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Power station closure has made difference: Liberal leader

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Premier Kathleen Wynne made her final stop on the 2018 provincial campaign in Port Dover Wednesday afternoon.

The 65-year-old Wynne visited the home of Peter and Micheline Roy along the shores of Lake Erie. With Haldimand-Norfolk candidate Dan Matten by her side, Wynne, who has already conceded the election, urged Ontarians to vote Liberal to keep a balance of power at Queen's Park.

“All of the building that we have been doing needs to continue and we need Liberal voices at Queen's Park to make sure we don't have a Doug Ford majority or an NDP majority because that growth could be at risk if we have a majority on either of those extremes,” Wynne said.

In one of her final days as premier, Wynne said the location on New Lakeshore Road was significant because the view is void of smog thanks to the closing of the nearby Nanticoke Generation Station.

Micheline Roy had always battled allergies since moving to Port Dover but they've cleared, she said, since the station was shut down.

The Nanticoke power plant, shut down as part of the Liberal's green energy plan, was once the largest coal-fired generating station in North America and employed more than 600 people. The site in Haldimand County is now being converted into a solar farm.

“Standing here today, we have a really graphic example of the change that that has made in people's lives,” Wynne said of the closure. “Literally it is easier for Micheline, literally their property isn't full of soot and pollution at their beach every single day because the coal-fired plants have been shut down. It is so significant that we don't have smog days in Ontario now but sometimes we forget that individual people were dealing with the implications of those coal-fired plants every single day of their lives.”

The premier also touched on changes to Ontario's minimum wage.

Wynne said she recently spoke with a Tim Hortons employee who applauded the minimum wage increase to $14 per hour, which is slated to become $15 in 2019.

“That's what this is about for me, making a difference in people's lives like that,” she added.

However, it became clear during the campaign that voters had a “strong appetite and a desire for change”, Wynne explained.

She's pleased with a number of things accomplished during her time in office, including making major investments in roads and bridges, focusing on clean air and water and providing a break to Ontario's 235,000 post-secondary students.

“I'm proud of that foundation that we've built and my hope is that whatever the configuration the government is after (Thursday), we'll be able to, as a province, pull together and continue to build on that foundation, not tear down the work that has been done... that building needs to continue,” she said.

Wednesday's visit was originally scheduled for May 28 but was cancelled due to the bombing at a restaurant in Mississauga late the previous evening.

The Roy family was delighted to host Wynne and her staff.

“I am so behind the Liberals and for them to choose our home because we are very Liberal is an honour,” said Micheline. “I'm overwhelmed.”

Just one day before facing incumbent Toby Barrett and a host of candidates in the election, Matten said that history will favour Wynne and her government.

“We have cleaner air, we have cleaner water, we are fighting climate change and the increase of temperatures ... those actions are significant for today, tomorrow and all future,” he said. “(That) is truly a sign of a historically good leader. I think the future will see her in a very positive light.”

jrobinson@postmedia.com

 

 

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