Canadian court stops privatisation
10 May 2002
By By Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE)
A court in Ontario, Canada has stopped government plans to privatise its electricity generating and transmission company.
Legal action brought by Public Services International (PSI) affiliate CUPE and the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers' Union, resulted in the stop order. At the Ontario Superior Court, the unions argued that sale of the company, Hydro One, would violate the Electricity Act. The judge agreed that the Act allowed the Ontario government to acquire and hold shares in Hydro One, but not to sell them. Judy Darcy, CUPE President, said outside the courthouse on 19 April that the government should now listen to the people of Ontario. "They never sought a mandate to open markets or to sell off the electricity grid or anything else" she said. See www.cupe.ca.
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