Walkom is partly responsibly for this, he should own up to it.
Liberals to sell Hydro One?
Sun, 2015-05-17 13:58
#102
Tue, 2015-05-19 08:47
#103
“The fact is that private companies have their own oversight mechanisms,” Wynne told The Canadian Press.
“There are rules around oversight for publicly traded or private companies. And on top of that we’re going to put a Hydro ombudsman in place. We’re building in some oversight. So I actually think the oversight will be there.”
She said the government wants to create “a great Canadian company” that will provide quality service, with price controls still in place on electricity rates, but sell part of the utility to raise revenue for new infrastructure.
http://globalnews.ca/news/2004693/wynne-insists-there-will-be-oversight-in-hydro-one-sell-off/
Tue, 2015-05-19 08:52
#104
She used the word "oversight" 4 times?
If Ontarians let her get away with this travesty, that would be the biggest oversight of all.
Tue, 2015-05-19 11:35
#105
Sensible and (to me) understandable account of the underlying issues - by Hugh Mackenzie, of the CCPA:
[url=http://behindthenumbers.ca/2015/04/28/reality-check-on-proposed-hydro-on... check on proposed Hydro One sale[/url]
Tue, 2015-05-19 16:17
#106
Misfit
Unionist, I am not an expert on international trade agreements like FTA. NAFTA, etc., but I do recall that it is in the agreements that once Crowns are privatized that governments cannot reinvest in crowns. And as for the Potash Corporation, the Devine PC government privatized PCS and then nearly bankrupted the province with a 15 billion dollar debt and a deplorable international credit rating. The NDP was left with a province in shambles. The NDP in Saskatchewan afterward restored the province's bond rating to a double A, they cut the debt in half, they preserved their crown corporations, and protected their health care from privatization. I do believe that with these trade agreements, once our crowns are gone, they are gone for good.
Tue, 2015-05-19 16:24
#107
Selling Hydro One: Gutting oversight to line pockets of corporations
After announcing the possible sale of Hydro One, Premier Wynne, on March 10, went on the record in the Globe and mail and said, “whatever we do, we are going to control prices. We are going to make sure that the regulatory regimes that will protect people in this province stay in place.” She has repeated that promise in the media several times since.
The clauses in Bill 91 are completely contradictory to Premier Wynne’s promises. The gutting of the regulatory regimes that will protect people in this province by Bill 91 is jaw dropping....
http://rankandfile.ca/2015/05/19/selling-hydro-one-gutting-oversight-to-...
Tue, 2015-05-19 16:36
#108
Unionist, I am not an expert on international trade agreements like FTA. NAFTA, etc., but I do recall that it is in the agreements that once Crowns are privatized that governments cannot reinvest in crowns.
If that were true (which I don't believe for an instant), then those agreements should be abrogated. If the NDP's position is "well we have to live with FTA and NAFTA and can't tear them up and therefore whatever is privatized stays private", then damn them to hell along with the Liberals and Conservatives. That's why I challenged Horwath, right from the time of the election campaign, to make a commitment in that regard. The coward wouldn't, so she ended up where she richly belonged - in third place.
And as for the Potash Corporation, the Devine PC government privatized PCS and then nearly bankrupted the province with a 15 billion dollar debt and a deplorable international credit rating. The NDP was left with a province in shambles.
Oh poor poor NDP. "Well, thanks for electing us, but who knew, the cupboard is bare, we'll have to spend all our time acting like neoliberals and cutting the debt, but don't worry, we won't be quite shameless enough to privatize health care!" Meanwhile, they legislated strikers back to work, tore up collective agreements, and left Potash Corp private. You'll have to pardon my French, because I'm a Quebecer: [b]Fuck them.[/b]
I do believe that with these trade agreements, once our crowns are gone, they are gone for good.
Your faith is touching, but it's based on nothing. Thanks for your unpaid apologia on behalf of traitors.
