Ontario’s Progressive Conservative government will recall the legislature on Monday to pass legislation to prevent an impending power workers’ strike.
The decision announced late Friday comes after the Power Workers’ Union rejected a final offer from Ontario Power Generation in contract negotiations, putting the workers in a legal strike position as of Dec. 26. The OPG produces about 50 per cent of the province’s electricity.
That means the Ontario Legislature could sit for days over the holiday break – possibly more than a week – as the House debates the legislation, a government source said.
On Thursday, Energy Minister Greg Rickford and Labour Minister Laurie Scott said in a statement that strike action could have serious consequences.
“Any prolonged outage caused by a job action would jeopardize electricity supply to Ontario’s industry and businesses, which could have a devastating impact and ripple effect on our province’s economy,” the ministers said.
"We will not allow Ontario families and seniors to spend their holiday season in the dark or to go without heat. We will do whatever is required to protect the health and safety of the people of Ontario.”
On Friday, Mr. Rickford said the province has a contingency plan in case of strike but within seven to 10 days there would be a power supply interruption. “Certainly that’s something … we don’t intend to see happen,” he said.
In a statement on Friday, OPG said it has received strike notice from the union, which begins a 21-day period in which both parties take steps toward the safe shutdown of OPG’s nuclear reactors at Darlington and Pickering as well as the potential closings of OPG’s 66 hydro-electric stations.
In a statement Friday, the Independent Electricity System Operator, which manages the province’s power system, said a power workers’ strike at OPG “would put the reliability of Ontario’s electricity system at risk.” The IESO said the shutdown of OPG’s nuclear and hydroelectric facilities could occur in approximately three weeks. “At that point Ontario would not have the generation needed to meet consumer demand and customers would begin losing power,” it said.
The IESO said it is taking action to mitigate the impact, but “these actions will not be enough to prevent significant losses of power.”
The union, which has been without a deal since March 31, did not immediately respond to a request for comment earlier Friday. But it said in a statement that OPG’s final offer remained unchanged from a previous position and was rejected.
The union said its members will continue to fulfill their responsibilities in compliance with all safety guidelines as they prepare for the job action.
"We are disappointed that OPG provided a final offer that remained unchanged from the previous offer that had already been rejected. We need to reach an agreement that will strengthen the reliability of Ontario's energy sector," said Mel Hyatt, the union's president.
The union represents more than 16,000 workers in Ontario’s energy sector, including about 6,000 OPG employees.
OPG expressed disappointment that its offer was rejected and said it is activating contingency plans in the event of a labour disruption. “OPG is committed to ensuring the safety of Ontarians is protected at all times,” the company said.
The Ontario Legislature rose last week for Christmas break until February 19.
With a report from the Canadian Press
Laura Stone