Tag: Fighting Privatization
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OPSEU President reacts to Doug Ford’s comments on cannabis
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas gave an interview to Ottawa radio station CFRA on Tuesday about comments that Progressive Conservative leader Doug Ford made about the possibility of privatizing the sale of legalized cannabis and taking away any government control. Listen to the interview here.
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Ottawa Town Hall on Public Services
Public services are for people, not profits. When politicians sell off our public services, everybody suffers: quality drops, prices rise, and businesses close. To find out how we can stop privatization and bring vital public services back in house, join us for an important town hall meeting on Wednesday, March 28, at 7 pm, in…
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Community calling for public ServiceOntario
A We Own It petition and campaign calling for a public ServiceOntario in Valley East, north of Sudbury, has received attention at Queen's Park, reports The Sudbury Star. A privately managed ServiceOntario in the community closed abruptly in January. "The people of Valley East are not taking this sitting down. They want ServiceOntario to reopen and…
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Kenora Town Hall on Public Services
Public services are for people, not profits. When politicians sell off our public services, everybody suffers: quality drops, prices rise, businesses close, and people leave. To find out how we can stop privatization and bring vital public services back in house, join us for an important town hall meeting on Wednesday, Apr. 4, at 6:30…
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Twitter Rally for #PublicPlowing
The evidence is clear: public plowing is better. The auditor general found that privatization giants like Carillion were slow, making our highways dangerous. And now that Carillion is collapsing financially, there is at least one report that it can’t even keep its plows operating—adding to the danger. It’s time for us to make plowing public…
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Valentine’s Day Twitter Rally: We Love #PublicPlowing!
The evidence is clear: public plowing is better. The auditor general found that privatization giants like Carillion were slow, making our highways dangerous. And now that Carillion is collapsing financially, there is at least one report that it can't even keep its plows operating—adding to the danger. It's time for us to make plowing public…
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Why have 80 per cent of the beer licenses gone to alleged price-fixers?
Toronto – With the expansion of beer and cider sales to an additional 87 grocery stores, the Liberals have shown they have learned nothing from the recent bread price-fixing scandal. “People have been justifiably shocked and angered by allegations that grocery chains fixed the price of bread for 14 years without being caught,” said OPSEU…
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Thomas helps raise privatization red alert in London
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas took part in the London and District Labour Council's panel discussion called "Privatization Red Alert" on February 1. As The London Free Press reported, "At one side of a long table draped in black was an OPSEU banner featuring a photo of five smiling children underneath the slogan, 'Public = Good.'"…
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Thomas at London privatization panel
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas will be one of the featured speakers during an anti-privatization event at London's Central Library on Thursday, February 1, at 7 p.m. During the event, President Thomas will renew his calls to bring privatized services such as Carillion snow-plowing back in-house. Organized by the London and District Labour Council, the…
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OPSEU renews call to end privatized snowplowing
The CBC is reporting on OPSEU's renewed calls for highway snowplowing to be brought back in-house after the UK multinational that plowed many Ontario highways went bankrupt last week. "We're calling on the government to bring it back in-house, to make it what it's supposed to be: a public service," OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas…
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Thomas ‘shocked’ that privatizer will head LCBO
OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas tells The Toronto Sun that he was "shocked" to learn "privatization pusher" Ed Clark is being named to head the LCBO. “This really comes as a shock to us though I suppose I shouldn’t be shocked given her penchant for privatization,” Thomas said. “Ed Clark – he’s the unappointed, unelected, de…
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Thomas in The Globe: It’s time to end privatization
In the wake of Carillion's dramatic financial collapse, The Globe and Mail published an op-ed by OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. You can see the article on the Globe's website, and participate in the conversation on the Globe's Facebook page. Here is the text of the op-ed itself: It’s time to put ‘public’ back into…
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Thomas: ‘Privatization pusher’ Ed Clark can’t be trusted with alcohol and cannabis sales
Toronto – Putting the architect of hydro privatization in charge of alcohol and cannabis sales will be a financial and public health disaster, says OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas. “Ed Clark has always put profits before people,” says Thomas. “Giving him the keys to the LCBO will be a huge boon for Bay Street, but…
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In wake of Carillion’s sudden financial collapse, OPSEU demands government bring Carillion services back under public management
In the wake of the surprise collapse of the UK-based multinational Carillion, OPSEU President Warren (Smokey) Thomas is calling on the provincial government to put the privatized services that Carillion delivered back into the hands of professional and qualified public service workers. “This is a clear sign that privatization doesn’t work,” says Thomas. “It’s ineffective.…