News for Ontario's 99%

Powerful Big Business Lobby Groups Behind Hydro One Privatization Decision - Read the Inside Story. (For the full story on the Bay St. lobbying groups behind the Hydro One decision, visit http://newsforontarioninetyninepercent.ca/privatizing-hydr/) In early April, Bruce Bodden was appointed to the board of Infrastructure Ontario. ...Continue reading

Bay St. Wins as Ontario Government Readies Majority Hydro One Sell-Off. Get The Inside Story. (For all the details visit http://newsforontarioninetyninepercent.ca/april-23-ontario/) Taking the advice of former TD Bank head Ed Clark and other Bay St. interests, Ontario’s Liberal government will sell off government-owned Hydro One in two separate initiatives.... The details will be announced today and further fleshed out in the April 23 Ontario budget. Hydro One is the government-owned transmission company responsible for operating the Ontario electricity grid. It also operates a separate distribution business the local wires that connect hydro users to the grid. In the first part of the privatization initiative, the government will sell off 60 per cent of the province’s $16-billion Hydro One transmission utility over 4 years. A parade of Bay Street players over the past year has urged the government to sell off a majority interest in the Hydro One transmission assets. A much more politically palatable minority sell-off appeared to be on the table but private financial interests are notoriously hostile to taking a minority stake in a privatization initiative fearing continued government meddling. These powerful financial interests appear to have gotten their way with the 60% sell-off to the private sector over four years. And while Premier Wynne continually alludes to the need to use the proceeds of the 60% sale to fund transit, what neither the government nor the Bay St. players will mention publicly is that for Bay St. underwriters, a Hydro One privatization IPO will represent a chance to earn tens of millions of dollars in fees by selling a piece of the huge hydro asset. In the second privatization initiative, Hydro One’s Brampton distribution operations and its rural distribution arm will be sold for up to $3 billion.

April 23 Ontario Budget To Feature Beer, Wine In Supermarkets! (This is an abridged version of the story only. For full details on beer in supermarkets visit http://newsforontarioninetyninepercent.ca/april-23-ontario/ ) The Wynne government will introduce its 2015 Ontario budget on April 23. ... The budget will focus on plans for hydro asset sales and changes to Ontario’s alcohol retail system, Ontario Finance Minister Charles Sousa said Tuesday. A panel chaired by Ed Clark, former CEO of TD Bank Group, is looking at the private Beer Store and public assets such as Hydro One and the Ontario Liquor Control Board. Its report will be released Thursday. The Liberal government has been clear for months that change is coming to Ontario's alcohol distribution system and, in particular the Beer Store, a foreign-owned, near-monopoly. Reports suggest that licenses will be auctioned off to about 300 Ontario supermarkets to allow them to sell beer. Wine in supermarkets will take somewhat longer to implement. (This is an abridged version of the story only. For full details visit http://newsforontarioninetyninepercent.ca/april-23-ontario/ )

Ontario To Implement Cap and Trade - But Will the Corporate Polluters Pay or Will You! (This is an abridged version of the story, only. For all the details visit http://newsforontarioninetyninepercent.ca/ontario-to-imple/) The Ontario Government is joining Quebec and California in a cap-and-trade system to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.... By linking with Quebec and California, Ontario will create a carbon market of 61 million people and cover more than 60 per cent of Canada’s population. However, the announcement revealed little about exactly who will pay for the new carbon market and how consumers can expect to be impacted relative to corporate emitters. However, a background paper provided by the government says gasoline prices rose 2-to-3.5 cents a litre in Quebec when it adopted a cap-and-trade system which Wynne characterized as a "small" potential increase. According to the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters Association (CME), a major player in the debate, the details will be critical in determining whether Ontario manufacturing can remain "competitive" "We need to ensure that doing business in Ontario and Quebec is more attractive than in competing jurisdictions or companies will relocate elsewhere that’s not good for either provincial economy," said Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME) President and CEO Jayson Myers. In other words, don't make us pay - make somebody else pay. No doubt, cap and trade is an exceedingly complex system with so many moving parts that it is hard to know who is paying - and who is not paying. So why would the government choose a bureaucratically complex scheme, with significant implementation costs, over something that can produce the same outcome but without near as much complexity or cost like a carbon tax? The most important reason may be that there is political cover in complexity. Cap and trade makes it appear as though someone else usually the big corporate polluters will pay, and not ordinary Ontarians. Best for Ontarians not to hold their breath on that one! (visit http://newsforontarioninetyninepercent.ca/ontario-to-imple/)

Ontario Drivers Overpay $4 Billion in Auto Insurance Premiums As Insurance Industry Profits Sky-Rocket: Report Read all the details at http://newsforontarioninetyninepercent.ca/ontario-drivers-/ Because of a flawed government formula, Ontario drivers paid out between $3 billion to $4 billion more than they should have on auto insurance premiums between 2001 and 2013, according to a study released Friday.... In 2013 alone, Ontario drivers may have over-paid by $840 million, according to the study by Fred Lazar and Eli Prisman, economics professors at the York University Schulich School of Business. Ontario’s no-fault benefits were significantly reduced by the government in 2010 and profits in the industry have increased considerably since then. The 2010 cuts resulted in the maximum for medical and rehabilitation benefits for most victims reduced to $3,500 from $100,000. For serious injuries the maximum was reduced from $100,000 to $50,000. As a result, in just one year between 2010 and 2011 industry payments to accident victims for no-fault benefits fell 50%.

Ontario Government Plans Huge Shake-up In LCBO and Beer Store. Read About Where You’ll Soon Be Able to Buy Wine and Beer! (This is a short, abridged version of this article only. To get all the details, visit http://newsforontarioninetyninepercent.ca/ontario-govt-pla/). The spring Ontario budget is expected to outline new alcohol retail policies that could see up to 300 new wine and beer sales licences sold to large supermarket chains.... Media reports suggest that the Wynne government has decided to liberalize Ontario’s restrictive beer and wine retailing to initially allow sales in 300 of the province’s 1,500 grocery stores. These reports indicate that the government will auction off retail licences and limit supermarket chains from owning more than 75 apiece in order to bolster competition. Sale of hard liquor will continue to be restricted to the publicly-owned Liquor Control Board of Ontario, which runs 651 outlets and 212 independent stores in rural areas. The LCBO will continue to sell beer and wine as well. Grocery store beer sales should shake-up the 448-outlet Beer Store, which is privately owned by the foreign-owned parent companies of Labatt, Molson, and Sleeman. While the Beer Store will continue to operate its own stores and be allowed to distribute beer to supermarkets, the Ontario government is expected to collect a new franchise fee of as much as $100 million a year. At the same time that the Ontario government seems intent on allowing large grocery chains to sell wine and beer, the province's craft brewing industry is pressing for more sales outlets for their specialty brews. Ontario Craft Brewers the association representing craft brewers - says that in addition to the existing retail channels of the LCBO, the Beer Store and possibly grocery stores, the government should allow established craft brewers to open at least one off-site store per brewery and allow them to sell each other's products in them, and in their existing on-site brewery stores. (This is a short, abridged version of this article only. To get all the details, visit http://newsforontarioninetyninepercent.ca/ontario-govt-pla/).