Public interest has been stirred up. in Canada by the introduction Dill in the legislature of the Provines of Ontario having as its alm the cancellation of contracts for hydro electric power entered into with several private companies. Indigna-Won has been expressed by invest ment concerns, and by many privat Indiv.duals, at such an act of pudiation as is planned. The English financial papers have described the Bill as one, which, if passed and enforced, would irreparably damaer the credit of Ontario and" perhaps of the rest of Canada as well. And fon the whole, the subject has been At will be valuable, therefore, to five a brief outline of the powe: situation In Ontario, and show the reason why Premier Hepburn wishes to cancel such contracts as Early in the century the Provinet, Ontario began to take over the control of the hydro-electric resources of the great Niagara Falls district. Gradually all the power fenerated in the several plants on the Canadian side were owned by the Hydro Electric Commission of Ontario, or "Hydro" as it became known.' From time to time there were complaints regarding the ad~ ministration of this important public utility, but im the main it can be fold that there were wise men at the head, and the rates were lower-step a5 consumption About ten years ago the supply of power available from the plants at Niagara just covered the "steadily expanding demand, and the Commis sion had'to make plans for new supplies. Rather than build power Sites inthe less accessible parts of Northern Ontario they locked to private companies in the neighbour-Ing province of Quebec, and began to purchase power by contract. Dur-Ing the boom years the use of power continued to expand rapidly, and the Commission was unable to foresee the tremendous drop that was coming with the depression. So new contracts were entered into, on the strength of which the companies: supplying the power floated bond fesses and beiit generating plants. The contracts were so arranged that! the expected "annual increase in consumption was looked after by an annual increase in the amounts purchased from the private companies.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.