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Following revelations that a bank underwriting the Hydro One sale backed a fundraiser that funneled tens of thousands of dollars into Liberal party coffers, CUPE Ontario President issued a public call for a police investigation. A Globe and Mail exposé uncovered active promotion by the Bank of Nova Scotia for a December 7 fundraising event featuring Finance Minister Charles Sousa and Energy Minister Bob Chiarelli. Emails obtained by the Globe suggest the bank helped secure participation in the $7400-perperson fundraiser by 22 people. These included executives of other banks involved in the Hydro One IPO, including TD, RBC, CIBC, Goldman CAMPAIGN PUSHES BACK AGAINST HYDRO ONE CORRUPTION SCANDAL anti-poverty Sachs, Barclays and Raymond James. The paper reports the emails included at least one overt reference to Hydro One privatization. The disclosures added a new jolt to the province’s highly charged decision to sell off the publicly owned hydro transmission and distribution company. Since the sale was announced in early 2015, nearly 200 municipalities have passed resolutions opposing the sale of Hydro One and public opinion polling pegs voter opposition to the sale at more than 80 percent. The OFL is part of a broad-based campaign, called “Keep Hydro Public,” that is supported by more than 20 community, labour, environment, and student organizations. The campaign began rolling out large community canvasses across the province that are blitzing Liberal ridings across the province to amplify public outrage over hydro privatization. “We already know the public won’t benefit from Hydro privatization, but we have recently learned about the undue political influence of the project’s financial backers,” said Hahn. “Whether the Liberals broke the law is for the police and courts to decide, but governments need to be held to a higher standard. The Keep Hydro Public campaign is going to try this government in the court of public opinion.” RALLY CALLS ON WYNNE TO #PLAYFAIR WITH OLG PENSIONS On December 16, 2015, management at the Rideau Carleton Raceway Slots (RCRS) locked out 124 housekeepers and slot-area cashiers after their bargaining team rejected a new contract that would freeze wages for two years and remove existing pension language from the current collective agreement. The workers have not had a raise since 2009, despite the fact that the cost of living in Ottawa has increased by 8.7 percent since then. In the first 15 days of the lockout, the RCRS lost five times more money in revenue than it would have cost the employer to increase wages by three percent in a single year. The workers were quick to call out Ontario’s governing Liberals for being very vocal about OFL ACTION REPORT the need to expand the Canada Pension Plan, while allowing the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation (OLG) – a crown corporation – to try to strong arm workers into giving up their long-standing pensions. The union has accused the Wynne government of allowing OLG to make itself more attractive to private buyers by forcing employees to give up their pensions. On March 9, the OFL helped PSAC mobilize a solidarity rally of hundreds of workers at Queen’s Park to call on the Wynne government to “play fair” with OLG pensions. Joined by several members of the Ontario NDP Caucus, and even the of local Nepean-Carleton MPP Lisa MacLeod, the protesters called on Wynne to intervene in the bitter dispute and to put a stop to scab labour. “Solidarity from the labour movement and incredible support from the public buoyed the spirits of the slots workers through holiday season and the cold winter months,” said Larry Rousseau, Regional Executive Vice-President for PSAC. “These locked out workers have become stronger on the picket line over the last few months and they are determined to win a fair contract.” The union has continued to keep the heat on the government by staging a series of protests outside the Ottawa offices of three local Liberal MPPs, calling the province to stop privatizing the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corporation. 9 PHOTO: JOEL DUFF PHOTO: KEEP HYDRO PUBLIC