June 15, 2017
Court Approves Stelco's Plan of
Arrangement
Steelworkers Stand Firmly Against the
Oligarchs and Their State
- Rolf Gerstenberger -
PDF
Court
Approves
Stelco's
Plan of Arrangement
• Steelworkers Stand Firmly Against the
Oligarchs and
Their State - Rolf Gerstenberger
• CCAA Judge Approves Stelco Plan of
Arrangement to Exit Bankruptcy
Protection - Workers' Forum Reporter
Letter to the Editor
• Re: Will Stelco Be American Enough?
Opposition in Ontario
to Privatization of Public Assets
• Workers Demonstrate in Support of Court
Challenge to Privatization of Hydro One
• "This Is Our Common Property. They Did Not
Run an Election on It.
They Have No Right to Sell It!" - Interview, Fred Hahn,
President, CUPE Ontario
Court Approves Stelco's Plan of
Arrangement
Steelworkers Stand Firmly Against the
Oligarchs and Their State
- Rolf Gerstenberger -
Join in to build the nation anew!
The U.S. Steel takeover of Stelco in 2007 began a
long series of attacks that steelworkers and our allies have resisted
with courage and determination. Led by Local 1005 USW at Hamilton
Works, we fought the lockouts, demands for concessions, wrecking of
productive capacity, and refusal to fund our pension plans and live up
to promises made under the authority of the Investment Canada Act.
German
imperialists
called
MANA
seized
one
of
our
mills,
demanded
insane concessions, locked us out and brought in scab replacement
workers who remain to this day as a warning of the brutality of these
empire-builders.
The oligarchs have no solutions to the problems they
face in building their empires. They are caught in the old aim of
serving private interests when industrial mass production has become
completely social. The economic parts the oligarchs fight to control
cannot exist without each other yet they are locked in brutal
competition to build their
empires. This irrational situation is bound to crash in economic crises
and wars as it does with alarming regularity.
The Workers' Opposition wants to build the New in a
nation-building project under the control of the actual producers. It
looks at the economy as a single whole, which is greater than the sum
of its parts, if those parts are working together in cooperation and
nation-building and not fighting each other in empire-building. The
building of a
modern economy within a nation-building project that vests sovereignty
in the people and not the oligarchs must have a modern aim to serve the
interests of the whole and the well-being of all and the general
interests of society. Nation-building is the way forward out of the
constant attacks of the oligarchs on the rights of all.
The ruling oligarchs and their state refuse to see that
their hold on power is the cause of economic crises and war. Their
refusal to build the new is dictated by their narrow aim to serve their
private interests in contradiction with the whole. This leads to
irrational acts such as the wrecking of Stelco and stealing what is
ours by right: our jobs,
pensions and benefits. It leads to irrational acts such as the owners
of Stelco in the U.S. putting their wholly owned subsidiary into
bankruptcy protection of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act
(CCAA) and then declaring that they, the U.S. owners, are the aggrieved
party and principal secured creditor. The irrationality is complete
when the major state institutions in Canada agree with the foreign
bandits and create a situation which forces everyone to nod their heads
like idiots and hand over our national treasure as tribute.
During this long ordeal with U.S. Steel and even before
back to 2004 when Stelco first entered CCAA, Hamilton and Lake
Erie steelworkers and retirees received no concrete assistance
from any state institution to defend what we have built with our sweat
and blood and what is ours by right.
Support for steelworkers has consistently come from our
allies in the Workers' Opposition who have never flinched in turning
their words into deeds of active support and encouragement. Certain
individuals in the state and its government machinery have offered
their words of hope but nothing concrete has come from those state
institutions
except obstruction and abuse.
