TORONTO, ON: Documents obtained by the Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) reveal a dramatic increase to the cost of electricity to the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital since 2012.

The documents, obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, show that in the last five years, bills for the hospital rose from $779,835 to $1.36 million. That’s a 75 per cent increase.

“The more the hospital has 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 St. Thomas Elgin Hospital,” continued Van Geyn. “Instead of paying an additional $581,925 for higher electricity bills, that money could have paid for 7 new CT scanners, like the one the hospital had to fundraise to buy last year. But instead, the money was thrown away on this government’s hydro rip-off.”

The documents detailing St. Thomas Elgin Hospital’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.