For Immediate Release
June 27, 2005

Barrett and Tory pressure Premier to resolve Hydro One strike

Ottawa - In the wake of Friday’s Hydro One picket that shut six of eight units at OPG Nanticoke, MPP Toby Barrett joined Official Opposition Leader John Tory in expressing his dismay over the McGuinty government’s lack of action to resolve the strike.

“This government is asking for a major power outage,” stated Barrett. “There has been no real leadership in ending this strike.”

Barrett commented on the on-going strike by the Society of Energy Professionals (SEP) after visiting the picketline at the plant Friday.

“The result of McGuinty’s complete lack of leadership was Nanticoke OPG shutting down six of the eight turbine units,” Barrett said.

The Society of Professional Engineers have been without a contract since April 1 st and negotiations have since stalled.

“I join John Tory in urging this government in getting the two sides back at the table and quit playing Russian roulette with the province’s energy supply.” Barrett finished.

Further to the issue of Nanticoke’s Generating Station, on yesterday’s Focus Ontario MPP Barrett reiterated his call for the Government to investigate the possibilities of implementation of smog reduction technology for coal-powered energy production.

“Under the Harris and Eves government we invested a quarter of a billion dollars in selective catalytic reduction units on both Nanticoke and Lambton - that’s a quarter of the job,” Barrett pointed out. “…I’m asking for considerably more money to be spent and I think there is a case to be made. The science is there for clean air technology with respect to burning coal.”

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For more information please contact MPP Toby Barrett at: 519-428-0446, 416-325-8404 or 1-800-903-8629