Steelworkers have learned
from this experience. Many are determined to turn their understanding
into a material force to strengthen the Workers' Opposition and its
independent institutions and voice. Stelco steelworkers have grasped
the truth that workers are their own saviours. They are in opposition
to the empire-builders who profit from
their work. They are in opposition to the old state institutions and
system of governance, which are profoundly anti-social and deprive the
working people of their right to control their work and lives. They
understand that the power to deprive the oligarchs and their state of
their power to deprive us of what is ours by right is the way forward
to
build the new.
Steelworkers both active and retired have lost much in
this trial of strength with the U.S. Steel empire-builders but we
retain our dignity. We never flinched in the face of the power of a
foreign imperialist and Canadian state institutions determined to
trample on our rights. We have come through this ordeal with a
strengthened subjective
awareness and social consciousness that nation-building in this era is
up to us, the working class. We have the numbers and social
consciousness of what needs to be done to defend the rights of all and
build the new. We are determined to strengthen the Workers' Opposition
on the basis of a modern outlook and build the New. Join In!
CCAA Judge Approves Stelco Plan of Arrangement
to Exit Bankruptcy Protection
- Workers' Forum Reporter -
The Stelco hearing to approve the plan of arrangement
under the police powers of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act
(CCAA) was held on June 9, in the same large Toronto courtroom as
most of the previous hearings. It quickly filled with those at the
centre of the process including CCAA Chief Restructuring
Officer Bill Aziz, lawyers for the Monitor Ernst & Young Inc,
Stelco President Mike McQuade, court functionaries, and a large number
of other lawyers from the official service list, which currently
contains over 150 names.[1]
They greeted each other heartily, talking boisterously and laughing
almost raucously, as if attending a joyous reunion.
Only three reporters entered the courtroom, one from
the CBC, another from the Hamilton Spectator and a
reporter for Workers' Forum, who has attended and reported on
every court session dealing with the Stelco bankruptcy and every
meeting and rally of Local 1005 USW since the beginning of the
latest
CCAA ordeal two and a half years ago. Four members from Local 1005
USW attended along with five from Local 8582 USW.
Paul Steep for the bankrupt applicant U.S. Steel Canada
(USSC) said four motions were before the court. No legal objections had
been filed in opposition to their acceptance. Steep said USSC was
looking for court endorsement of the following four motions so that the
agreement could be implemented by June 30, 2017:
1. The 2nd Amended Plan Order;
2. The Sanction Order;
3. A settlement agreement with the salaried
workers who were laid off earlier this year and were disputing their
severance and pensions package -- Representative Counsel Agreement
settlement (RCA);
4. A settlement agreement with a creditor, Air
Products, who objected to the settlement agreement and worked out its
differences with USSC the previous day.
Steep went through the legal requirements for approval
of the 4 motions
under the police powers of the CCAA.
He provided evidence that those requirements had been met including the
endorsement of the Chief Restructuring Officer Bill Aziz from Blue Tree
Advisors, a company that thrives from participating in CCAA
bankruptcies in Canada, and Chapters 11 and 15 corporate
bankruptcies in the U.S., and approval of the Monitor Ernst &
Young, which is part of the U.S. financial oligarchy.
Ken Rosenberg, a lawyer from the national office of the
United Steelworkers presented the votes in acceptance of new collective
agreements at Local 1005 USW, Local 8782 and Local 8782b
representing a total of 2,200 steelworkers at both Hamilton Works
and Lake Erie Works. Rosenberg noted for the record that
approval of the collective agreements is not an endorsement or approval
of the plan of arrangement. The national office and the three locals
offered no support for the motions but did not object to their court
approval.
Sharon White, a lawyer representing Local 1005 USW
emphasized that the collective agreement was ratified with
only 63.8 per cent approval. Substantive issues still need to be
negotiated with regard to the retirees, especially their Other Post
Employment Benefits (OPEBs). A conditional plan of agreement would be
made whole once
negotiations are complete. White confirmed that Local 1005, while
not endorsing the plan of arrangement would not object to court
approval of the four motions.
Gail Rubenstein, a lawyer for the Province of Ontario
said the provincial government supports the motions.