Wed, 2015-05-20 09:54
#109
[url=http://rankandfile.ca/2015/05/19/selling-hydro-one-gutting-oversight-to-... Hydro One: Gutting oversight to line pockets of corporations[/url]
This legislation gives away total control to the corporations and paves the way for a tsunami of privatization.
It is important to note that under the partial privatization of hydro generation, hydro rates have gone up over 320 percent in the last 15 years. That is ten times the rate of inflation according to Stats Can.
This is the most rightwing bill since Harris’ Bill 26, the Omnibus bill. It is the biggest transfer of public wealth to the private few in Canadian history and sells out future generations of Ontarians.
Premier Wynne’s credibility on the whole matter is in tatters. She has no mandate to sell Hydro One. Liberals in her caucus, who privately oppose this sale, would be well advised to speak up now or spend more than a decade in the political wilderness after the next election.
Wed, 2015-05-20 11:42
#110
Unionist, I am not an expert on international trade agreements like FTA. NAFTA, etc., but I do recall that it is in the agreements that once Crowns are privatized that governments cannot reinvest in crowns.If that were true (which I don't believe for an instant), then those agreements should be abrogated. If the NDP's position is "well we have to live with FTA and NAFTA and can't tear them up and therefore whatever is privatized stays private", then damn them to hell along with the Liberals and Conservatives. That's why I challenged Horwath, right from the time of the election campaign, to make a commitment in that regard. The coward wouldn't, so she ended up where she richly belonged - in third place.
And as for the Potash Corporation, the Devine PC government privatized PCS and then nearly bankrupted the province with a 15 billion dollar debt and a deplorable international credit rating. The NDP was left with a province in shambles.Oh poor poor NDP. "Well, thanks for electing us, but who knew, the cupboard is bare, we'll have to spend all our time acting like neoliberals and cutting the debt, but don't worry, we won't be quite shameless enough to privatize health care!" Meanwhile, they legislated strikers back to work, tore up collective agreements, and left Potash Corp private. You'll have to pardon my French, because I'm a Quebecer: [b]Fuck them.[/b]
I do believe that with these trade agreements, once our crowns are gone, they are gone for good.Your faith is touching, but it's based on nothing. Thanks for your unpaid apologia on behalf of traitors.
Nonsense. In the face of reasonable concerns, you offer nothing but abusive bluster. Reversing privatization, or any kind of progressive nationalization of any asset not presently controlled by the state is fraught with complexity and entanglements caused by Canadian, and Ontarian participation in multiple trade pacts that act as a "Bill of Rights" for international corporate concerns.
Not, impossible, but with serious consequences -- it is not even clear that Ontario municipalities can legally enforce "buy local" policies to support Ontario business. Far better to retain than to purchase back, as such an action would be tantamount to a revolt against the core powers behind Neo-Liberal austerity.
Not that the call for these deals to abrogated is out of bounds. It might be construed as truly principled if it were not a demand only being put at the feet of the NDP, as if failure to comply indicates the NDP moral lassitude. But coming from the champion of the Liberal sell-out in the last election it is merely a demonstration of the flawed logic that was used to mislead the Ontario left in the last election: The ONDP isn't "socialist" enough, so get down in the mud and vote for Liberal austerity out of spite.
The only traitors worth talking about in this context are the Ontario labour leaders who put short term "politics" before the principles you say you espouse, while demanding a far higher standard of the ONDP. Ironic? No, just hypocritical.
But you speak as if it was the ONDP selling Hydro One, who never espoused such policies, while the Wynne Liberals were openly campaigning on them But you will keep defending your duplicitous failure of vision, dressed up as principle, to the end, this much is clear.
Everything I said would come to pass over the last year, has unfolded as predicted -- unlike yourself. So much for Wynne's "progressive budget". But You still have your useless platitudes and rhetorical tirades.
You could do us a favour, and if you can't admit that you were dead wrong, and that your advice in 2014 Ontario election severely flawed, the very least you could do is shut up.
