EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Bill proclaims June 20 in each year as Waterpower Day.

Bill 268 2021

An Act to proclaim Waterpower Day

Preamble

In Ontario, one quarter of all electricity comes from waterpower resources with an installed capacity of over 9,000 megawatts. Ontario and its residents have benefitted from more than a century of affordable, reliable and sustainable waterpower. Waterpower has created, and continues to create, social, political, environmental, economic and technological benefits for those residing in Ontario.

Adam Beck was elected mayor of London in 1902 and a few months later was elected to the Ontario legislature from the riding of London. He was re-elected mayor in 1903 and 1904 while simultaneously serving as a member of the provincial legislature. In 1905, he was appointed Minister Without Portfolio in the government of Premier Sir James P. Whitney. In 1906, Premier Whitney appointed Adam Beck as the first chairman of the Hydro-Electric Power Commission. Adam Beck was knighted by King George V in 1914 for his promotion of electricity and development of transmission lines. The Queenston Chippawa power station (now Sir Adam Beck Hydroelectric Generating Stations), which he helped to create, was renamed after him in 1950.

Proclaiming June 20 — Sir Adam Beck’s birthday — in each year as Waterpower Day raises awareness of the value of the over 200 waterpower facilities in Ontario and of the workers producing 25 per cent of the province’s electricity. This renewable, reliable and affordable energy technology is embedded in villages, towns, Indigenous communities and cities all across Ontario.

Waterpower Day contributes to the celebration of historic development and to the recognition of waterpower being the backbone of strong communities for over 150 years.

Therefore, Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario, enacts as follows:

Waterpower Day

1 June 20 in each year is proclaimed as Waterpower Day.

Commencement

2 This Act comes into force on the day it receives Royal Assent.

Short title

3 The short title of this Act is the Waterpower Day Act, 2021.