New hydro legislation hits
municipalities
QUEEN'S PARK - The Conservative government's new legislation to bribe
voters with a hydro rebate will hit municipalities even harder than
expected, NDP Leader Howard Hampton said today. The legislation says any
municipality that does not pass a new resolution within 90 days will be
stripped of its revenue flows from local distribution utilities. Without
that revenue, local property taxes will have to rise to cover the $500
million utilities paid out in new billing systems and other equipment.
Meanwhile, for-profit retailers like Direct Energy and the government's
own Hydro One and Ontario Power Generation continue to rake in the
profits, Hampton said.
"The
government is sticking municipalities with the excessive costs of
privatization and also with the new costs of sending out cheques,"
Hampton said. "People are not going to fall for this new
scheme."
The
new legislation imposes a new requirement only on municipalities. Their
utilities will revert to non-profit status in 90 days unless all affected
municipalities pass resolutions confirming their for-profit status. Where
for-profit companies have become partners in the local utility, the
municipalities would be liable for compensation.
"The
Conservatives and Liberals are not going to fool anyone with their
pre-election bribes," Hampton said. "The only answer is to kill
the privatization and deregulation monster immediately."
NDP wants fair deal for
Simcoe students
QUEEN'S PARK - New Democrats stood up
for Simcoe-Muskoka students and schools in the legislature today, refusing
to pass flawed back-to-work legislation that would place a resolution to
the strike in the hands of an unqualified mediator-arbitrator.
"Successful
labour negotiations are a fine balancing act," NDP Labour Critic
Peter Kormos said. "But the Conservative-Liberal back-to-work
legislation weights the school peace-making process heavily in favour of
the employer."
Kormos
said forcing teachers to accept an agreement through an unfair process
would only lead to long-term turmoil in the classroom. Education Critic
Rosario Marchese said Simcoe-Muskoka teachers just want to be treated
fairly.
"Putting
the employer ahead of educators, the heroes of our school system, won't
help resolve the real issues in the Simcoe-Muskoka labour dispute,"
Marchese said.
In
July, the NDP's expertise in fair collective bargaining led to a speedy
resolution to the municipal workers' strike in Toronto with the
appointment of a mutually agreeable, trained and qualified
mediator/arbitrator.