On Monday, December 8, in Toronto, the Canada–U.S. Power System Outage Task Force will hold a public forum for Canadian stakeholders and the public to comment on the interim report of the Task Force. The report, released November 19, identifies the causes of the August 14 blackout that affected 50 million people in the province of Ontario and in eight U.S. states. The public forum is designed to provide interested parties an opportunity to comment on the interim report and to seek views on how to reduce the likelihood of future blackouts. These consultations form part of the development of recommendations to be presented in the Task Force’s final report. Stakeholders and the public may view the interim report, register for the Canadian public forum, or provide written submissions through the Natural Resources Canada Web site at nrcan.gc.ca. Public forums are also being held in Cleveland, Ohio, on December 4, and in New York City, New York, on December 5. Information on the two U.S. public forums, which will be webcast, is available at www.electricity.doe.gov. Participants may also register for the Forum on-site. The Canada–U.S. Power System Outage Task Force was established by Prime Minister Jean Chrétien and President George W. Bush to identify the causes of the recent power outage that affected North America, and to make recommendations on how to reduce the likelihood of future outages. Location: Westin Harbour Castle Harbour Ballroom 1 Harbour Square, Toronto, Ontario Date and December 8, 2003 Time: 8:00 a.m. Forum participant registration 9:00 a.m. Public Forum Brief introductory remarks followed by the first of the 5-minute oral presentations, continuing until all participants have been heard Officials from the Canada–U.S. Power System Outage Task Force will be available to the media on-site. For more information: Alexandra Muir Director of Communications Office of the Minister Natural Resources Canada (613) 947-8246 Ghyslain Charron Media Relations (613) 992-4447