A lawyer representing the CCAA Monitor Ernst &
Young went through similar court documents to those of Paul Steep to
show that all the proper formalities had been followed and "no
stakeholder was prejudiced through the process." Regarding the
conditional aspect of the agreement, he said the Monitor was bound to
post any amendments
that arose in the course of final negotiations to ensure no amendment
was materially adverse to any stakeholder and that the Monitor
consented to the Plan once finally amended. The lawyer emphasized the
Monitor's opinion that the agreement reached was the best possible
under the circumstance without elaborating the circumstances.
The lawyer for U.S. Steel said USS supports the
agreement but warned that it is time-sensitive. The agreement
stipulates that it must be implemented by June 30, 2017
at 5 pm to retain USS support.
The lawyer for Air Products and another for the RCA
both spoke of the content of the last minute agreements reached with
USSC regarding their claims.
The judge endorsed the 4 motions.
For Your Information
Court Sanctions Stelco (U.S. Steel Canada) Plan of
Arrangement and Transaction with Bedrock
- Stelco Press Release -
HAMILTON, ON, June 9, 2017 /CNW/ -- Stelco,
the name under which U. S. Steel Canada Inc. carries on business
("Stelco" or the "Company") announces that the Ontario Superior Court
of Justice (the "Court") has sanctioned its Plan of Compromise,
Arrangement and Reorganization (the "Plan") and transaction (the
"Transaction") between the Company, Bedrock Industries Group LLC
("Bedrock") and other key stakeholders. The Company is now working
towards closing the transaction by June 30, 2017 and emerging
from protection under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act
(CCAA) at that time.
"We have diligently pursued the best possible outcome
for almost three years and I sincerely appreciate the constructive
engagement from many stakeholders," said Bill Aziz, Chief Restructuring
Officer, Stelco. "In particular, I would like to recognize the
sustained and focused efforts of Stelco's leadership team and employees
across the
organization. Despite the uncertainty, the Company's dedicated people
kept moving the business forward to the point that it is now poised to
emerge as a strong, independent Canadian steel producer."
Aziz concluded: "I would also like to recognize the
significant efforts from the Province of Ontario and Premier Kathleen
Wynne, Finance Minister Charles Sousa and the Premier's Business
Advisor, Ed Clark. The transaction with Bedrock simply would not have
been possible without the support from the Province." "Today marks the
turning
of the page on a new chapter for Stelco," said Michael A. McQuade,
President and General Manager of Stelco. "I would like to thank all of
our employees for their resilience throughout this process and for
their effort in creating the value in our business that was such a
critical factor in achieving this successful outcome."
McQuade concluded: "Looking forward, this transaction
with Bedrock will allow Stelco to compete and succeed in the North
American steel market. While our industry continues to face a variety
of headwinds, Stelco is well positioned for a bright and prosperous
future."
Stelco has been operating under CCAA protection since
being granted an initial stay of proceedings in September of 2014.
Ernst & Young Inc., as the Court-appointed Monitor, continues to
oversee the business and financial affairs of the company during the
CCAA process. Current Court filings, including the Plan of Compromise,
Arrangement and Reorganization, Information Circular and information
regarding a Supplementary Claims Process and other information relevant
to the restructuring process is available on its website at www.ey.com/ca/USSC.
Stelco will continue to provide updates as developments
warrant.
Backgrounder: Overview of Proposal for
Restructuring Stelco
- Ontario Ministry of
Finance, June 9, 2017 3:00 P.M. -
Today, the court supervising the Stelco restructuring
under the Companies' Creditors
Arrangement Act (CCAA) approved the
restructuring plan of Stelco (the operating name of U.S. Steel Canada
Inc. effective December 2, 2016).
The restructuring plan also has the necessary support
from Stelco creditors, including the province, and Stelco employees.
The company will now work with stakeholders to finalize the necessary
supporting agreements.
