http://business.financialpost.com/
Global factors cannot explain Ontario’s performance. Clearly electricity prices are to blame
In the 1990s and into the 2000s, Ontario was a low-electricity-cost jurisdiction. This was a competitive advantage for the province, helping attract business and foster economic growth.
Of course, in recent years, due largely to the Green Energy Act and its inefficiencies, Ontario electricity prices have soared, hurting industrial competitiveness, especially in the manufacturing sector where electricity is a major cost.
The results have been devastating. Between 2005 and 2015, Ontario’s manufacturing output fell by 18 per cent and manufacturing employment fell by 28 per cent. More specifically, from 2008 to 2015, Ontario’s manufacturing job levels fell from 805,170 to 688,735.
Crucially, in a study published today by the Fraser Institute, we estimate that the province’s high electricity prices are responsible for roughly 64 per cent of the losses — that’s a staggering 75,000 manufacturing jobs.
Government officials are quick to tout job-creation in renewable energy (wind, solar, etc.). But even when those job-creation estimates are taken at face value, we estimate that Ontario may have lost at least 1.8 permanent manufacturing jobs for every new job created under the province’s green energy initiatives since 2008.
For the rest of this article: http://business.financialpost.com/opinion/75000-manufacturing-jobs-lost-thats-the-price-of-ontarios-electricity-disaster