Huron-Bruce MPP calls for province to end debt retirement charge paid by small business

Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thompson has introduced a bill to amend the Electricity Act, 1998, removing the debt retirement charge (DRC) from the hydro bills of Ontario small businesses.
 
Thompson tabled the Bill, Monday, in response to concerns from a small business owner in Huron-Bruce who, like other small business owners, is finding it difficult to remain competitive under the Liberal government's mismanagement of the hydro file.
 
In 2011, the Auditor General revealed that the government had already collected enough funds to pay off Hydro One's $7.8-billion stranded debt. To cover its tracks, the government removed the DRC from residential bills, but did not remove it from the bills of small businesses in the province.

The Ontario Electricity Financial Corporation reported that the Liberal government collected $859-million from the DRC in 2015-16 alone. 
 
"The Liberals continue to collect thousands of dollars every month from businesses across the province under the pretense of repaying the debt retirement charge; meanwhile, the reality is that it's simply for their own use," said Thompson. "Small businesses and the families that work hard to keep them running, should not bear the burden of the Liberals' fiscal mismanagement."
 
The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) calculates that the DRC accounts for about two to five per cent of Ontario businesses' hydro bills, regardless of their size, said Thompson.
 
"We thank Lisa Thompson for listening and working to directly address one of our Ontario members' three key energy recommendations," said Julie Kwiecinski, director of provincial affairs (Ontario) with the CFIB. "Our 42,000 Ontario members, representing all sectors, have been struggling with crippling hydro costs for several years. We have been advocating for immediate removal of the debt retirement charge from commercial hydro bills, as well as eliminating punitive time-of-use pricing, and making the Global Adjustment visible on all hydro bills."
 
"This is just another example of the Liberal government continuing to hurt small business in Ontario," said Thompson. "If passed, this Bill would ease the pressures on Ontario small businesses which are feeling the burden of Liberal government mismanagement day in and day out."