Wed, 2015-05-20 17:27
#111
Misfit
Thank you Rokossovsky. Unionist, I am not in a position right now to find a source to quote. I am also thinking back more than 25 years to when these issues were up for debate. I know that what I said is true. I recommend that you personally or someone else contact the Council of Canadians who led the fight against these trade agreements to fully comprehend the true reality of the consequences to these international trade agreements. It also amazes me how the CCF and later the NDP in Saskatchewan could take over virtually financially bankrupt dilemmas left by Liberal and Progressive Conservative governments and turn the provincial finances around and respect their Crowns and healthcare and other social services in the process. They have a strategic model that works and they should be commended for that.
Wed, 2015-05-20 18:03
#112
Unionist, I am not in a position right now to find a source to quote.
Then why did you make this assertion? I'll quote you the section of NAFTA you must be thinking about - and as you can see, it permits nationalization of anything at all, under sensible conditions:
Article 1110: Expropriation and Compensation
1. No Party may directly or indirectly nationalize or expropriate an investment of an investor of another Party in its territory or take a measure tantamount to nationalization or expropriation of such an investment ("expropriation"), except:
(a) for a public purpose;
(b) on a non-discriminatory basis;
(c) in accordance with due process of law and Article 1105(1); and
(d) on payment of compensation in accordance with paragraphs 2 through 6.
2. Compensation shall be equivalent to the fair market value of the expropriated investment immediately before the expropriation took place ("date of expropriation"), and shall not reflect any change in value occurring because the intended expropriation had become known earlier. Valuation criteria shall include going concern value, asset value including declared tax value of tangible property, and other criteria, as appropriate, to determine fair market value.
3. Compensation shall be paid without delay and be fully realizable.
4. If payment is made in a G7 currency, compensation shall include interest at a commercially reasonable rate for that currency from the date of expropriation until the date of actual payment.
5. If a Party elects to pay in a currency other than a G7 currency, the amount paid on the date of payment, if converted into a G7 currency at the market rate of exchange prevailing on that date, shall be no less than if the amount of compensation owed on the date of expropriation had been converted into that G7 currency at the market rate of exchange prevailing on that date, and interest had accrued at a commercially reasonable rate for that G7 currency from the date of expropriation until the date of payment.
6. On payment, compensation shall be freely transferable as provided in Article 1109.
7. This Article does not apply to the issuance of compulsory licenses granted in relation to intellectual property rights, or to the revocation, limitation or creation of intellectual property rights, to the extent that such issuance, revocation, limitation or creation is consistent with Chapter Seventeen (Intellectual Property).
8. For purposes of this Article and for greater certainty, a non-discriminatory measure of general application shall not be considered a measure tantamount to an expropriation of a debt security or loan covered by this Chapter solely on the ground that the measure imposes costs on the debtor that cause it to default on the debt.
And if that doesn't work, Canada has the sovereign right to abrogate NAFTA - which, as you of course are aware because you want someone to contact them to prove your point - is precisely what the Council of Canadians has been advocating for a long time:
Here's yet another reason to abrogate NAFTA and to not ratify the Canada-European Union 'free trade' agreement.
The same holds for the FTA.
The ONDP doesn't need people making excuses for it based on half-baked memories of something or other. They need bold leadership and a decisive program. They have zero leadership, and she abandoned the best elements of the program in mid-campaign (restoring the previous level of corporate tax, creating an Ontario retirement plan, supporting the movement's demands for a $15 minimum wage, etc. etc.).
Wed, 2015-05-20 21:20
#113
More sleazy double talk. In fact Horwath never opposed the policy of creating an Ontario Pension Plan, she in fact specifically endorsed it, pending the possibility that CPP would be fixed. And she, unlike the Liberals you supported, actually continued to propose corporate tax increases. But this is all trivia.
