Mayor John Tory has made it clear that he wants to follow Premier Wynne in her disastrous hydro privatization scheme. This will hurt all of us in the following ways:
- Privatizing Toronto Hydro means we will lose control over our electricity system.
Right now, if the power goes out, the workers are sent out immediately to get the lights and heat back on, and the elevators running again. If things aren’t fixed quickly, our councillors have the means to call those who run Toronto Hydro and hold them to account.
If Toronto Hydro becomes responsible to profit-driven shareholders, the companies bottom line will become more important than getting our power back on quickly.
- When hydro gets privatized, bills go up.
This will hurt every family in Toronto, but it will hurt lower income families even harder. No one has a choice to go without electricity, so if costs are driven up further, many families will be pushed over the brink.
- It’s not just our personal bills that will go up.
Our schools, hospitals, child care centers, rec centers, libraries, transit system… all rely on large amounts of electricity. If those electricity bills go up, there will be less money for services and staff.
