Ontario Utilities Donating to Liberal Party

[scribblet]

Why would the local utilities donate to the provincial liberals, what could they hope to gain from it?

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/11/01/15910676.html

On the same day electricity customers across the province braced for new, higher winter rates for hydro, the NDP demanded to know why public utility companies have been donating big bucks to political campaigns.

“We think it’s wrong for public utilities to fund political parties,” New Democratic Leader Andrea Horwath said Monday. “It needs to change,” she told reporters.

Oakville Hydro gave $7,000 to the Ontario Liberal Party in 2008, as well as donating $8,500 to the 2009 Liberal central party during last year’s byelection campaign in Haliburton-Kawartha Lakes-Brock.

Newmarket-Tay Power Corp. is also listed as donating $1,000 to the Liberal party during that byelection campaign.

A spokesman for Newmarket-Tay said the company is unaware it was donating to the byelection.

The company paid for senior people to hear George Smitherman speak, CFO Iain Clinton says.

He says he’s done a full search of the company’s accounting records for the $1,000 cheque.

cont...

why would they pay to hear any MPP speak ?

[Oleg Bach]

You can't do that! If there is surplus money that allows these utlities to donate -- to anyone - let them donate to those in need..or return the excess cash to the consumer who the over charge..These public companies are not there to turn a profit and continue to do so by pandering to political parites who will pass laws making increases legal. Electical power..is a must..it is like oil - If a company like BP oil were to donate money to say....the American government .... this does not give them the right to do what they want at the detriment of the average citizen..but apparently BP oil had so much influence that they were ALLOWED - to NOT clean up the oil - but to sink it and hide it with dispersants..

If I had the power to extort funds from the public like a dope dealer-- and I --------were to take some of the profits and donate it to the courts..I guess ...I would be part of a crimminal enterprise that envoled government.

Government is to protect the well being of the population - Like a governor on an engine - that keeps things in check so the engine is not over driven and destroyted - People are not stressed out and over driven.

When the new fees started arriving regarding electrical bills...there was one thing that bothered me - "loss during transmission"..which when I enquired - got a response that sort of went like this...............

Customer - "Does this fee mean that if a bird lands on a transmission line and is grounded out and gets sapped to death...do I have to pay for the cost of killing the bird?" ---------Company: "yes"...

The selling of utlities to private enterprise is bizarre and not in our best interests as a populace...WE payed to install the grid - we own that grid...any profits generated by the companies running the system should be sent back to the consumer - and NOT - to some elite that are as parasitic as drug dealers that keep raising the price of the addictive product!

[scribblet]

If they have any surplus money then they are overcharging for the hydro.

[Topaz]

If they have any surplus money then they are overcharging for the hydro.

So far what I'm hearing from people with smart meters are paying $100-150 more a month! I had to go a the budget, that took me from 150 to 175 in the last year with 395.00 year end catchup. Now they want 185.00, so now I'll try to pay 200 so the year end won't be 300+! Makes a person want to go down to the power box and turn it off!

[Jack Weber]

BFD...

Big business,and it's many political tentacles,donate to the PC party...

What could they possibly gain from it???

[Evening Star]

It does seem a little different when we're talking about public utilities though.

[Evening Star]

If I'm understanding, that's what's going on, right? These are government-funded public utilities, not privatized corporations?

[Jack Weber]

Yes...It does seem like a double dip that contains a huge conflict of interest.

[dre]

Yes...It does seem like a double dip that contains a huge conflict of interest.

Nobody but a private citizen should be able to donate and even THEY should only be able to donate a maximum of 50 bux. The rest of the funding should be public.

If were going to allow specially interests to buy influence then people shouldnt complain when we keep getting shitty governance.

[William Ashley]

A couple very important things here.

1. People need to learn self reliance. People like to complain but I have no choice but to use this for electricity or I have no choice but to use tap water. People in other countries and we ourselves in the past didn't have these luxuries - so - perhaps this complaint is questionable as to whether these are "essential utilities".

Oh but here is the thing, why call privately owned public utilities - public utilities.

Water Source is a public concern. Heat is is also somewhat essential - electricity is not, but it can assist in efficiency - if used, but people can generate their own electricity - or even generate it and sell excess.

I recommend a social contract for this - and this was done by the liberals - in providing grants for Energy investment - this was done in Ehousing initiatives.

The real problem is the public's complacency to depend on utilities. I went part of this past summer without my own water or electricity - and sure it is different, but I survived.

I do agree a good water source is essential and this is why there need to be measures to separate the sewage system from the natural water source -so people have clean drinking water available, and we need to stop chemical leaching into the ground water supply so people can access wells. --- but we also need to realize we can only support so many people before demand puts cost up - and the population is growing, and centralized. So demand will go up, and this as power generation varies. There is an increase everywhere - people just plain use more energy.

