Toronto—Although there has been enormous public and media opposition to the sell-off of hydro and the proposed deregulation of the electricity market, the five Tory candidates vying for the Premier’s job have, so far, stayed clear of the controversial decision to privatize hydro made by outgoing Premier Mike Harris.
Now into the debate portion of the leadership race, it is imperative that all the candidates come clean and state clearly if they support privatization of our most valuable public asset and free market competition for electricity, say members of the Ontario Electricity Coalition, a province-wide group fighting to keep electrical power public in Ontario.
Ontario Electricity Coalition (OEC) supporters will be demonstrating at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 1500 Eglinton Ave. East (near Don Mills) on Thursday, January 17 beginning at 5:30 p.m. during the scheduled Tory leadership debate. The group will distribute informational literature to those Tories attending the event as an effort to spark questions and discussion on the issue of hydro privatization during the Tory debate.
“All the polls, regardless of who commissions them, show that upwards of 70 per cent of Ontarians support keeping electrical power in public hands. They don’t want hydro utilities sold to private companies, because they know this means the doubling of electricity rates and unreliable service.
“And it’s not to late for us to stop the sell-off. Those people who are attending the debates and believe hydro should stay publicly-controlled should ask the candidates directly where they stand on this very important issue,” says Paul Kahnert a spokesperson for the coalition.
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For more information please contact:
Paul Kahnert, Ontario Electricity Coalition
(416) 968-2549 ext. 28
Stella Yeadon, Communications
(416) 578-8774