Apr. 27, 2002. 01:00 AM Hydro One sale should be judged by public
When Ernie Eves said he was going to mark a new era in this province by listening to Ontarians, some probably took for granted that he's also act on the public's wishes.
How foolish.
Eves announced he is going ahead with the sale of Hydro One, the component of the former Ontario Hydro that owns the province's vital transmission grid. The sale was blocked after a judge ruled last week that the government did not have the legal authority to sell the company.
In response, Eves is going to rewrite the law to correct the portions the judge found objectionable. And for good measure, his government will also appeal the judge's ruling to a higher court. That latter move is excessive — Why go to the public expense of a court appeal when Eves has already effectively announced he will ignore whatever the court says because he is rewriting the legislation?
The Star believes selling Hydro One, along with the planned sale of most of the power generators run by Ontario Power Generation, another Ontario Hydro offspring, represent a threat to the economic stability of this province because it threatens the delivery of cheap reliable power that has made this province Canada's industrial heartland. But as we have said before, the Tory government's manner in ramming through the restructuring of the hydro sector is almost as objectionable.
The sale of Hydro One has never been debated in the Legislature, it was never part of the government's election campaign, it has never been supported by any cost-benefit study. It was simply dropped on the Legislature by Mike Harris on his second-to-last day in the Legislature.
Eves has done nothing this week to correct any of his predecessor's abuses.
Sure, the Premier says, he'll hold ``meaningful" public hearings, but he has made plain nothing is going to change his mind.
Indeed, these hearings sound suspiciously like pep rallies, particulary because Eves is deploying the best salesman in the cabinet, new Energy Minister Chris Stockwell. According to Eves, Ontarians need to be convinced of the benfits of the sale because they are confused.
But what if Ontarians are not confused? What if they've seen and read enough to be legitimately alarmed at the government's plans, not only for Hydro One, but for the generating plants?
What if Ontarians, seeing Hydro One's plans for a large expansion into the United States, understand that is a bad move for them? Right now, Ontario has an advantage in competitively priced power. Ontarians are not confused about how stupid it would be to give that advantage away.
What if the critics, like John Mayberry, the head of Dofasco, have convinced them that hydro prices could go up 20 to 40 per cent under privatization? What if the public listens to the business-loving C.D. Howe Institute, which has warned it makes no sense to sell off our low-cost power plants.
Consumers are going to pay more for private power simply because their bills will reflect profits demanded by private investors. That's not a difficult concept to understand.
There are occasions when politicians propose changes so profound they have a moral duty to call an election. The selloff of Hydro One is one of those instances.
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