TORONTO, ON:Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) reveal a dramatic increase to the cost of electricity to Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance since 2012.

The documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that in the last five years, bills for the Stratford, Seaforth, St. Marys and Clinton sites rose from $1.36 million to $1.94 million. That’s a 43 per cent increase.

“The more these hospitals have to spend keeping their lights on, the fewer resources they have for patients,” said CTF Ontario Director, Christine Van Geyn. “This is yet another example of how the Ontario government’s failed energy policies are hurting communities across the province.”

Ontario has seen dramatic increases to the cost of electricity, with bills for residential consumers more than doubling in the last decade.

“Families across the province all feel the pain of rapid increases to the cost of electricity when they pay their home electricity bill. But what many people don’t think about is the cost of the Ontario government’s failed electricity policy to the institutions we all rely on, like the Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance,” continued Van Geyn.

“Instead of paying an additional $578,141for higher electricity bills, that money could have paid for 115 monitors that display heart and respiratory rates of premature babies, like the ones the hospital was fundraising for last year. But instead, the money was thrown away on this government’s hydro rip-off.”

The documents detailing Huron Perth Healthcare Alliance’s electricity bills can be found HERE.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is currently running a campaign opposing the Green Energy Act and cap-and-trade at www.StopHighEnergyBills.ca.