This is the 5-minute presentation I made to Kitchener city council on the subject of the privatization of Hydro One, on 2015 June 29.
Mayor Vrbanovic, Councillors & Staff, fellow citizens:
Hydro power celebration, Berlin, OntarioWe’ve all seen the inspiring pictures of the night when Berlin, Ontario was electrified in 1910. The banners over King St proclaimed POWER FOR THE PEOPLE.
Adam Beck — a staunch Conservative by the way — fought for hydroelectric power to be a public asset — Why? Because he wanted businesses across Ontario to have equal access to affordable power. Later he worked hard to get homes and farms electrified as well. Since the days of Sir Adam Beck, we’ve all come to see Ontario Hydro and its successors as a sacred trust and a source of pride.
If we were to lose public ownership and control over Hydro One, the potential impact on Ontario’s cities and our local distribution companies could be enormous.
You may have seen our MPP Daiene Vernile’s column in the Kitchener Citizen, which outlines the government’s position for privatization. She states that by retaining a 40% share, Ontario could somehow prevent the outcomes we all fear: skyrocketing rates, shares becoming resold and consolidated in foreign hands, and loss of all regulatory influence. Ms Vernile’s arguments don’t add up, to my mind anyway.
Let’s look at the possible impacts on Kitchener-Wilmot Hydro. What if KWH had to start paying a lot more for transmitted power? If our Hydro bills soared, would we have any recourse? Suppose that this Council, or a future one, wished to bring in a local power generation policy, could we be sued under the WTO? How great would the pressure be to let private interests buy up KWH? How would the new “Hydro Ombudsman” that Ms Vernile speaks of, be able to protect us against such forces?
If we don’t know the answers to these questions and more, then we need time to do the necessary due diligence. We need to ask the Province not to go ahead with this privatization plan at this time.
I have received endorsements from the leadership of several local groups: the Waterloo Regional Labour Council, Grand River Environmental Network, and the Council of Canadians, who will be bringing the issue of Hydro One before Guelph Council soon. I’ve also received support from former Councillor Jean Haalboom, and from Councillor Zyg Janecki who happens to be in Sask tonight.
I urge you to look into the questions I raised above with some urgency. The first IPO of 15% of Hydro One is already being prepared. There’s no time to lose.
Please let the Ontario government know that the people of Kitchener still want “Power for the People” to be a continuing reality, and not a distant memory.
Since the clerk’s office had twice refused to register me as a delegation, I had 5 minutes to speak and no standing on the agenda.
After my presentation, Councillor Yvonne Fernandes tabled a motion, seconded by Councillor Frank Etherington, similar to the motion on Hydro One adopted by the city of Oshawa. But Council voted not to debate or vote on her motion.
I hope this isn’t the end of the story …
Readers, no matter what municipality you live in, please tell your Mayor and Councillors that you’d like them to pass a resolution asking the Ont gov to Keep Hydro Public! More than 40 municipalities already have.
The 2013 Ontario budget will be announced this Thursday. We need your support to help us raise the minimum wage!
Eleanor Grant writes:
Peace and Justice Friends –
Please join in the May 1 Twitter / E-mail campaign to Premier Kathleen Wynne, in time for the Ontario Budget on May 2. Tell her Ontario needs a minimum wage of $14 now!
Initiated by Workers’ Action Centre in Toronto.
Let’s flood the Premier’s computer! Simple steps in forwarded msg below.
Take action on Mayday to send a message to Premier Kathleen Wynne before the May 2 budget. Ontario needs a minimum wage that lifts workers out of poverty now; no delays, no commission to study minimum wage.
Send a tweet to @Kathleen Wynne, #14now
E-mail Kathleen Wynne at premier@ontario.ca – or write a letter from your organization supporting our call for an immediate increase and no panel! (Sample E-mail)
Submit a letter to your local paper on why your community needs a raise now
In March, communities across Ontario came together to launch a campaign for a minimum wage increase. Creative actions took place in 15 different cities, calling for a raise in the minimum wage to $14. The message was clear, we need an increase now!
As we get ready for the 2013 budget to be announced on May 2, we are calling on the government to raise the minimum wage to $14 and not to delay with an advisory panel or commission.
We need a raise in the minimum wage to $14 an hour now because:
A strong minimum wage will help workers, our communities and boost our economy.
Working full-time should raise us above the poverty line. Working 35 hours a week, we need $14 an hour to get 10% above the poverty line (LIM) in 2013.
The minimum wage has been frozen for 3 years while rent, food and transit costs have soared! It’s time to melt the freeze, and then index the minimum wage to the cost of living each year.
Don’t delay with an advisory panel
If the Minister of Labour creates an advisory panel to study the minimum wage:
It will be a deliberate strategy to have a minimum wage rate set below the poverty line while trying to avoid responsibility for that decision.
It will be a way to distance the government from a decision to keep minimum wage workers in poverty.
It will be a waste of time and taxpayer’s money.
We have seen other examples of the Ontario government under Dalton McGuinty establishing panels and commissions to make recommendations that were inadequate, or that the government didn’t follow, such as the long-term affordable housing strategy and Social Assistance Review Commission.
Ontario workers don’t need a panel or commission to study the minimum wage. We need an increase now to bring us out of poverty!
The Campaign to Raise the Minimum Wage is coordinated by ACORN, Freedom 90, Mennonite New Life Centre, OCAP, Ontario Campaign 2000, Parkdale Community Legal Services, Put Food in the Budget, Social Planning Toronto, Toronto and York Region Labour Council and the Workers’ Action Centre.
For additional info and local action visit povertymakesussick.wordpress.com PMUS is a proud member of the Raise the Rates campaign, and actively participates in the #14now Raise the Minimum Wage campaign
Eleanor Grant writes a semi-regular e-mail newsletter on social justice issues. You can contact Eleanor at eleanor7000@gmail.com
Community accountability was the buzzword of this year’s School of Public Interest, titled ‘(En)gendering Resistance: Exploring the possibilities of gender, resistance and militancy.’ The weekend long conference, organized by the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group at the University of Waterloo, was an engaging, though sometimes disjointed, community affair which played host to a diversity of feminists from across southern Ontario and beyond, converging around the question of gender liberation.
Sunday, 28 April 2013, 10:30am: LABOUR DAY OF MOURNING
Victoria Park, between the Pavilion and the river (map).
This annual event commemorates those killed or injured on the job.
According to the Ministry of Labour, “every day in Ontario, an average of nearly 50 young workers under age 25 are injured or killed on the job”. Eroding labour standards are a huge issue, that’s not getting nearly enough attention.
Citizens are organizing to support the Region of Waterloo’s Official Plan for Smart Growth, in face of the OMB ruling against it in January, which favoured developers and urban sprawl.
