Sarah Jordison | CUPE Communications

Faced with a government unwilling to listen to the vast majority of Ontarians, CUPE National and CUPE Ontario are taking Premier Kathleen Wynne and the Ontario Ministers of Finance and Energy to court over the privatization of Hydro One. The suit of misfeasance for wrongdoing over the sale of shares in Hydro One was filed in court on December 6, 2016.

“Our goal with this lawsuit is to protect the people of Ontario and Hydro One ratepayers, to stop any further sale of shares in Hydro One and keep the majority of shares in public hands,” said Fred Hahn, president of CUPE Ontario and one of the plaintiffs in the case. “The Premier and her ministers had no political mandate to pursue the sell-off; experts made it clear the sale would be bad for Ontario and still they chose to proceed with privatization.”

The lawsuit is part of a larger, ongoing campaign to keep hydro public that has been building mass support in communities all across the province.

Joining CUPE in the lawsuit are Dianne Dowling, who runs a family farm in eastern Ontario and is the Kingston-area president of the National Farmers Union, and John Clarke, an organizer for the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty. Both chose to join the suit because they are seeing first-hand the impact hydro privatization is having on their communities.