Chatham-Kent's mayor is fuming after reading about a leaked document that says the government of Ontario wants to phase out natural gas for heating.
Randy Hope told members of the Chatham-Kent Chamber of Commerce today that he's "totally pissed" with the province.
"We've been working on natural gas supply systems to greenhouses that are here and we've been very supportive of the expansion of the pipeline that's required to get more gas," says Hope. "So when we heard the news, we, like others, were floored to think about, 'How could anyone think of something like that?'"
Hope acknowledges that he hasn't spoken to Environment Minister Glen Murray about Ontario's plans for natural gas yet, but he's not convinced by Murray's claims that the province isn't going to phase it out.
"You can say, 'Okay, I'm not going to force you to get off, but I can make it more costly for you,'" says Hope. "That's why I'm not going to let off -- because I don't want them to make it cost prohibitive."
Hope says he has been speaking with the president of the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Gary McNamara about developing a strategy for dealing with the province's plans for natural gas and expects to release more information on that soon.