No the ONDP did not put forward a revolutionary socialist vision, but it was certainly not up there with the most reactionary government economic plan to hit Ontario since the common sense revolution, hidden in plain site in May 1st budget.
What was definitel NOT in the allegedly "reactionary" platform of the ONDP, unlike the other two parties was the mass sale of government assets to be used to raise capital for privatized infrastructure projects that will "unlock the value" of Ontario's legacy assets and hand them straight over to the rich. No, that was in the allegedly "progressive" platform, but your endorsement of austerity and reaction went much further than that, indeed you smeared any labour leaders who did actually have the temerity to point to the fact that wholesale privatization of public assets was at the heart of the Liberal agenda, such as Bob Kinear of ATU 113, who you called reactionary, and Warren Thomas of OPSEU, who you lambasted for calling Kathleen Wynne a liar.
They were telling the truth, and you were full of it.
Wed, 2015-05-20 23:00
#114
Sat, 2015-05-23 07:19
#115
Misfit
Unionist, in post 111, you quoted. "Except...on a non-discriminatory basis". please elaborate on what this means legally. I'm so sorry this does not seem to raise any eyebrows to you. When do you hear this terminology being used to stop large scale corporate takeovers in the private sector? And why is not the sell off of Crown assets considered discriminatory to the citizens of Ontario and it only works the other way around?
Sat, 2015-05-23 14:24
#116
Unionist, in post 111, you quoted. "Except...on a non-discriminatory basis". please elaborate on what this means legally.
Sure. It essentially means that in re-nationalizing an enterprise, the government can't treat a foreign owner less favourably than a domestic one. You can find a good discussion of the jurisprudence here:
http://www.bc.edu/content/dam/files/schools/law/lawreviews/journals/bcic...
Just scroll down to this section: III. Non-Discrimination (Articles 1102–1104)
Wed, 2015-06-03 10:48
#117
Today's news is that Premier Wynne has decided to remove just about all oversight over Hydro One. She is not only privatizing Hydro -- she is removing any oversight over what will still be a monopoly.
Any good this premier may have done is negated.
Abosolute betrayal of the province.
Wed, 2015-06-03 11:36
#118
That is definitely Horwath's fault.
Wed, 2015-06-03 12:26
#119
Today's news is that Premier Wynne has decided to remove just about all oversight over Hydro One. She is not only privatizing Hydro -- she is removing any oversight over what will still be a monopoly.
So if I understand correctly, when the NDP is elected, they will be: (a) unable to re-nationalize Hydro; (b) also unable to restore oversight?
This is truly unfortunate. Elect the parties of the rich, and they can destroy everything. Elect the NDP, and they can blame the parties of the rich for having destroyed everything.
Thank God for our democracy, where we have ballot box choices!!
Wed, 2015-06-03 13:04
#120
Reading this thread one would think that the Liberals are doing the left a favour by barreling ahead with privatization, so that the self-righteous can condemn the ONDP for opposing privatization, because they do not have a policy platfrom based on hypotheticals "what if" situations.
What's your line? It is necessary to increase "contradictions" in order to "sharpen the class struggle"?
Wed, 2015-06-03 13:47
#121
The Liberals argue that private investors will pay more for Hydro One’s stock if the company is not subject to independent oversight. Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli said last week that allowing public accountability officers to scrutinize Hydro One would "not be friendly to the securities sector."
Let that one sink in.
Wed, 2015-06-03 13:58
#122
Why is she doing this?I don’t know. But I can tell you why Bay Street is pushing this deal.
Greed. In addition to buying a blue-chip electricity monopoly at a rock-bottom price they hope to make money by “underwriting” the deal. They intend to charge us a fee for selling our Hydro One to themselves at a terrible price. And a deal of this size could be worth hundreds of millions of dollars in fees.
Anyway, back to Andrea Horwath's historic sell out of the people of Ontario for promising a 1% corporate tax increase, as opposed to 2.5%...
Wed, 2015-06-03 16:16
#123
Wynne shows everyone how captialism works in a Liberal world.
