Horgan Calls on BC Hydro To Hold Off on New Contracts for Site C
Prince George, B.C. – There is no clear indication yet as to when John Horgan, with the aid of the Green Party, will form government, but he has already sent a letter to B.C. Hydro asking the utility to refrain from finalizing any contracts on Site C.
In the letter to BC Hydro CEO Jessica MacDonald, Horgan expresses concern about the expropriation of certain properties for the project “I believe there is no demonstrated short term need to force these families from their homes, and because the status of the next governments of British Columbia are uncertain, the threat of imminent removal of residents from their expropriated homes and property is unreasonable.”
Horgan noted “the majority of British Columbians who voted in this election voted for parties that want to see the Site C project reviewed or stopped. The BC NDP position is that the Site C project should be independently reviewed by the British Columbia Utilities Commission. ”
He says finalizing new contracts while the government is in flux, has the potential to increase the liability of BC Hydro, ratepayers and taxpayers should that independent review set the stage for the cancellation of the project ” We urge BC Hydro not to finalize any contracts that do not contain a penalty-free cancellation clause until a new government has gained the confidence of the legislature to govern and decide future policy regarding the Site C project.”
The full letter can be accessed here .
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Comments
What a twit, Let it be known. The NDP wants the interior to be poor, and hungry so we can be controlled.
Seems to me that flooding good farm land is another way of making people poor and hungry.
I suppose you are in favour of kicking people off their land and out of their homes to provide jobs to others.
Expropriating land and relocating people can be allowed when it is for the greater good. The problem for Site C is that they have never been able to make a case for building this project, which is why they avoided the public utilities commission.
So no greater good, no right to expropriate peoples land. Seems simple enough to me.
PS: With some exceptions the interior is already poor. This is because of the many mine, lumber mills, pulp and paper mills, and fisheries closures in the past 16 years of Liberal Government. Take a drive around the interior and see whats happening.
Good farm land? LOL, all the good farm land is down in the Lower Mainland (ie, NDP country) and is being swallowed up for housing.
Fishery closures in the Interior? Huh? Recreational fishery is going great in the Interior, there never was a commercial fishery in the Interior. How many pulp and paper closures have there been in the Interior in the past 16 years? A couple of archaic coastal ones went belly up, with this thing called the “internet” the need for overpriced paper products has gone by the wayside.
I thought you NDP supporters wanted the mines closed? Make up your mind, you can’t have it both ways.
But yes, there have been sawmill closures so I guess you have 1 out of 4 correct. Rather difficult to keep an interior sawmill going when the pine beetle has destroyed the wood source.
Are you suggesting we keep the mills up and running just to keep people employed even if it means we (ie the taxpayer) keep bleeding money? Worked well for Skeena the last time the NDP was around.
Palopu … you do some good research every now and then.
Axman is right.
I have checked it out by looking at the production value of acre to acre of land (not the land value) in the Peace, the GVRD and lower Fraser Valley, in the Central Interior and the Okanagan.
I have posted that on this site in the past and I am sure you have seen it. The production value of the GVRD farmland is 10 times that of the Peace. The Peace is the lowest of the regions I have looked at.
I am also reasonably sure that if one looked at the production value of the site C land to be flooded as it switches from farm to electricity production, there will be an increase in value.
Some people have an image if massive swaths of farmland in the Peace River valley, complete with waving fields of hay, wheat, barley, oats, canola or whatever else their mind conjurs up!
Here’s an image for you, rocky and sandy land with grass growing on it, cattle grazing on the grasses.
That would be a lot of Ardill’s farm land currently being used for cattle ranching! The land was cleared of trees but the rocks and stumps were left behind. Grass now grows albeit not in abundance, but sufficient to support grazing cattle.
That’s some of what the statistics refer to as productive farm land in the valley!
I’m mildly amused by those who are content to pave over the rich fertile land in the lower mainland and Okanagan regions but who now are having a bit of a hissy fit over the probable flooding of some rocky and sandy cattle ranching lands in the northern reaches of our province!
What’s worse? The NDP already planning the dismantling of the Northern economy, housing pricing and well being.. or the clowns that support them?
What is worse? This time around there will be two co-leaders who will be trying to outdo each other putting the province into a coma as quickly as possible.
You know they can’t do anything without backing..so make sure the blame is directed in the right direction.. with this situation we get to hate everyone… if a few Liibs back the ndp.. then both parties are scum.. if it’s the Green and ndp.. then both parties are scum…you get my drift..lol
First off, the person who CLARK put in charge of investigating the need for Site C now and in the future said BC didn’t need it… so she got rid of him.. he had a great interview on Ctv about 2 months ago. Can’t remember his name but will see if I can find it.. it’s worth a watch..
All this will do is cost us, site C energy will be sold to the USA …then we will pay the going market rate.. look at the increase in hydro already.. in about 7 yrs we will be talking about when we had the cheapest electricity in Canada..now complaint it’s the most expensive..
Trump is getting rid of NAFTA.
We can then charge a domestic rate and a foreign rate.
What’s your problem?
Trump changed everything.
We can now also favour local contractors over those outside of PG. Give local contractors a 10% or more advantage. It will help our regional economies.
There has been a game changer and many who are running the City and the interior regions of this province do not see that yet.
