CUPE and its unions affiliated with Hydro-Québec are forging ahead with their offensive to keep electricity services in the public sector. As part of new phase of the public campaign that was launched, billboards were erected in Montreal and Quebec City with the slogan, “Hydro-Québec, on l’a bâti ensemble. Gardons nos services d’électricité publics” (We built Hydro-Québec together. Let’s keep our electricity services in the public sector).
“Public electricity services have a major bearing on economic development, cost control and the funding of our public services. To date, Hydro-Québec has always effectively served Quebeckers. We must protect the public monopoly and stop this growing practice of turning over rights to the private sector. Everywhere this has been tried, customers ended up being hit with substantial price increases,” explained CUPE economist Pierre-Guy Sylvestre.
The CAQ government and its minister of Economy, Innovation and Energy, Pierre Fitzgibbon, are continually announcing private sector energy production and transmission projects.
“Quebec’s electorate has never been asked to vote on putting an end to Hydro-Québec’s monopoly, but that is what the CAQ is doing,” added Patrick Gloutney, President of CUPE Quebec.
CUPE is watching for a major bill tabled by the government on energy management in Quebec, which is forthcoming. In addition, the union will be organizing a major symposium on the dangers of privatizing public electricity services in the near future. Details will be made public soon.
The advertising campaign is available at this link: https://scfp.qc.ca/nos-energies-a-nous/