The restructuring plan is supported by a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) between Bedrock and the Province of Ontario, which
sets out a policy framework intended to protect jobs while allowing the
continuation of pensions and other post-employment benefits (OPEBs).
The MOU also protects the environment while providing the
opportunity for Stelco's lands to be used to create value for pensions
and OPEBs.
Jobs
Bedrock would continue steel operations and
approximately 2,200 existing jobs would continue at Stelco's
Hamilton and Lake Erie facilities.
Pensions
This transaction would allow Stelco's five pension
plans -- which are underfunded and would otherwise face wind-up at
reduced benefits levels -- to remain in place without reductions,
providing benefits for service accrued prior to
December 31, 2017. Pension coverage for service
after 2017 would be addressed in separate
agreements.
The framework also includes provisions for the funding
of the pension plans, subject to government approvals. The new company
would make various lump sum and ongoing contributions, resulting
in $430 million of new contributions to the pension plans
over 20 years, $160 million of which is guaranteed directly
by
Bedrock.
The pension plans would continue to benefit from
coverage by the Pension Benefits Guarantee Fund in the event of a
wind-up in the future, administered by the Financial Services
Commission of Ontario (FSCO). A qualified third party, appointed by
FSCO, would ultimately serve as the administrator of the pensions plans.
Other Post-Employment Benefits (OPEBs)
The agreement provides greater certainty for retirees'
other post employment benefits (OPEBs) than contemplated in the
agreement filed in December 2016. OPEBs are post-employment
benefits other than pension payments, including, dental benefits,
prescriptions and supplements, and life insurance.
Under the agreement, the newly restructured company is
committing to fixed payments totalling $33 million per year for
OPEBs for 10 years, backed in part by loans from the province.
For its part, the province would, subject to government
approvals, provide a fully-secured loan of $22 million in the
first two years, to be repaid in the third and fourth year, to help
provide uninterrupted OPEB payments to retirees in early years while
the new company is established. The province would also provide,
subject to
government approvals, an interest-free loan of up to $66 million
over 10 years to assist in the payment of OPEBs. The 10-year
term of the loan is intended to assist in providing OPEB coverage while
balancing risk to the province and allowing time to plan for the future
use of Stelco's lands to create additional value for
pensions and OPEBs.
Between January 1, 2016 and
March 31, 2017, the province also provided support under a
Transition Fund to ensure the continuation of critical health benefits
throughout the CCAA process.
Lands
To create additional value for retirees, Stelco's lands
would be transferred to a land vehicle governed by an independent,
court-appointed Board of Directors, ultimately on behalf of retirees.
The land occupied by Stelco operations would be subject to a lease to
the trust. The lands, which are not used for Stelco's operations would
be sold,
leased or developed, with proceeds going to fund the pensions and
OPEBs. There would be no time constraint on the sale, lease or
development of the land.
In support of the proposed plan, Ontario would, subject
to government approvals, provide a fully-secured, 10-year loan
of $10 million to the land vehicle to support its operations.
The 10-year term provides the opportunity for Stelco's lands to be
used to create value for pensions and OPEBs.
Environmental Protection
As part of the transaction, the province will receive
US$61 million, or about C$80 million, to cover costs that may be
incurred by the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change (MOECC)
in connection with environmental conditions on the land. With this
financial assurance, MOECC would provide a release of certain legacy
environmental liabilities. Any portion of the financial assurance that
is not required by MOECC will be distributed for the benefit of
Stelco's pensioners.
The new Stelco and the land vehicle would be required
to comply with all environmental laws and regulations, fund any
environmental baseline testing and monitoring costs, and work with
MOECC to develop an environmental management plan to ensure that the
environment is protected while steel operations are ongoing.
Releases
In order to support the establishment of a
newly-restructured company that will operate independently from the
former parent company, U.S. Steel's creditors and other stakeholders,
including the province would, subject to government approvals, provide
certainty to US Steel that it will be free of any continuing liability
with respect to Stelco,
supported by an indemnity from the province with respect to certain
environmental matters.
