Lake Sturgeon trapped in hydroelectric overflow channel.
The Energy for Generations report also mischaracterizes hydropower as “clean” and “non-emitting,” despite decades of global research confirming that reservoirs are significant methane sources, often on par with gas plants. Emissions intensify as reservoirs warm, water levels fluctuate, and organic sediments accumulate behind the dam—conditions prevalent across northern Ontario.
No cumulative-effects assessment has been conducted. The Province has not evaluated the combined impacts of hydropower expansion, mining, new transmission corridors, wastewater and agricultural inputs, industrial discharges, or climate-driven hydrologic shifts—contrary to federal science guidance from DFO and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Ratepayers also face growing financial increases and risks. The government is proposing to shift early-stage hydropower planning, incentives, and consultation costs—including Indigenous consultation costs—onto electricity bills, an unprecedented transfer of speculative project risk from proponents to the public. Transmission capital costs are likewise recovered from consumers, meaning premature expansion will financially burden households and businesses for decades.
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