AAAANNNDDDD we have a winner folks. Why you shouldn't meddle in private business as a politician.
I nearly laughed. Nearly. Because the reality isn't good. At this point there is no proof that the reality is any worse than this one decision. But, this is proof positive that Ford's intervention had direct consequences for the worse.
Back when this was happening, those I know who are in the Ford camp said things like "he has the power" and "no one needs to make as much money as that CEO", and non sense like that. Just because you technically can do something never automatically means that you should. And the CEO's pay was high perhaps, but not so high that axing him was going to do anything meaningful for the people. He was a scapegoat and this move was absolutely overreaching.
This outcome really is the worst possible scenario. I had thought I may have been playing the doom and gloom card a bit too heavily when I warned of the impact on business from this move. But, it turns out, in a move which scares even me a bit... that I was right.
Hydro One is NOT a crown corporation. It is not owned or operated by the government. When Ford intervened I said that this sets a dark precedent. And I'm apparently not the only one who thought that.
If Ford's interference can scuttle deals Hydro One was trying to close on, then it shows that outside investors noticed. This particular deal is concerning Hydro One directly, but the language used by Avista is fairly agnostic and could be used by anyone. Ford has scuttled his own plans to show the world that "Ontario is open for business".
I wish that I could say that Avista's remarks are childish, or selfish or unreasonable. But the truth is; they aren't. They are perfectly sensible. And any sensible, well run business is liable to at least consider these things. They would be putting themselves in a situation where the company is operated out of a province where the Premiere has used the powers of their office to interfere in the operations of a non-crown organization. And, worse, by all accounts it wasn't just politically motivated. It was motivated for totally selfish personal reasons; the move had no substance or value to Hydro One or the people of Ontario. It was to publicly shame a person associated with the previous administration and to inflate Ford's ego and nothing more. Yes, it was a campaign promise. But, that doesn't make it right.
Any company which deals in any product or service which might seem essential is definitely going to be concerned. Hydro One was chosen as a target for a specific reason. It is much easier to justify meddling with essential services. Even when the Premiere's office has no business there, it is easy to justify to the people why they are meddling. And here is the thing... if you want to be successful country, or province or municipality you want businesses operating there which are deemed essential. Those are high quality jobs.
I don't think Ford will meddle any further. But, if I were looking for a place to do business, I can't lie... I would probably think twice about Ontario. If I wanted a Canadian headquarters I could just as easily choose Montreal or Vancouver if skilled laborers are a factor, or literally any province if they aren't.
And PLEASE don't bother acting like no one could have seen this coming or that there was no alternative. I SAW this coming. And I doubt I'm alone. AND I proposed alternatives. Alternatives that align with how governments typically do business. Through legislation. Or, more extreme, buying back the utility.
Just as with the Toronto council size (which is also blowing up by the way)... legislation is how a government deals with things it disagrees with. If you can't find a reasonable way to turn what you want into a reasonable law... you probably shouldn't be doing it. If you need to handle little projects on a case by case basis via direct intervention all you're doing is creating a province where no one can rely on anything to dictate how business should be done.
Doug Ford ALSO has the power to do that you know. His office has the power to PASS F***ING LAWS and do this in a way which DOESN'T break the F***ING industry just so you can all congratulate yourselves at the public dismissal of a CEO. And now... well, you can watch companies refuse to do deal with Ontario companies. You can watch businesses shut their doors and leave. You can watch businesses choose to do business elsewhere. But hey! Schmidt got fired. Did you even remember his name until now?
I can't help but think that the GM thing is partially related as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that GM is closing the Oshawa plant BECAUSE Ford intervened at Hydro One. They are closing multiple plants. But, then, they ARE closing multiple plants. And they have many more, which means that there was a selection process. And, you're going to have a hard time convincing me that this didn't play into things at least a little in that selection process.
So, after all the bitching... what would I have done differently? And no, hindsight being 20/20 is a non-factor here. None of these thoughts are new AFTER Ford exploded confidence in Ontario. I had all of these thoughts WELL before.
Idea one... simple. Buy back Hydro One. Yes, it would cost Ontarians a lot. But, then operation of the company would be legitimately under the control of the Province. And it would show that the Province respected doing business is a fair and legal fashion. They could fire and appoint to their heart's content. It might still send some ripples through the industry. But, nowhere near as much as what they did.
Idea two... legislate. Draft up a law which defines under what conditions a business can be known as an essential service. And slap regulations on those businesses. This as well would send ripples. But, it is within the rights and powers of the Province to do so. It also sets easily read and followed guidelines. It makes things predictable.
Anyone who defends a Premiere on the basis of "they have the power, legally to do so", should keep in mind... the Premiere has the power to decide that your municipality doesn't exist. He can legislate your city out of existence. He can stop it from collecting taxes and maintaining infrastructure. He can close down any business owned or operated by the municipality. He do can a whole lot of things. Do you think he should do those things?
