Founded in 2020, the New Blue Party of Ontario is led by Jim Karahalios, the husband of Belinda Karahalios, former PC MPP for Cambridge and now the party’s first MPP.
She was turfed from the PC caucus after voting against Bill 195, the Reopening Ontario Act, which she described as “an unnecessary overreach on our parliamentary democracy.”
New Blue identifies itself as “an anti-establishment centre-right political party.”
The party aims to field candidates in all ridings for the June 2 provincial election.
It has put forward Matt Millar, a life-long Lambeth resident, as its prospective candidate for Elgin-Middlesex-London.
A third-generation fruit farmer who also operates a small tech support company, Millar advises the party is all about less government involvement.
“The reason I got into this is I just want people to have more control over their own lives. I don’t want the government to be overbearing and forcing people to do things they don’t want.”
Category Archives: Wind power
The Provincial Animal Welfare System: Providing protection for the canary in the coal mine?
With a pair of high-profile St. Thomas court cases in the past couple of years dealing with abuse and neglect, this week’s announcement the province is proposing a new animal welfare system is encouraging news for animal advocates.
The legislation was introduced Tuesday (Oct. 29) by Solicitor General Sylvia Jones and, according to a release from MPP Jeff Yurek, “includes the strongest penalties ever in Canada for people who violate animal welfare laws and a more robust enforcement system.”
No specifics, however, are contained in the release introducing the Provincial Animal Welfare System (PAWS) Act as to what those penalties may be.
“Ontarians can be confident that the government is proposing a system that will protect animals,” assured Jones.
Share this:
OK, so you tear it down . . . then what?
With demolition of the Sutherland Press building slated to begin Oct. 30, according to city manager Wendell Graves, what happens once the structure is down and the site cleared?
The Sutherland Saga may yet have life to it.
Before looking at the possibilities, Graves ran through what is going on behind the scenes prior to levelling the four-storey building.
“They may start moving things in next week,” he explained. “Chris Peck, our chief building official is working with the contractor (Schouten Excavating of Watford).
“One of the things they are finalizing is the demolition contractor’s engineer is working with the chief building official just to finalize the methodology as to how it comes down.” Continue reading
Share this:
Wind turbine noise complaints proof province is ‘kowtowing to their corporate buddies’ – Dutton Dunwich Opponents of Wind Turbines
A coalition of groups and individuals concerned about the proliferation of industrial wind turbines is calling on the province to halt the approval process for new projects and develop and enforce new, tougher noise standards.
In a media release issued today (May 31) Wind Concerns Ontario (WCO) claimed the Kathleen Wynne government has failed to respond to thousands of wind turbine noise complaints.
And locally, a spokesperson for ratepayers opposed to proceeding with a wind turbine project in Dutton/Dunwich said it’s further proof the province is “kowtowing to . . . their corporate buddies.”
Share this:
Dutton Dunwich wind turbines: ‘We’re not past the point of no return’
Opponents of the Strong Breeze Wind Project in Dutton Dunwich gathered outside the Dutton Community Centre on Thursday, vowing it’s never too late to stop construction of 16 to 20 wind turbines capable of generating over 57 megawatts of green energy,
Meantime inside at a public open house, a spokesman for Chicago-based Invenergy said his firm has had positive feedback from local businesses wanting to know how they can participate in the undertaking that likely won’t see a shovel in the ground before 2019.
Share this:
Sutherland stalling hits ratepayers in the pocket
If it didn’t pose such a financial burden on the city, the Sutherland saga would be comedic relief in best Keystone Cops fashion.
Take, for example, the return to court this past Tuesday in what was to be the start of a scheduled two-day hearing to determine the fate of the 103-year-old structure.
Instead you have a solicitor and three city staffers sitting in stunned silence across from building owner David McGee and his lawyer as Ontario Justice Gorman announces she has only set aside five minutes for the proceedings.
So, who dropped the ball here?
It was made perfectly clear when the two sides last faced off in April the next step would entail presentations from the city seeking to proceed with demolition of the derelict building while McGee and his lawyer would counter with the argument there is nothing structurally wrong with the four-storey structure. Continue reading
Share this:
Why the wind power industry could be the greatest scam of our age
Erie Shores Wind Farm
The most glaring dishonesty peddled by the wind industry — and echoed by gullible politicians — is vastly to exaggerate the output of turbines by deliberately talking about them only in terms of their ‘capacity’, as if this was what they actually produce. Rather, it is the total amount of power they have the capability of producing.
In Ontario, the mostly dismal daily performance of wind farms is documented here . While today, March 2, has been a productive day with output running above 80% of generation capability, March 1 figures are truly bleak, with nearby Erie Shores in Port Burwell contributing literally nothing to the power grid for much of the day and climbing to just 30% of its rated capability for a mere two hours.
Days like that are more the norm than the exception.
The second great lie about wind power is the pretence that it is not a preposterously expensive way to produce electricity. No one would dream of building wind turbines unless they were guaranteed a huge government subsidy.
What other industry gets a public subsidy equivalent to 100 or even 200 per cent of the value of what it produces?
The third great lie is that this industry is somehow making a vital contribution to ‘saving the planet’ by cutting our emissions of CO2 – it is not.
Read full story here .
Share this:
McGuinty has led us all down the green energy garden path
Guest editorial from Ross McKitrick that appeared in the Stratford Beacon Herald. Original piece can be read here.
Anyone remember the Sprung Greenhouse fiasco? In 1987, Newfoundland Premier Brian Peckford attempted to boost local employment by subsidizing the building of a massive hydroponic greenhouse operation that its inventor, Philip Sprung, said would turn the province into a world leader in green produce. His plan had failed in Alberta, but in Peckford he found a gullible partner willing to abandon common sense and start signing over other people’s money.
During the construction phase the premier pointed with pride to the hundreds of jobs apparently created. Meanwhile the province kept signing cheques and promising that cucumbers and economic renewal were on the way in equal measure.
Continue reading
Share this:
You can thank Dalton McGuinty for feeling warm and fuzzy about your St. Thomas Energy bill
From the Toronto Star, original article can be found here
Ontario’s Liberal government is forcing utilities to tout the 10 per cent electricity discount on hydro bills every month for the next five years, the Star has learned.
Over the next few weeks, millions of households, farms, and small businesses will begin receiving the new “Ontario Clean Energy Benefit” on their monthly hydro bills.
The measure is designed to offset an expected 46 per cent increase in electricity costs in the coming five years.
Continue reading
Ian's City Scope 