Mitchell.


“It’s Christmas,” Iman Mahdi said. “It makes no sense.”


And Bonnie Vivier said the bells were never very loud — “it was just a little tinkle.”

In the next generation we will probably see a slimmed down version of the shopping mall Santa, who only eats gluten-free cookies and of course does public service announcements for PETA on the side.

If this week couldn’t get any worse here is more bad news for the Salvation Army. [click here]