The Progressive Conservative government is prepared to recall the legislature to impose back-to-work legislation to short circuit power workers from shutting down half of Ontario’s electricity system, the Star has learned.Concerned about job action from the Power Workers’ Union after it rejected Ontario Power Generation’s final contract offer, the government would act quickly, a senior official said Friday.The insider, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss internal deliberations, said the Tories are concerned a stoppage by the union would lead to “rolling blackouts” over the Christmas holiday.Energy Minister Greg Rickford and Labour Minister Laurie Scott noted Thursday that OPG produces about 50 per cent of Ontario’s electricity.“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 in a joint statement.“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,” they said.“We strongly urge both parties to reach a resolution, before this leads to any power interruptions. We want to assure the people of Ontario that we are reviewing all options available to us to ensure that the supply of electricity remains uninterrupted in this province. Our government will have no hesitation to act swiftly and decisively if required.”The senior official said that includes recalling the legislature, which rose for the Christmas break last week. It would take several days of legislative sittings to impose back-to-work legislation.PWU president Mel Hyatt, whose 16,000-member union represents 6,000 OPG employees, said the workers are considering next steps.“We are disapp ...
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