Sarnia mayor blasts Wynne over proposed Hydro sell-off

Veteran Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley says the Liberal government will pay a political price if it goes ahead with the partial sale off Hydro One.

Bradley told a Queen’s Park news conference Monday it is hard to believe the government will consult municipalities on things like speed limits and banning pit bull dogs, but ignore them when it comes to selling off 60 per cent of a public asset.

“I have been mayor for 27 years and there are issues that you go to the wall for, and this is one of them. I have a long memory and this issue will come up in the next provincial election,” he told reporters.

Sarnia is one of 165 municipalities that have passed resolutions opposing the partial sale of the giant transmission utility.

Premier Kathleen Wynne has consistently pushed aside criticism of the deal, saying the cash-strapped province needs the $4 billion from the sale to help pay for a $130-billion, 10-year infrastructure and public transit program, and $5 billion to pay down hydro debt.

“My focus is on the lack of public engagement and process,” Bradley said, arguing, like others, that the Liberals never made it clear previously that Hydro One was on the selling block.

“When you think about it, this is a government that loves to consult . . . and yet on the biggest issue that we will face at the local level there is a failure to consult with us. Again, it is our asset, every individual in Ontario . . . it is not Kathleen Wynne’s.”

Bradley said a person would have to be “Sherlock Holmes” to figure out that a vague reference in a pre-election budget to asset sales meant Hydro One was going to be auctioned off.

Whitby Councillor Chris Leahy said the first test of public backlash to the partial sale will be seen when a byelection is finally called in Whitby-Oshawa to replace former Progressive Conservative MPP Christine Elliott, who resigned in August.

“This was not an election promise that was given to the people during the last provincial election,” Leahy said. “Politicians . . . had the foresight over 100 years ago to keep this asset public.”

Municipalities say they are concerned that once the majority of Hydro One is in private hands the price of electricity will skyrocket, but Wynne argues the Ontario Energy Board will still have oversight with respect to regulating prices.

Bradley said the OEB has done little to protect consumers so far and doesn’t expect that will change.

Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli said the opposite is true and pointed to a Supreme Court decision last week stating the Ontario Energy Board has every right to set “just and reasonable” rates for electricity after a challenge by Ontario Power Generation.