The province would also, subject to government
approvals, support the releases being given to various parties by
indemnifying certain Stelco directors for portions of losses, which are
not sufficiently covered by U.S. Steel's insurance and Stelco's
indemnity. The provincial indemnity would only apply if the directors
acted honestly and in good
faith.
In light of all the circumstances, the province does
not consider the financial risk to be substantial. Such actions are,
however, necessary preconditions for the exit of Stelco from creditor
protection and the ongoing operation of Stelco.
Note
1. To review the extensive service list and
amended plan of arrangement click here.
Letter to the Editor
Re: Will Stelco Be American Enough?
It is really infuriating to hear the "experts" cheering
at the prospect that Stelco will now adopt the "best position" and
change from being a "Canadian" business to an "American" one, as if its
image is the determining factor in the future of the company and the
steel industry.
A short time ago, U.S. Steel, the parent company of
U.S. Steel Canada, claimed that it should be given absolute priority in
the CCAA insolvency process for repayment of $2.2 billion of funds
that it had invested in its subsidiary over the years since U.S. Steel
took over the former Stelco in the last CCAA process. To suit its
purposes in
the scramble to recover the most from the current insolvency, U.S.
Steel claimed that the funds had originally been transferred by way of
arm's-length commercial loans to its "Canadian" sub-subsidiary and
denied the obvious reality that it was money that had been shifted from
one account of the U.S.-based global monopoly to another. The
Ontario Superior Court of Justice agreed with the spurious claim and
allowed them to scoop the entire amount in priority to all other
creditors, thereby robbing retired employees of their unfunded pensions
and defaulting on its loan from the Ontario government.
Now, we are expected to forget all about that argument
and instead be thankful that the company will resume its image of being
"American" because that will better appease the supposed protectionist
attitude of the Trump administration. (Will U.S. Steel now return
the $2.2 billion and admit that its claim of arm's-length dealing
with its
"Canadian" sub-subsidiary was a devious ploy?)
As can be seen from this course of events, the
financial oligarchs who control Stelco from time to time haven't the
slightest concern whether the business is, or appears to be, "Canadian"
or "American." They will argue one way today and the opposite tomorrow,
whichever way will make the most money. Either way, the result is to
harm the
workers, their communities and the national economy. In their drive for
maximum profits at all costs, they have the complicity of the federal
and provincial governments, who are entrusted with protecting the
sacred trust of pensions but never do.
Canadians can no longer be expected to live with this
constant wrecking by the ruling elite for their own private profit
at the expense of the working class and the economy in general.
Contrary to the narrow-minded opinions of the "experts" that there is
no alternative, the article truly sums up the situation when it says:
"Control of
Canadians over their economic and political affairs is the only way
forward."
A reader in Toronto
Opposition in Ontario to Privatization of
Public Assets
Workers Demonstrate in Support of Court Challenge
to Privatization of Hydro One
Responding to the call of the Ontario Division of the
Canadian
Union of Public
Employees (CUPE), workers held a militant demonstration on June 12
to denounce
the privatization of Ontario Hydro One, Ontario's public electricity
distribution and
transmission utility. They rallied and marched in support of
CUPE's lawsuit against
Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne and her Ministers of Finance and Energy.
The CUPE
lawsuit accuses these politicians of abuse of power for pushing
privatization of
Hydro One despite massive opposition of the people.
CUPE Ontario reports that government lawyers argued in
court that the lawsuit was inadmissible because it challenged the
parliamentary privilege of ministers to make their decisions. In
rebuttal, CUPE lawyers argued that the privatization of Hydro One is an
abuse of power by these ministers for the benefit of select private
interests who are
supporters of the ruling Liberal Party. Privatization runs counter to
the clear opposition of the people expressed in multiple polls,
including even opposition from those people who declare they voted for
the Wynne government in the last election when her party did not
include privatization of Hydro One as a priority.
