Fire sale of Hydro One is a loss for Ontarians, says Huron-Bruce MPP

The Ontario government's proposal to privatize Hydro One is a loss for all Ontarians, says Huron-Bruce MPP Lisa Thomson (Progressive Conservative).

"The government says it needs the money from the sale to invest in infrastructure," she says. "Whether that is how any money from the sale will actually be used is something the public won't know about for many years from now, if ever.  There is no guarantee that any of the revenue will actually be spent that way.

"This is a fire sale being conducted in secret to quickly get the Liberal government the money it desperately needs. My party and I are opposed to it - plain and simple. The Liberals are not looking out for the people of Ontario. The sale of Hydro One will lead to increasing hydro rates. The government is looking to sell 60 per cent of the ownership of Hydro One - relinquishing control."

 

Thompson says that when the original Hydro-Electric Power Commission was launched a century ago, the first electrified sign read 'for the people'. "Today, the misguided actions of Ontario's Liberal government mean that Hydro One will no longer be 'for the people'. The Ontario PC party believes Hydro One is, and always has been, so important to our province that we must always own a majority of the company. As a result, we did not support the Liberal government's plan to sell Hydro One."

 

There are three key reasons the PCs do not support this majority sale of Hydro One, says Thompson:

 

1. The sale is being done in secret. The decision to sell Hydro One was made without public input and it is now clear the entire sale will be done in secret. There will be no information on how many offers have been received or from whom; no information on the price being offered; no information on the conditions attached to the offer to purchase. "You would never let your real estate agent sell your home without knowing the price, the number of offers, or what the conditions are. Why are we letting the Liberals do the same with Hydro One?"
 

2. Ontarians will lose majority control. With less than majority ownership, the government loses control of how the province's energy future will evolve. It will no longer have the authority to make decisions that it believes are in the best interest of the people and the province. And it will have no input on the rates that will be charged.
 

3. There will be no real oversight. With the passage of the budget, public oversight of Hydro One will disappear. No part of it even has to be sold before its operations become hidden from the public. That means there won't be an independent body, such as the Ombudsman or Auditor General, overseeing how customers are treated or how the business is operated. "The Ontario Ombudsman just reported on the more than 10,000 Hydro One billing errors - errors that saw many customers have thousands of extra dollars taken from their bank accounts. This means Hydro One employees' salaries will no longer be a part of the Sunshine List. With this sale, no one can be watching out for Ontario ratepayers.
 

"Hydro One is a valuable asset for all of the people of Ontario. Once we no longer own a majority of it, it's gone - and that is something my colleagues and I cannot endorse."