The Liberals argue that private investors will pay more for Hydro One’s stock if the company is not subject to independent oversight. Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli said last week that allowing public accountability officers to scrutinize Hydro One “would not be friendly to the securities sector.”
Auditor-General Bonnie Lysyk doesn’t buy that argument.
“If Hydro One is supposed to operate very openly and transparently – it’s going to be publicly traded – I don’t see how another layer of oversight negatively impacts its operation or impacts share value,” she said in an interview Tuesday. “I would think shareholders would get more comfort with an additional layer of oversight.”
With passage of the bill, Ms. Lysyk will be allowed to examine how Hydro One’s privatization affects the government’s public accounts – effectively, how much money comes into government coffers from the sale – but will be barred from looking at anything larger.
“We won’t be able to assess whether there is value for money from that sale,” she said.
Ms. Lysyk and seven other independent watchdogs took the unprecedented step last month of jointly writing Ms. Wynne asking to keep their oversight of Hydro One.
“The sale will be done in complete secrecy.… We will never know if we received a fair value, a true value for Hydro One or if the people of Ontario were short-changed,” Progressive Conservative Leader Patrick Brown said. “What are they trying to hide?”
NDP Leader Andrea Horwath vowed that, even after the legislation is passed, the Liberals will have a fight on their hands. The NDP has organized town-hall meetings, protests and a petition to whip up opposition to the sale. She said she hoped the pressure would be enough for the government to change its mind before it floats the initial public offering later this year.
Opinion polls suggest a majority of voters are against privatizing the electricity system, meaning the Liberals could be in for a bumpy ride as they press forward.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/ontario-liberals-set-to-rem...
Wed, 2015-06-03 17:02
#124
Wynne seems dead set on pursuing her radical neo-liberal privatization agenda with the same single-mindedness of Brian Mulroney's rush to free trade, or Mike Harris's "common sense" revolution.
Wed, 2015-06-03 20:09
#125
The NDP caucus TURN THEIR BACKS when voting AGAINST the selling of Hydro One
Wed, 2015-06-03 20:12
#126
That'll show 'em!
Thu, 2015-06-04 00:23
#127
Yeah. Really they should be posturing self-righteously on internet forums, like this.
Wed, 2015-06-10 15:22
#128
URGENT: Your help is needed today to stop the privatization of Hydro One. The Liberals want to push it through with only minimal public hearings by the Finance Committee on Bill 91, the new budget legislation that includes the plan to sell Hydro One.
We’re asking you, right now, to take a few minutes to email the Clerk of the Finance Committee to say you want to be heard by making a presentation.
IF you get to present at a hearing, CUPE Ontario will support you 100% to get ready – and it’s honestly not that hard – Fred does it all the time!
The more requests the government gets, the harder it will be to refuse to hold province-wide hearings. And, if province wide hearings happen, we know there will be hundreds, even thousands showing up to say “DON’T PRIVATIZE HYDRO ONE.”
Here’s what you need to do:
Send an email from your personal email account to Mr. Katch Koch, Clerk of the Standing Committee on Finance. His email is [email protected].
Say you want to make an in-person presentation about Bill 91 to the Finance Committee at a public hearing in your community.
You must include your full name, home mailing address, and home or cell telephone number. If you’d like to also make this request by phone, the number is 416-325-3526.
It’s important the Liberal government hears from Ontario citizens like you before they sell off Ontario Hydro.
Please take a minute to do this right now. The Government will probably be making decisions this week about public hearings and we need to generate pressure to make sure they do not restrict hearings to a couple days at Queen’s Park in Toronto.
http://cupe.on.ca/sign-up-today-for-a-public-hearing-in-your-community/
Sat, 2015-06-13 15:46
#129
Broad Coalition Promises to Step Up Public Opposition to Hydro One Sell-off
As the Government of Ontario passes Bill 91 today and continues its attempts to privatize Hydro One, a broad coalition of community, environment, labour and student groups says the fight to keep hydro publicly owned is just beginning.
