LABOUR DISPUTE

MPP Anand’s tenth Members’ Statement was on the topic of “Labour Dispute”, delivered on 19 December 2018. 

See full transcript below:

“My message is very simple and clear: Electricity is an essential part of our lives. Residents across Ontario need and deserve a reliable and uninterrupted power supply, we all agree, especially over the winter months. Right now, that’s at risk.

Around 6,000 members of the Power Workers’ Union, employed at OPG, have threatened to go on strike. If the strike goes ahead, Ontario will not have a stable and safe power supply. This fact has been confirmed by IESO. In case of strike, the people of Ontario could experience rolling blackouts over the holidays and throughout the winter. We have patients in home care units that will be affected. We have seniors in seniors’ homes that could be unsafe for seniors to live in. We have families in northern Ontario without a safe power supply. They won’t be able to heat their homes.

OPG accounts for 51% of the power generated in Ontario, and without PWU workers, these facilities cannot operate, and that’s a grave situation.

The NDP says they’ll do everything to stop our effort to pass this bill. Our government won’t let that happen. We have called back the Legislature to make sure that people across Ontario have a reliable power supply. This is not about politics; it’s about the safety and security of Ontarians.

We hope that my fellow friends the NDP caucus will join us in passing this legislation quickly and ensuring that everyone across Ontario has access to stable power.”