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TORONTO, March 6, 2008- Toronto Mayor David Miller has heeded calls from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Ontario and CUPE 1 hydro workers and asked that Toronto Hydro hold off on any proposed sale of its Telecom asset. Miller said the city wants to review whether it makes sense to consider a telecom enterprise incorporating police and transit telecom systems with investment from a pension fund.
The Mayor’s announcement came on the heels of a demonstration picket yesterday by 140 hydro workers, and a recent meeting in which leadership from CUPE Ontario and Local 1 pressed the Mayor to keep Toronto Hydro as a highly valued public asset.
“Mayor Miller is to be congratulated on standing up to the commercial interests who want to sell off Toronto wholesale,” said CUPE Ontario President Sid Ryan, who also addressed the futility of a proposed utility sell-off as part of an opinion piece that appeared in the Toronto Star on February 29.
“A city-owned electric utility is among the best tools Toronto has to meet future environmental goals and keep electricity costs affordable,” Ryan added.
CUPE Ontario has been working with the Ontario Electricity Coalition’s Paul Kahnert on this issue as well as discussing a joint province-wide campaign with locals on behalf of public utilities.
Municipalities are under increasing financial pressure and the union wants to stem any moves to sell off public utilities to build municipal coffers.