“The further the government moves down the road of privatization, the more opposition they will face,” said Katrina Miller, spokesperson for the coalition, “Hydro One still belongs to the people of Ontario, and we don’t want to sell.”
“There’s a long road the government needs to travel before it can sell a single share,” Miller noted. “There are applications, approvals and public disclosures that will be taking place under the gaze of more and more Ontario residents who oppose this plan.”
Recent public polling shows public opposition to privatizing Hydro is high and continues to grow, with over 80 percent opposed in some communities.
“Research and expert opinions have shown that privatizing Hydro One is just too costly -‐ we will see our bills go up, government revenues go down, and public accountability disappear,” commented Miller. “That’s why more and more organizations and individuals are joining with us every day.”
The coalition now boasts over 20 organizational supporters; thousands of people have written to their MPPs opposing the sale.
“The government is attempting to sell off Hydro One with no meaningful public consultation,” Miller said. “We are working with groups from every sector and every region of the province to make sure Ontarians do have a say and that the government listens.”...
http://keephydropublic.ca/broad-coalition-promises-to-step-up-public-opp...
Fri, 2015-06-26 12:00
#130
Hydro One sale bad deal for Ontario, Thunder Bay
In the advertising world they say if you repeat something enough times, people will start to believe it. Clearly this is what Kathleen Wynne is banking on with her plan to privatize Hydro One.
But no matter how many times the Liberals repeat their lines, the people of Thunder Bay just aren’t buying it. People here and in communities across Ontario know selling 60 per cent of Hydro One to private investors makes no sense.
In Thunder Bay, a whopping 87 per cent of the population thinks the hydro sell-off is a bad idea....
http://www.chroniclejournal.com/opinion/columns/hydro-one-sale-bad-deal-...
....
Gates' motion causes heated exchange at council
Two Liberal city councillors had a heated exchange while debating whether to endorse a motion put forward by NDP MPP Wayne Gates.
Gates' motion was to oppose the provincial government's planned majority sale of Hydro One. It passed this week at city council by a margin of 7-1, with only Coun. Joyce Morocco voting against it....
http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/2015/06/25/gates-motion-causes-heated-e...
Fri, 2015-06-26 12:03
#131
Banks getting up to $270 million from Hydro One privatization
RBC and Scotiabank will be paid up to $270 million in public funds for selling off 60% of Hydro One.
“In addition to all the other problems with privatizing Hydro One, up to $270 million of public money that could be used to improve public services or keep hydro affordable will be flowing into banker's pockets,” said James Clancy, National President of the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE).
Receiving commission from sale
This week it was announced that the two banks would be running that initial public offering (IPO) of shares in Hydro One. For selling the shares, they will receive a commission of between one and three per cent.
The first block of shares being sold is worth $2.25 billion. If the government is able to carry out its plan to sell 60 per cent of the shares, the two banks will make between $90 and $270 million....
http://nupge.ca/content/12332/banks-getting-270-million-hydro-one-privat...
Thu, 2015-10-29 11:05
#132
Scathing report by the FAO on the Liberal sell off of Hydro One. The Ontario government will lose upwards of $500M in yearly revenue.
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2015/10/29/hydro-one-sale-bad-ide...
Fri, 2015-10-30 01:08
#133
Scathing report by the FAO on the Liberal sell off of Hydro One. The Ontario government will lose upwards of $500M in yearly revenue.
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2015/10/29/hydro-one-sale-bad-ide...
So can any of the Liberal Party fans here explain this one for me? And given the similarity between Wynne's campaign and Trudeau's, can any of the Liberal fans here assure me that we're not going to see similar incomprehensible moves from the Trudeau Liberals? Is there some reason that Wynne is selling off Hydro One rather than raising corporate taxes, if revenue is that desparately needed?
Sun, 2015-11-01 21:48
#134
montrealer58
Is there anything left to sell off?
