Ontario Nuclear Cost Responsibility Act

Whereas the Government of Ontario is planning to spend upwards of $26.5 billion on new nuclear generating stations and;
Whereas every nuclear construction and retrofit project undertaken in Ontario in the past 20 years has resulted in massive cost overruns; and
Whereas Ontarios nuclear generating units have routinely performed below expectations, requiring extensive repairs due to premature aging and unexpected breakdowns and producing energy at levels well below those promised by builders; and
Whereas the people of Ontario have been left with a massive $20 billion public debt from past nuclear cost overruns and have been subject to the harmful effects of an increase in the use of dirty coal power to compensate for poor nuclear performance,
We, the undersigned, petition the Legislative Assembly of Ontario to pass a Nuclear Cost Responsibility Act requiring that all contracts for new nuclear construction or retrofits include a strict prohibition on passing on capital cost overruns to taxpayers or ratepayers and include significant financial penalties for failing to have units ready on time. We understand that such conditions are already mandatory in contracts for renewable and natural gas-fired generating projects and believe that it is only fair and reasonable that nuclear projects be subject to the same conditions.