“Join the fight against Hydro rates” is in fact a Facebook page which has, in a very short time, become a very important internet location. The current campaign advertised by the page is an Ontario-wide rally on April 4th happening around noon in at least two dozen Cities and Towns across the province. I’ll be joining the rally in Ottawa – will you be protesting in your town?
The story goes that the “Join the fight against Hydro rates” was started by two women from Dryden, Ontario who, like most of us, were fed up with escalating Hydro rates. There was a scattering of protests in October/November including one here in Ottawa at Minister of Energy Bob Chiarelli’s office. Chiarelli tried to brush off the rally saying that there were maybe 30 or 40 people who showed up. I was there and I remember it being more like 150-200 people.
Minister Chiarelli, instead of listening to the angst of the people, suggested we turn down the heat and put on another sweater. In the meantime, the Ontario Ombudsman has started an investigation into a mounting number of complaints (now over 6,000) about billing errors by Hydro One.
And the “Join the fight against Hydro rates” Facebook page has resulted in a number of rallies being organized across Ontario to happen simultaneously on Friday, April 4th around noon.
You can easily find the page by typing in Join the fight against Hydro rates into the search area of your Facebook page. If you don’t use Facebook, find a friend that does and check out the many locations where the rally is happening.
Also, check your local newspaper and bulletin boards in shops and stores. The organizers have been very busy posting flyers announcing the rally in their area.
Come out to the peaceful rally in your area and have fun. Let’s tell Minister Chiarelli what we really think about his five-year energy plan to increase rates by 42% over 5 years.