The Society fights for our members’ interests in many ways. An important part of this is lobbying and advocating behind the scenes with politicians and decision-makers in order to change policies that we see as harmful to our interests. Changing minds and opinion is slow work that sometimes requires years to see tangible results. Thanks to our advocacy, we have recently had a major victory that will help to protect our members’ jobs.
It is the Society’s priority to advocate for sensible, science-based energy policy in the province of Ontario. For decades, however, the Ontario New Democratic Party (ONDP) has remained anti-nuclear, despite other pro-worker and pro-labour positions.
For many years, we have been lobbying the leadership of the ONDP. We have brought many Members of Provincial Parliament on tours of the Bruce, OPG, and NWMO facilities to show the world-class work that our members do. We have been organizing with our labour allies and with young, pro-nuclear members of the party to build a coalition of progressive, pro-nuclear advocates to apply pressure. Through our advocacy and education, we have slowly and steadily been changing minds.
Finally, last month, at the ONDP Policy Convention, we successfully passed a pro-nuclear resolution on the floor of the convention, reversing decades of nuclear opposition. The initiative was led by the Society, our labour allies, and young workers.
Perhaps most importantly, with the ONDP accepting nuclear power as part of a necessary energy mix, we have eliminated the last of the anti-nuclear voices at Queen’s Park.
For our members this means that our jobs will be safe no matter who forms government, and that policymakers can all move forward, together, in pursuing smart energy policy in this province.