This is why I advocate public private corporations so that the public has direct input - this by public election for a portion of the board of these public private corporations. But we can't just start to nationalize these things as some places in South America did after US companies took over their utilities, or like India having a concern after Coca Cola bought their water supply. We need to be aware but you have to understand that PRIVATE COMPANIES (beyond the needs of environmental concerns and monopolization - and that those individuals part of company be treated in law as individual persons rather than treating companies as persons - people are individuals not part of a corporate soul - any law that doesn't recognize that is one that doesn't' believe in the humans inalienable right to independence and self determination - and that individuals are self accountable for their acts not bound to others will - it is essential if ever we will live in a free society) should not be regulated, and we need to insure only non essential public services are run by private enterprise, we need to make essential public services owned and operated by the public but there is no need to disallow minority privatepartnership, but we must insure public control of essential public services - we must insure a clean water supply, and we must insure sanitary conditions.

We should encourage community activities to create local power supplies whether it be natural gas generation from methane scrubbing of human waste, or rain water cisterning, or desalination by natural process, teaching people the skills of harvesting, setting up public fitness facilities that generate electricity - or even shweeb systems that also feed into the electric network.

The only reason people are held hostage to government and private business is because the social fabric is torn-- the common people have lost out to elitists that don't share their commune interests.

The choice is yours, join with myself and others who want to make a change to empower the populace to endevour in social initiatives to free themselves of the bonds of the enslavers. People have a choice but they must unite - not against the government or private companies - but to insure their own freedom - that is it right there, that is all government and private companies are doing - everyone has same capacity they just need to get together - it is possible just don't count on someone who doesn't have your interests in mind to have your interests in mind.

Organizations such as habitat for humanity are good examples of this, people are stakeholders in the world when they interact and have capacity to contribute.

Edited November 10, 2010 by William Ashley

[fellowtraveller]

We think it’s wrong for public utilities to fund political parties,” New Democratic Leader Andrea Horwath said

I wonder how Andrea feels about large unions donating large money exclusively to the NDP?

Some companies donate to all parties.

[Evening Star]

Do you not see a difference between donations from unions of wage-labourers and donations from (presumably the administration/management of) public utilities?

[fellowtraveller]

None at all.

Both are intended to influence and lobby regulators and legislators, since both operate within those frameworks every day. There is no effective difference in their ambitions, actions or planning.

Nearly all public utilities are actually agencies operating at some arms length from government, and all are expected at a very bare mimimum to have a return on capital that equals or betters that available to the private sector.

If they don't operate in that fashion- as woul;d a private sector company- they will never have any capoital and their owners/shareholders will be screwed..

[scribblet]

Do you not see a difference between donations from unions of wage-labourers and donations from (presumably the administration/management of) public utilities?

I don't see much of a difference, unions shouldn't use union dues to donate to a political party without permission from the union member. When a person joins the union they could state then if the agree to a portion going to a political party or not.

Public utilities don't operate with gov't money except maybe Hydro One, Toronto Hydro for instance is a public agency but does not get any tax dollars to operate and has always been well run, operating within it's budget keeping rates fairly low. I don't know if that has changed since amalgamation, but they should not be selling it off either.

Either way, no public agency should be donating to any political party, it's crazy, and the party should not accept the money.

[mikedavid00]

It's funny how this comes as a surprise to you guys.

The gov't protects certain monopolies, mainly the Liberal gov't protects them, and they turn around and give money to them. So do the unions. So does everyone else like the banks etc.

It's just funny that this is suprising to some people like they never knew...

[madmax]

Why would the local utilities donate to the provincial liberals, what could they hope to gain from it?

http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2010/11/01/15910676.html

cont...

why would they pay to hear any MPP speak ?

Good thing Hudak supports public Utilities funding Political Parties.

Gotta love those useless hypocritical PCs.

They are always so full of themselves and IT.

[scribblet]

He said likely, no confirmation they they did, but if they did that it also wrong - but you really gotta love those useless hypocritical Liebrals - they are always so full of themselves and IT.

[madmax]

He said likely, no confirmation they they did, but if they did that it also wrong - but you really gotta love those useless hypocritical Liebrals - they are always so full of themselves and IT.

Actually the Hypocrite Leader of the PC party said this..

PC Leader Tim Hudak agreed and said his party has likely taken donations from utilities.

“It’s part of our system,” he said.

“I think we have a system that is very clear and transparent.”

And then acted this way to enforce his position..

The Progressive Conservatives also refused to support the NDP's call to change the rules to prohibit local utility companies from making political donations.

“I wouldn't advocate changing a system that is clear and transparent about where campaign contributions come from,” said Opposition Leader Tim Hudak

Belly Up to the trough Hudak Hypocrits.

[madmax]

Bump