By Ron Pietroniro, Whitby This Week (Sat. Jan. 30) — Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath and Whitby-Oshawa byelection candidate Niki Lundquist met with Whitby resident Amanda Conway on Friday morning to discuss the impact of skyrocketing hydro bills on local families.

Ms. Conway, who lives with her husband and son, explained that in spite of keeping thermostats low and doing laundry at night, their hydro bills have gone up by more than $100 over the past year.

“The Liberals don’t understand that when they do things like selling off Hydro One they are making it harder for regular people to get ahead,” said Ms. Horwath.

“As New Democrats, we share the priorities of people like Amanda who are worried about keeping up while their bills go up faster than their paycheques.”

The NDP has blasted the Liberal government over plans to privatize 60 per cent of Hydro One, which they say will cause electricity rates to increase even higher.

“People shouldn’t have to worry about how they’ll pay for the basics like hydro,” said Ms. Lundquist, a labour and human rights lawyer.

“This byelection is a chance to tell Kathleen Wynne, that families in our community want and deserve better than what they’re getting from this government.”

The Whitby-Oshawa byelection is scheduled for Feb. 11 to fill the seat left vacant following former MPP Christine Elliott’s resignation last August. Candidates include Lorne Coe for the Progressive Conservatives, Elizabeth Roy for the Liberals and Stacey Leadbetter for the Green Party.

Original article