Mon, 2015-11-02 09:52
#135
Scathing report by the FAO on the Liberal sell off of Hydro One. The Ontario government will lose upwards of $500M in yearly revenue.
http://www.thestar.com/news/queenspark/2015/10/29/hydro-one-sale-bad-ide...
Wow, no wonder hydro rates are so expensive, they shouldn't be making a profit on hydro period, this part of the reason why electricity bills are so high in Ontario and why our manufacturing industry is crippled.
Mon, 2015-11-02 09:53
#136
What even more disgusting is the columnist at the Star, Cohn acting like a Liberal apologist.
Mon, 2015-11-02 11:23
#137
laine lowe
What a stupid move. The following article on deregulation and privatization from 2003 still holds true:
http://www.ontariotenants.ca/electricity/articles/2003/ts-03i18.phtml
Mon, 2015-11-02 11:39
#138
Is there some reason that Wynne is selling off Hydro One rather than raising corporate taxes, if revenue is that desparately needed?
Sure:
1. There's no effective mass movement against privatization.
2. None of the current parties will reverse the privatization of Hydro One if they come to power - as experience has proven in other NDP provinces.
3. The Liberals are loyal agents of the rich and powerful. Why would they raise corporate taxes?
4. The cowardly NDP dropped their promise last year to raise corporate taxes back to pre-McGuinty levels, and instead committed to a measly insignificant raise.
5. Conclusion from #4: With no mass movement demanding corporate tax increases, and with the loyal opposition parties not making a big deal about it either, why piss off the Master?
Now, I'm far from the scene, so perhaps someone can provide a better answer to your questions.
Tue, 2015-11-03 17:31
#139
..this is not in response to unionist's post. i just happen to come across it.
Growing number of Ontario municipalities oppose sale of Hydro One
quote:
More than one third of Ontario's municipalities, 165 so far, have passed resolutions opposing the Liberal's plans to sell the giant electricity transmission utility, with many complaining they were not consulted.
"This is a government that loves to consult, and I think that's been one of the biggest criticisms over the years, of consulting municipalities to death," said Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley.
"They engage us in consultation on speed limits, clothes lines, on pit bulls, but on the big issue that impacts on our communities economically -- and I would make the case eventually socially -- they failed to let us have our voice."
Wed, 2016-08-24 13:41
#140
Kathleen Wynne tried to use First Nations to silence opposition to Hydro One sell-off. She failed.
What happens when you plow ahead with a plan that 83 per cent of Ontarians strongly oppose? For Premier Kathleen Wynne it means a catastrophic drop in approval ratings with only 14 per cent of people now believing she should lead our government.
The premier's hydro privatization plan, undertaken without a single mention of it during the last election campaign, rammed through with extraordinary arrogance, is now taking its toll on her Liberal government. Despite a litany of expert criticism of the plan and extensive polling demonstrating huge public opposition, the premier seems to believe that her desire for short-term cash is worth the substantial long-term costs to the government and everyone's hydro-bills....
Mon, 2017-02-06 08:51
#141
Kathleen Wynne is trying to shut down a lawsuit challenging her plans to privatize Hydro One. The Ontario premier would be wiser to simply abandon her foolhardy scheme altogether.
Of all the maladroit moves Wynne has made as premier, privatizing Hydro One is the worst. It creates no economic benefit for the province. Nor does it help the government's finances.
Mon, 2017-02-06 18:43
#142
Premier is attempting to avoid public trial in Hydro One suit
The Premier and Ministers of Finance and Energy have finally responded to the misfeasance suit, filed against them for wrong doing in the sale of shares in Hydro One, with an attempt to avoid a public trial, says Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario and one of the plaintiffs in the suit filed in December.
“Through out the sell-off of Hydro One shares, this government has tried to avoid any form of public scrutiny or debate,” said Hahn. “It’s not surprising that they want to try and stop the public spotlight this case will bring to their actions.”