Back when this was happening, those I know who are in the Ford camp said things like "he has the power" and "no one needs to make as much money as that CEO", and non sense like that. Just because you technically can do something never automatically means that you should. And the CEO's pay was high perhaps, but not so high that axing him was going to do anything meaningful for the people. He was a scapegoat and this move was absolutely overreaching.
This outcome really is the worst possible scenario. I had thought I may have been playing the doom and gloom card a bit too heavily when I warned of the impact on business from this move. But, it turns out, in a move which scares even me a bit... that I was right.
Hydro One is NOT a crown corporation. It is not owned or operated by the government. When Ford intervened I said that this sets a dark precedent. And I'm apparently not the only one who thought that.
If Ford's interference can scuttle deals Hydro One was trying to close on, then it shows that outside investors noticed. This particular deal is concerning Hydro One directly, but the language used by Avista is fairly agnostic and could be used by anyone. Ford has scuttled his own plans to show the world that "Ontario is open for business".
I wish that I could say that Avista's remarks are childish, or selfish or unreasonable. But the truth is; they aren't. They are perfectly sensible. And any sensible, well run business is liable to at least consider these things. They would be putting themselves in a situation where the company is operated out of a province where the Premiere has used the powers of their office to interfere in the operations of a non-crown organization. And, worse, by all accounts it wasn't just politically motivated. It was motivated for totally selfish personal reasons; the move had no substance or value to Hydro One or the people of Ontario. It was to publicly shame a person associated with the previous administration and to inflate Ford's ego and nothing more. Yes, it was a campaign promise. But, that doesn't make it right.
Any company which deals in any product or service which might seem essential is definitely going to be concerned. Hydro One was chosen as a target for a specific reason. It is much easier to justify meddling with essential services. Even when the Premiere's office has no business there, it is easy to justify to the people why they are meddling. And here is the thing... if you want to be successful country, or province or municipality you want businesses operating there which are deemed essential. Those are high quality jobs.
I don't think Ford will meddle any further. But, if I were looking for a place to do business, I can't lie... I would probably think twice about Ontario. If I wanted a Canadian headquarters I could just as easily choose Montreal or Vancouver if skilled laborers are a factor, or literally any province if they aren't.
And PLEASE don't bother acting like no one could have seen this coming or that there was no alternative. I SAW this coming. And I doubt I'm alone. AND I proposed alternatives. Alternatives that align with how governments typically do business. Through legislation. Or, more extreme, buying back the utility.
Just as with the Toronto council size (which is also blowing up by the way)... legislation is how a government deals with things it disagrees with. If you can't find a reasonable way to turn what you want into a reasonable law... you probably shouldn't be doing it. If you need to handle little projects on a case by case basis via direct intervention all you're doing is creating a province where no one can rely on anything to dictate how business should be done.
Doug Ford ALSO has the power to do that you know. His office has the power to PASS F***ING LAWS and do this in a way which DOESN'T break the F***ING industry just so you can all congratulate yourselves at the public dismissal of a CEO. And now... well, you can watch companies refuse to do deal with Ontario companies. You can watch businesses shut their doors and leave. You can watch businesses choose to do business elsewhere. But hey! Schmidt got fired. Did you even remember his name until now?
I can't help but think that the GM thing is partially related as well. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that GM is closing the Oshawa plant BECAUSE Ford intervened at Hydro One. They are closing multiple plants. But, then, they ARE closing multiple plants. And they have many more, which means that there was a selection process. And, you're going to have a hard time convincing me that this didn't play into things at least a little in that selection process.
So, after all the bitching... what would I have done differently? And no, hindsight being 20/20 is a non-factor here. None of these thoughts are new AFTER Ford exploded confidence in Ontario. I had all of these thoughts WELL before.
Idea one... simple. Buy back Hydro One. Yes, it would cost Ontarians a lot. But, then operation of the company would be legitimately under the control of the Province. And it would show that the Province respected doing business is a fair and legal fashion. They could fire and appoint to their heart's content. It might still send some ripples through the industry. But, nowhere near as much as what they did.
Idea two... legislate. Draft up a law which defines under what conditions a business can be known as an essential service. And slap regulations on those businesses. This as well would send ripples. But, it is within the rights and powers of the Province to do so. It also sets easily read and followed guidelines. It makes things predictable.
Anyone who defends a Premiere on the basis of "they have the power, legally to do so", should keep in mind... the Premiere has the power to decide that your municipality doesn't exist. He can legislate your city out of existence. He can stop it from collecting taxes and maintaining infrastructure. He can close down any business owned or operated by the municipality. He do can a whole lot of things. Do you think he should do those things?
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