In defiance of public opinion and expressing their
abuse of power, just weeks before the June hearing, the Ontario
government announced the sale of yet another tranche of Hydro One
shares. This brings private ownership of Hydro One to over 50 per
cent. The Liberal Premier and Ministers are abusing their positions of
power; the
prosecution is admissible and the trial must be held, CUPE declares.
Sky-Rocketing Hydro Rates
A major effect of the deregulation and privatization of
Ontario's public electricity generation and distribution system has
been a dramatic increase in hydro rates for workers and others in
Ontario, including small and medium-sized businesses. Privatization
began in earnest with the Mike Harris Conservative government in the
mid-1990s. With
privatization comes the siphoning away from the state-owned enterprise
of profit from the value workers generate in producing and distributing
electricity. Instead of this profit going into the provincial treasury
or back into Ontario Hydro for reinvestment in extended reproduction,
it ends up in the hands of private interests and in most cases is taken
out of the economy.
One aspect of the scandal is that the long-term debt of
Ontario Hydro remains the responsibility of the public treasury while
the profit generated from production is not available to pay it down.
The financial oligarchy sucks interest profit from the remaining debt,
plus equity profit from the privatized asset.
The damage does not end with the private claim on
Ontario Hydro's profit. The thirst for profit from the new owners is
insatiable, satisfied in part by raising the price of electricity.
Since 2006 alone, hydro rates have increased four times faster
than the rate of inflation. Many Ontario families are faced with the
choice of either eating or
paying their electricity bills, a deplorable occurrence in this modern
era. This alone is an indictment of deregulation and privatization of
public assets, a policy emanating from the austerity agenda of the
anti-social offensive of the rich. The anti-social offensive favours
select private interests and their direct usurpation of public power.
They use their representatives in the cartel political parties and the
monopoly-controlled media as advocates of the anti-social offensive to
deprive the people of an outlook and overwhelm them.
The anti-social offensive must be defeated and workers
in Ontario are rightly saying that one step in that direction is to
step up the work to stop the privatization of Hydro One. They declare,
contrary to the Ontario Liberal government, that this is not a "done
deal." The Premier and Ministers responsible for pushing this
privatization that
favours narrow private interests of the financial oligarchy and damages
the broad interests of the people and society must render account for
their actions.
Hydro One is a key component of Ontario's economic
infrastructure providing ongoing revenue to the province that can be
invested in other infrastructure and used in exchange to strengthen the
overall economy and give it a certain stability that private enterprise
cannot provide. A public electricity generation and distribution
network is a key
element of a modern pro-social nation-building project of the working
class.
The privatization of Hydro One is a form of theft of
public assets, an abuse of power and evidence of official corruption
and catering to class privilege, as the demonstrating workers justly
say.
Workers' Forum reproduces below an interview with
CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn conducted following the Canadian
Labour Congress
Convention held May 8-12.
"This Is Our Common Property. They Did Not Run
an Election on It. They Have No Right to Sell It!"
- Interview, Fred Hahn, President, CUPE
Ontario -
Niagara Falls, March 24, 2017
Workers' Forum:
The Ontario section of the Canadian Union of Public
Employees is active in the campaign against the privatization of Hydro
One by the Wynne Liberal government in Ontario. What are the main
features of this campaign and where do things stand?
Fred Hahn: Right
from the beginning, our stand as a union has been that the
privatization of our hydro system is a disaster for the people of
Ontario. In particular on the sale of Hydro One, since the day that the
Premier announced that she was even considering this move, we have been
working with others. We have formed a
coalition that involves other unions, environmental groups, student
groups, anti-poverty groups, etc. We have done all kinds of mobilizing
and organizing in communities, we have held meetings, we have done
public advertising, we have done everything we can to dissuade the
Liberal government from moving forward. Besides, public polling has
shown that 90 per cent of Ontarians are opposed to the
privatization of Hydro One.
We have also launched a lawsuit. We are suing the
Premier and the Ministers of Finance and Energy for misfeasance of
public office. We are saying that they used their power to benefit
themselves and their political party as well as their friends on Bay
Street, mainly the five major banks that have been the underwriters of
this sale of
shares.
When I intervened at the Canadian Labour Congress
Convention on this topic, the Liberal government had just announced
that they were intending to sell the final chunk of shares. Those in
power want us to believe that nothing can be done now that the final
chunk of shares is being sold.
We are pitching to people that we need to keep going,
that we need to change the name of our group to "Make Hydro Public"
instead of "Keep Hydro Public" and we are continuing campaigning in
communities. The lawsuit we have underway is still moving forward.
Change only happens when people mobilize and fight for it. Nothing is
impossible if you mobilize and fight for it.
WF:
Privatization of hydro has been on the agenda for quite a while now.
FH:
Yes, in 1999 after we had had, for decades, a not-for-profit hydro
system that was publicly owned and operated by the province of Ontario,
there was a first attempt to sell our hydro system that was undertaken
by the PC government under Mike Harris. We launched a court case
against this in 1999 which we won
and the government at that time did not proceed fully with the
privatization of the system. They broke Ontario Hydro into pieces, the
generation piece, the transmission piece, the distribution piece. They
broke debt off into a separate corporation just holding debt and they
introduced the energy market. They said there would be a market that
would
set the price of energy. Basically, since 2000, when hydro was
about 4.3 cents per kWh (and had been at that rate for a long
time), 17 years later, the people of Ontario are now paying an
average of 27 cents per kWh.
Even the current proposal of the Liberals to freeze
rates and reduce them back down to 20 cents will only protect
profit. The problem is that profit is in the system. A majority of the
power that is generated now in Ontario is generated for profit. They
sold the Bruce nuclear power plant, now a private enterprise, for
profit. They closed
all the coal-fired power plants and that was good for the environment
except that those were public ventures. They were replaced with
gas-fired power plants, all of which are owned and operated by the
private sector which has a guaranteed higher rate per kWh for every bit
of energy they produce because it is all about profit. Through the sale
of
Hydro One, they sold the towers and the wires that move the power that
is generated through the communities across Ontario. So when the people
start to notice the distribution charges on their hydro bill going up,
that is the toll of this new privatized highway. The insidious problem
in our system is that it is now for profit. The corporations and
banks who own these shares are the ones making huge profits at the
expense of people and small and medium-size businesses.
What we are saying is that although people hold
different views on what should and should not be run for profit, there
are certain things we can start to agree ought not to be done for
profits. People ought not to make profits on our parents and
grandparents because they need long-term care; we should not have
profit in the health care system
or in our schools; and certainly not in something as essential in our
every day lives and in the economy as electricity. It makes no sense.
WF:
The Ontario government has raised a preliminary objection to the filing
of your lawsuit.
FH:
Like in any legal case, the people you sue get to respond. The
government responded with a preliminary objection, saying that they do
not believe that we have the right to sue them because governments have
the power to do whatever they like. We are actually suing them for
damages on behalf of the people of Ontario. A
victory in the court case will mean that corporations will need to pay
damages back to every rate payer for the costs they have incurred. They
want to stall as long as they can because once we get to the actual
court case we will have discovery. In discovery, we will ask for all
pieces of phone conversations, emails, correspondence, between the
corporations on Bay Street and the major banks who are the underwriters
of this sale who, to date, have made over $100 million in profits
just for underwriting the sale of the hydro system. This is the last
thing they want. They do not want the light to shine there and they are
trying to delay as much as possible.
WF:
Is there anything you want to say in conclusion?
FH:
We fight for what is right and just. They sold something that is our
common property, that our parents and grandparents built. They did not
run an election on it. They have no right to do it. We are not fighting
for ourselves but for our children and grandchildren. This is why we
will not stop.
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