On December 6, 2016, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), along with individual plaintiffs, CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn, family farmer Dianne Dowling and poverty activist John Clarke, filed a misfeasance suit against the Premier and Ministers of Finance and Energy, for wrong doing over the sale of shares in Hydro One. The ultimate goal of the lawsuit is to stop any further privatization of Hydro One.....
Mon, 2017-03-13 23:11
#143
For the record: http://act.ontariondp.ca/hydro
Our plan will cut your bill by as much as 30%. We’ll do that by:
- Reversing the sell-off of Hydro One
ETA:
This was actually a reply to comment # 138, though for some reason it didn't reference that post. Anyway, comment #138 stated NDP governments had often failed to move to reverse privatization. However, recently the ONDP pledged to do just that and buy back Hydro One.
Thu, 2017-03-23 11:55
#144
Hydro One: Expanding the Public Sector to Privatize It
Great Lakes Power Transmission in Sault St. Marie, Orillia Power Distributing Corporation, Peterborough Distribution Inc., Wellington North Power in Mount Forest, Haldimand County Utilities, Guelph Hydro, Toronto Hydro. Over the past three years Hydro One, Ontario’s largest publicly owned electricity transmission and distribution utility, has moved to purchase a wide swath of local utilities, most of them publicly owned.
On the surface, it sounds okay – Hydro One’s public argument has been that the mergers make the public electricity system more efficient and effective, yielding lower costs and greater reliability. Public-to-public takeovers are a win-win deal for everyone, right?
Not so fast.
You don’t have to scratch too far under the surface to see the dangers of Hydro One’s expansion, and the real motivation behind it. The utility itself is in the process of being sold off, in the largest single privatization in Canada’s history. The Liberal government of Kathleen Wynne is defying massive opposition – 83% of the public oppose the sale, and half of the province’s municipalities have passed motions against it – to push the privatization along in a series of share batches. Half of the 60% stake has been sold, but sale of the remaining shares has been delayed through a combination of stalled share price, political pressure, and a lawsuit launched by CUPE Ontario.
Tue, 2017-03-28 03:21
#145
Not worry the markets will fix this issue. No doubt like in Australia. The peasents are rising and taking away what the governments sold to private sector.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-14/energy-bedlam-in-aust...
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-08-01/gas-prices-higher-in-australia-tha...
A must read the article above. Capitalism shows its many contradicitions. People in Ausratlia have huge amounts of gas, they decided that they should export it. Now with contracts locked in. Exported gas is half the price what the Austrila people for pay for domestic gas. That situation is crazy, sorry but were stuck until 2022. Opps. While Australia population is facing blackout and leaving business.
Wed, 2017-06-21 17:55
#146
Hydro One and the trustworthiness of Kathleen Wynne
A lawsuit challenging the privatization of Hydro One is wending its way slowly through the courts. It may not succeed. Judges are hard to predict. But politically, it hits Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne’s Liberal government where it hurts — its trustworthiness.
Filed last fall by the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the lawsuit alleges that the government orchestrated the sale of 60 per cent of the provincial electricity utility in order to benefit the ruling Liberal Party.
It points to a December 2015 Liberal “appreciation” fundraiser that financiers who had profited from the privatization were invited to attend. Some 24 of the invitees demonstrated their appreciation by donating $7,500 each to Wynne’s party.
The government has countered by arguing that neither CUPE nor the courts have any business poking their noses into a lawful decision to sell a public asset.
Anyway, it says, the 2015 fundraiser was ruled legitimate by the province’s integrity commissioner.
This week, government lawyers appeared before Superior Court Justice P.J. Cavanagh in an effort to have the suit dismissed as frivolous. They argued that even if Wynne’s cabinet had privatized Hydro One merely to solicit campaign contributions it was well within its rights to do so and was not acting in bad faith.
CUPE lawyer Steven Shrybman aptly referred to this claim as astounding....
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