When it comes to producing electricity, a new Fraser Institute reports urges the federal government not to follow Ontario's lead by shutting down coal-fired power plants.
That's what the federal government plans to do by the year 2030.
The report indicates closing plants in Ontario has resulted in very little improvement in air quality but a huge jump in hydro costs.
But report author Ross McKitrick, an economics professor at the University of Guelph, says the benefits just aren't there. "To this day, it's very frustrating for people who work in the power sector to know that we shut down a couple of perfectly good power plants that were responsible for keeping our electricity supply reliable and power rates low."
McKitrick told AM800's 'The Afternoon News' that technological upgrades could have achieved nearly the same environmental benefits at a fraction of the cost of closing the plants.
The Fraser Institute study looked at air pollution changes in Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa from 2005 to 2014 and found getting rid of coal power in Ontario had no effect on smog levels and only a small impact in fine particulate matter.