The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ju ne 7, 20 18 | 8 Waterloo Chronicle 630 Riverbend Dr. Kitchener, ON N2B 2G1 Phone: 519-886-2830 Fax: 519-579-2029 Web: www.waterloochronicle.ca Letters to the editor All letters must be fewer than 200 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Delivery For all delivery inquiries, e-mail customerservice@metroland.com or call 519-894-3000 CONTACT US VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Nelson Parreira nparreira@metroland.com Regional Advertising Director Bill Ford bford@metroland.com Sales Lead Michelle Stevens ext. 795062 Advertising Representatives Cassandra Dellow ext. 795066 Zach Peters ext. 795068 Jan Bodanka ext. 795072 Editor Bob Vrbanac Reporters Adam Jackson Bill Jackson Namish Modi WHO WE ARE The Waterloo Chronicle, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised of more than 100 community publications across Ontario. The Waterloo Chronicle is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the newspaper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca editorial@waterloochronicle.ca waterloochronicle @wlchronicle ABOUT US ® Chronicle.WATERLOO $1.00 CONNECTED TO YOUR COMMUNITY WATERLOOCHRONICLE.CA OPINION • EDITORIAL • The decision by Kathleen Wynne's Liberals to sell off 53 per cent of the province's share of Hydro One has become a millstone around the party's neck. While the gas plant, Ornge and eHealth scandal, plus the OPP investigations have faded into the back- ground, it is the hydro sell off that has touched an emo- tional nerve among voters. The decision to sell off the shares and use the $9.2 billion for transit infrastructure and pay down debt may have been a calculated decision in 2015, but it has come back to haunt the party. The partial privatization didn't stop the escalating hydro rates that began a year later. This forced the Liberals to borrow more money under their Fair Hy- dro Plan in order to cut electricity rates by 25 per cent, and up to 40 per cent in rural areas. The cost to taxpay- ers, once the plan expires, could be as high as $45 bil- lion. The real consternation during this contentious election season is that no other party has proposed a sustainable solution to Ontario's hydro problems. Doug Ford's Progressive Conservatives, which in the past favoured privatizing Hydro One, have no plan, except to cut an additional 12 per cent in electricity rates on top of the 25 per cent, without telling anybody how they will do it. Ford has also trumpeted firing Hydro One's chief executive officer - the so-called "$6-million man" - and the agency's board of directors which recently boosted its own salaries. It's a move that garners screaming headlines, satisfies the braying masses, but does noth- ing to solve Ontario's energy concerns. The NDP has a questionable proposal to buy back the 313 million shares of Hydro One, which could take over 20 years, with taxpayers shouldering the financial burden. And the much touted Green party talks about shut- tering nuclear power plants, which provide 60 per cent of Ontario's electricity, because of the high cost of oper- ation and upgrades. Instead of calling for executives' heads, the parties should be debating real change such as improving the Green Energy Act; eliminating the Global Adjustment Fund; allowing the Ontario Energy Board to review existing costs; and removing the cap on market value assessment on wind turbines to allow municipalities to reap the revenue benefits. All three parties are to blame for where Ontario's energy is today, but pointing fingers isn't the way to solve the problem. A more sustainable energy model that address climate change and provide appropriate electricity rates will mollify the screaming masses than any symbolic gestures. Power outrage shouldn't be shocking Nasty, brutish and short may have been how politi- cal philosopher Thomas Hobbes described the life of men during a time of war, but he may have also been describing the most recent Ontario provincial election campaign that also perfect- ly fits that description. The campaign was nas- ty and brutish from the be- ginning with Tory Leader Doug Ford signalling the tone of the campaign right from the first debate when he said Premier Kathleen Wynne had a "nice smile." It was a degrading, dismis- sive and demeaning com- ment and was just one of the "D" words that could be used to describe Doug this campaign. The biggest one was dumb in his decision not to release a full plat- form until the end of the campaign to give his critics ample time to define him and steal any momentum he had going into the June 7 vote. But at least he had a bet- ter hand to play than Wynne, who was going into a change election with nothing to change but her- self. She went into the cam- paign with the lowest per- sonal popularity numbers ever seen for a political leader and managed not to improve on that perception much at all. She had only herself to blame. She was the one who decided to do a sur- prise sale of Hydro One when 80 per cent of the electorate said they want- ed it to remain public, and ignored the fact that she never ran on a campaign to privatize it. So every time someone opened up their monthly or bimonthly hy- dro bill they had someone to pin the blame on for those spiking costs and Wynne was that person. As for the NDP, they have never missed an op- portunity to miss an oppor- tunity. When the public was seeking reassurances that they could be a legiti- mate alternative to none of the above and not be so ideological in nature, these social justice warriors couldn't move to the middle if they tried. Instead they trotted out policies that tried outdo the Liberals - the party that everybody else didn't want to vote for. But at least Andrea Hor- wath is more likable than the others. Thomas Hobbes was right about one thing. Thank goodness this elec- tion was short. - Managing Editor Bob Vrbanac is an award-winning columnist Election campaign was nasty, brutish and short No one distinguished themselves during this campaign BOB VRBANAC Column