October 15, I listened to Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett provide detailed assurance that, unlike budgets of numerous BC megaprojects that suffered runaway costs, the $7.9 billion Site C dam budget […]
Lies my energy minister told me
You can’t handle the truth: BC Liberals – Updated
Site C not necessarily a slam dunk: Bennett, Business in Vancouver, October 15, 2014 “Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett says he is still torn on whether his government should give the […]
Don’t follow the law, change the law
British Columbia’s Auditor General reported to the BC Legislature and there is interesting commentary throughout. Carol Bellringer qualified her opinion as to the fairness of the province’s financial statements and professional accountants […]
One value Premier failed to learn: truthfulness
This item from April 2013 is updated with current numbers. In a 30-minute TV commercial two years after assuming the office of Premier, Christy Clark said that leadership involves, “holding true to […]
“…A lot more electricity being needed”
Bill Bennett, a man particularly qualified to make decisions on how the public ought to spend tens of billions of dollars. Bennett gained expertise and honed business acumen as an entrepreneur involved in fishing camps and a goose-hunting lodge on Hudson Bay. Despite potential conflicts, he maintained a financial connection to wilderness tourism even after beginning a career in politics.
Food for thought
Site C Dam: Food for Thought from Peace Valley Environment Assoc. on Vimeo. Produced by Damien Gillis of The Common Sense Canadian.
Patronage and private privilege – BC Liberal P3
By numerous measures—affordability, inequality, protection of provincial assets, harm to public services and rapid expansion of debt and obligations—BC Liberals are colossal failures. Most BC residents are unaware because the major accomplishment […]
Consumers targeted by BC Liberals
Governments prefer indirect taxation partly because politicians assume they’ll take less heat if hands of tax collectors slip into our pockets surreptitiously. That’s done in BC by instructing crown corporations to overcharge […]
Punishing electricity consumers
When Gordon Campbell led BC Liberals into the 2009 election campaign, his platform promised, “We will maintain our competitive advantage from low cost heritage power, for residential and industrial users alike.” When […]
Bring on the consultants – Replay
How CEOs Jack Up their Pay, Kimberly Weisul, Editor & Founder of One Thing New: “Poor, downtrodden, underpaid CEOs finally have someone they can turn to in their hour of need: compensation […]
This delay provides opportunity for public input
Make your submissions directly to Garry Alexander, Executive Project Director, Environmental Assessment Office, since they don’t seem to have reopened the project to public comments although they’ve provided additional time for the […]
BC Liberal style: buy high, sell low
From BC Hydro’s quarterly report for the period ended September 30, 2012: “As a result of the high inflows, the Company sold a significant volume of surplus energy in the six months […]
Prudent fiscal management, BC Liberal style
Note 16 of BC Hydro’s audited financials statements, March 31, 2012 “Energy Commitments “BC Hydro (excluding Powerex) has long-term energy purchase agreements to meet a portion of its expected future domestic electricity […]
Take from the poor, give to the rich
Further to my comments about homeowners subsidizing industrial power, here is an extract from the blog of Vancouver lawyer Jim Quail, Site C and the Kitimat LNG Export Terminal: Christy Clark’s Program […]
Rush to secure rewards
With only 27 weeks to oblivion, BC Liberals have limited time to pick forbidden fruit. We know about the failed bid to privatize BCLDB and the flood of high cost private power […]
Would we vote for someone who promised to:
“Protect BC Hydro and all of its core assets, including dams, reservoirs and power lines under public ownership.” “Restore an independent BC Utilities Commission, to re-regulate BC Hydro’s electricity rates.” “Pass a […]
A non-partisan citizen speaks a powerful message
Private developers behind the Narrows Inlet power project are already assured their place at the public trough. BC Hydro will buy more power they don’t need. If you are happy to see […]
Just asking
According to audited financial statements, BC Hydro’s debt for future energy purchases was $7.9 BILLION in 2006, not including Powerex. In 2012, that number had gone up almost seven fold, to $53.1 […]
Media fails to give an honest account
http://edocs.lib.sfu.ca/cgi-bin/Cartoons?CartoonID=2239 Yesterday, the Liberal government claimed its diligent examination of TransLink had resulted in $139 million in annual savings. As I noted, the claim was easily determined to be false. Yet that […]
Pretend capitalists loot and pillage BC
I’ve been examining audited financial statements of two favourite public enterprises: BC Hydro and PAVCO. I completed preliminary examination but a paucity of meaningful data makes that a difficult task for an […]
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