The Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is urging the Ontario government to create an Office of the Provincial Electricity Auditor to oversee the various electricity entities envisioned as part of Bill 100 (Electricity Restructuring Act, 2004), such as the new Ontario Power Authority, and to certify the annual net benefit and net cost of government initiatives related directly to the supply of electricity and the reduction of demand, such as the Smart Meter initiative. This proposal will be part of CFIB's submission today to the Standing Committee on Social Policy in Respect to Bill 100.

According to Judith Andrew, CFIB's vice-president for Ontario, the Office of the Provincial Electricity Auditor is a must if we are to ensure transparency and non-partisanship in the electricity debate, which will be a crucial one for Ontarians and the province's economy for the next 15 years.

"Within the next 15 years, Ontario is going to have to address 80% of its generating capacity. That means infrastructure spending with an enormous price tag and all Ontarians will pay a huge price if we don't get it right," said Andrew. "A stable, well-run electricity market is too important to the overall health of the economy to allow it to continue to be mismanaged as it has been."

In the submission Andrew and Satinder Chera, director of provincial affairs for Ontario, will argue that the Office "should report to the Legislative Assembly of Ontario in a manner similar to the Office of the Provincial Auditor of Ontario and the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario."