(TORONTO – June 23, 2010)
-- Public sector workers demonstrated today
against the government’s threat to create a
so-called SuperCorp of Crown corporations,
saying the plan does nothing more than put
valuable public assets in to private sector
pockets.
“McGuinty’s ‘SuperCorp’ is a
super scam,” said Nancy Pridham, Toronto
regional vice president for the Ontario
Public Service Employees Union, which
represents more than 6,000 affected LCBO
workers. “The more we’re learning about
SuperCorp, the less it passes the smell
test.”
Several dozen workers
representing OPSEU, Hydro One and Ontario
Power Generation, gathered outside the main
gates of York University’s Glendon College
campus in Toronto where the McGuinty cabinet
was meeting for its regular weekly meeting.
They were protesting the
Premier’s threat to bundle several key Crown
corporations and sell a 20 per cent stake in
the new corporation to private interests.
Along with the Ontario Lottery and Gaming
Corporation, the four corporations
contributed more than $4 billion in profit
to the provincial treasury last year, a
dividend used to pay for education, health
care and other public services.
“McGuinty’s SuperCorp scheme
is like using your retirement savings to pay
off a monthly credit card bill,” said Scott
Travers, local vice president of the Society
of Energy Professionals, which represents
more than 8,000 employees at Hydro One and
OPG.
OPSEU president Warren
(Smokey) Thomas said: “The people of Ontario
haven’t forgotten how Mike Harris ripped off
the province by selling Highway 407 to the
private sector at a bargain basement,
give-away price. And if Premier McGuinty
proceeds with his plan, he’ll face the same
strong opposition.”
Labour groups have predicted
that the provincial Liberals risk losing
seats in next year’s election by pushing
through SuperCorp against public opinion
that has consistently opposed the idea of
privatizing profitable public assets. The
Harris government quickly backed down from
the idea of selling off the LCBO 10 years
ago in the face of public anger.
NDP Labour critic Peter
Kormos attended the rally and said: "Any
sales of public assets are absolutely a bad
deal for Ontarians. These are
publicly-owned assets that we need to
maintain over the long run. Our public
assets work effectively and generate
billions every year for our schools and
hospitals.”
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