Up until the late fall of 2014, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Ministers vehemently denied, on the record, that they would sell Hydro One. Then on March 10, 2015 when it was leaked that the Liberals were going to sell Hydro One, Premier Wynne went on the record 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.” Soon after, in June 2015, in complete contradiction to that statement, Premier Wynne removed all regulatory public protection in Bill 91. The Ombudsman and Auditor general were removed as were, caps on Executive salaries, the sunshine list, freedom of information and all public accountability.
Premier Wynne has said that the public ‘will be protected from higher rates by regulation by the Ontario Energy Board.’ That is laughable considering the more than tripling of rates that has already occurred under the partial privatization of generation and deregulation of the entire Hydro industry in Ontario. Where has privatization lead to lower rates anywhere in the world? The record of privatization and increased rates is dismal everywhere.
When we elect leaders we expect them to be professional, credible and to act in the public interest. When our leaders enact legislation, we expect the announcements and communication from the government to be honest and credible. The communication and announcements surrounding the sale of Hydro One has been anything but. They sound like some kind of MBA, financial sector doublespeak. They never use the word ‘privatization’. (more...)
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