COPE Says ICBC And BC Hydro Being Drained
Victoria – COPE says the BC Liberals are using BC Hydro and ICBC to help prop up their budget. The Canadian Office and Professional Employees Union, local 378 (COPE 378), which represents employees at both Crown Corporations made the claim following release of the budget by the Government today.
The practice is particularly damaging to BC Hydro. The public utility is piling up debt which will balloon from $14.4 billion in 2012 to $18.8 billion in 2015. This includes the infamous deferral accounts, which were sharply criticised by Auditor General John Doyle.
The government’s documents notes private power is expected to rise from 20 per cent to 25 per cent of BC Hydro’s overall supply, adding further burden to BC Hydro’s contractual obligations.
“I wish I could say I’m surprised,” said COPE 378 President David Black. “But this continues a long pattern of mismanagement. BC Hydro was our Crown jewel but twelve years of BC Liberal interference has left it badly tarnished.”
Despite the pressures on BC Hydro, the government is still taking a dividend of $224 million this year, which will come straight from the pockets of Hydro customers.
Comments
53 billion in very expensive contracts to Independent Power Produces that Hydro is forced to pay instead of their much cheaper power.
People should be going to jail for that set up.
AS the story gos we will pay more, and get less, no election goodys because they already spent it all trying to prop-up Christy and flood he air waves with good news ads, yes their doing a grand job…. good bye libs and close the door behind you please.
Would there be any doubt.
Unions running this province will be a short run to the bottom for all of us other folks who just want to work and pay our taxes.
I don’t care what the unions say about this budget. Their opinions should be left to their members and not made part of the regular media wash.
COPE is draining ICBC and BC Hydro with their unreasonable wage packages and pensions that are nothing like the real world.
So pgguy it was unions that made the 53 billion dollar contracts to IPP’s. Sorry for the misunderstanding.
The members are the union. Are people really that stupid!
Destroying one of the top utilities in the world will be the Liberals legacy. The Socreds created BC Hydro. Oh the irony!
Monopolies are bad.
Christy Clark is the reason why BC is in such bad shape financially and not the big unions. CC had a big roll to play in the sale of BC rail. We still don’t know how much the olympics cost the tax payer.
Monopolies are bad, just look at the service local industry is getting from CN. How did they get that Monopoly in the north, anyways. Oh yeah, never mind.
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