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12 March, 2007
Power Workers’ Union of Canada (PWU) has called the government’s plan to close all coal-fired electric generation plants by 2014 “unrealistic and risky.” The ICEM affiliate reiterated this stand in a statement welcoming the federal government’s ecoTrust plan, an investment vehicle to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
PWU states that energy needs are growing rapidly across Canada. Advocating electric supply in the province of Ontario from many sources, the union is urging the province to use its share of ecoTrust monies to clean up carbon emissions by investing in better and cleaner technologies.
“Ontario needs affordable electricity for its growing needs and the existing coal-fuelled plants are a necessary part of the mix,” said PWU President Don MacKinnon. “The technology to dramatically reduce air pollution from these plants is readily available, and the PWU believes it should be installed.”
The PWU also believes the best way to lessen the risk over electric supply – besides clean-coal methods – is new and refurbished nuclear plant capacity. “This is an affordable way to immediately reduce pollution, while the province makes investments in conservation and demand management, viable new energy sources, and new transmissions lines,” said the PWU statement.
PWU, an affiliate of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), is the largest electric workers’ union in Ontario, representing employees in generation, transmission, distribution, regulations, and research and development.