TORONTO – Ontarians opposed to the privatization of Hydro One, the provincial electricity transmission company, can make their opposition felt by not voting Liberal in the October 19 federal election, the president of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union says.
“With the latest Environics poll showing that 83 per cent of Ontarians oppose what the provincial Liberals are doing with Hydro One, the Wynne government should already have called off the sale of Hydro One shares,” said Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “Unfortunately, today’s news shows the Liberals are pushing ahead, public be damned.
“The people of Ontario need to let the Liberals know what they think, and the best place to do that is at the ballot box.”
The government issued a “preliminary prospectus” today to inform potential investors about its plan to sell shares in Hydro One. Sales could begin as early as November.
Thomas said close ties between Kathleen Wynne’s provincial Liberals and Justin Trudeau’s federal Liberal party make the federal election the logical place for Ontarians to fight back against the Hydro One sale.
“The ties between the federal and provincial Liberals have never been closer,” he said. “Justin Trudeau supported Kathleen Wynne’s election campaign last year and she’s supporting his this year.”
Many Ontarians have already made the connection. In the Environics poll released September 3, 48 per cent of respondents said the Hydro One sale made them “less likely to vote Liberal” on October 19.
“Public control of electricity transmission is vitally important to the future of Ontario,” Thomas said. “If it becomes clear in the next month that Kathleen Wynne’s bad policy will be Justin Trudeau’s bad news, she still has time to call off the privatization of Hydro One.”
