We’re told green energy programs create jobs and will help diversify the economy, but a recent report from the Fraser Institute suggests as many as 75,000 manufacturing jobs have been lost due to the high costs of green energy in Ontario

The aim of Ontario’s Green Energy Act was to boost solar panel and wind turbine manufacturing jobs, but the recently closed Siemens wind turbine plant in Tillsonburg, is just one example of what really happens.

The closure resulted in 340 layoffs so while updates on the government website point to only 20,000 jobs created, what they don’t mention is that many of those jobs are temporary.

Over the last six years, small industrial consumers have seen increases of about 50 per cent in electricity costs. The result can be seen in the manufacturing jobs lost in the paper, steel and iron industries — businesses in which electricity is among the highest input costs.

In addition to billions in green energy subsidies, the Ontario government is using taxpayer money to reduce residential hydro bills by 25 per cent, at a cost Ontario’s Auditor General Bonnie Lysyk puts at an extra $39.4 billion.

The Ontario Liberals provide a cautionary tale of what will come for any other government whether the Alberta NDP or the federal Liberals, if they continue ramming through green energy policies.

In doing so, they’re killing competition and jobs without thinking about the consequences.