Something to think about at the next municipal election. More money moving out of the local economies to benefit the lower mainland and Alberta than people realize and it doe not have to happen.
trump who.. will be done in under 3 months…
The case for site c is a weak one. Some of the IPPs are getting paid contract rates to turn down, to not make power, because there is no demand. With all the solid state devices and loss of big industry, demand is way down. There are many viable, easy alternatives, in the event we suddenly have some unforeseen demand. If we all buy electric cars, or if an LNG plant actually comes to fruition, meeting the demand won’t be hard, even without site c.
And you are an expert in future prediction.
There is no margin of safety.
I wish the original Dam would never have been built. Then we would still have all that valuable farm land and the forested areas, no Mackenzie and no pulp mills in PG and we could all enjoy a Prince George of 20,000 population.
And we could use all that cheap natural gas to generate electricity wherever the pipelines could take it to without line loss.
Interesting that so many people around here no longer consider hydro to be an efficient and effective way of producing electricity.
Demand is way down? Why then have they recently completed or are nearing completion of yet another wind farm near Tumbler Ridge?
Those wind farms look really pretty when they are spinning round and round and round, but sometimes they just sit there, doing nothing, NOTHING AT ALL!
Sounds like we have minor league Trump fiascos opening here! 2 egos running southern BC for power and bleeding northern BC dry for resources but loving our taxes! Hey Greener head honcho, I understand you live in Victoria? Clean up the 1000s of gallons of raw sewage spewing out from the pipes and into the ocean, has that been dealt with yet!? Probably a lot more crap flowing out the pipes now that we have two vaudeville entertainers screwing the North! LOL
Hey lets build some bird slicers that only are efficient for 2 years and are done at 10-15 years and have to be replaced, Hire some helicopters to de-ice them in the winter I am sure that stuff is envo friendly. And the few tons of coal used to build the steel is just fine. Back to debt here we go.
100 years of clean green dependable hydro power! How fortunate we are to be able have such an asset!
Really, some of the comments and claims by the rightwingnuts are so ridiculoua as to be plainly stupid.Claims like, “The NDP wants the North to be poor and hungr.” That’s laughable! It’s beyond hyperbole and into paranoia. And why, “So we can be controlled.” Laughable! The NDP hasn’t even taken office, yet some rightists have the sky falling already, and while Clarke is still the premier, yet. Idn’t that the actual definition of prejudice – to prejudge something, as they are doing. In fact, it looks like these bigoted anti-NDP factionists are secretly hoping the province will fail for any reason whatsoever, just so they can shout, “Told you so, told you so.” To quote one of their idols, Bill Bennett, “Bad British Columbians!”
To answer Axman, setting up a straw man just so you can blow it down contributes nothing sensible to a debate, other than to show your own dishonesty. It has never been the NDP position to close mines, nor to cease mining. The NDP position has always been that when mining is allowed it must be done in a manner which protects the environment, including reclamation. That is totally different from banning it, as you well know. The days of rampant exploitation of our province’s lands by mining companies chucking their slag and other filth all over the place must come to an end, and be replaced by respect for the land, even if it does mean lower profits.
You, as well as others, are entitled to your opinion and entitled to express it.
When I read your writing, it is just that, words. There is no argument of facts that you have presented to sway any reasonable thinking individual.
For instance: “The NDP POSITION has always been that when mining is allowed it must be done in a manner which protects the environment, including reclamation.”
All that is is a POSITION.
To make a point based on ACTION you would have to identify a project which was initiated by an NDP government and was built with a BETTER manner than any other government which may have been in power.
Go for it.
Well,there’s Mt. Polley mine. NDP was in power right from development to production.
Imperial Metals received a mine development certificate in 1992 – this is approval process in place before the start of the BC environmental assessment
Each year the mine produces about 40,000,000 pounds of copper and 50,000 ounces of gold
The mine employs about 300 people
The mine opened in 1997 and operated for four years before closing because of low copper prices.
We will need 2 more just like it, if Ataloss is right! Or maybe these million new electric cars will have solar panels on their roof
I wonder how long it will be before the police will sitting in photo radar vans again. Seems to me that the last time the NDP were in power the mandate to the police was to generate revenue, not fight crime, especially the gang problem.
The NDP arent in power… and you know what.. there have been radar traps when the liberals where in power.. lol omg.. what has this got to do with Site C
OOPS..wrong link. Should have been in Free for All.
time for another election, I think this guy is going to be a mini trump but worse.
Last time they where in power 1/2 the mines closed down. It took years to get them going again. And save the parks timber for the pine beetle.
How did you enjoy all the money from LNG that clark promised..
How many closed schools from the liberals again ?
How many closed sawmills?
How many closed pulpmills?
How much has MSP risen?
How much has hydro increased?
how much has icbc increased
plus other fees and taxes..
thanks liberals….
So then in the coming 4 years we can expect to see:
Schools reopened even in areas where they were closed because of declining enrollment.
Sawmills reopened even if they have no timber as a result of the MPB.
Ditto for pulpmills.
No tax increase to make up for MSP premiums.
Lower hydro bills
Lower car insurance.
Lower fees and taxes.
Sorry I won’t hold my breath.
Half the mines close down not because of who is in power. They close down because the metals the products are not required on the world market.
Mining is a cylindrical industry based on the world economy, not the local economy.
THAT is the very problem with a province which used ot be reliant only on natural resource production.
So the big question in my mind is who is going to take this province out of that situation?
I dis not notice ANYONE debating that during the election.
Cyclical, not cylindrical ….. typing too fast into the textbox ….. grrrrr
Perhaps cylindrical was a Freudian slip….in that we get the shaft regardless;)
sparrow, best comment of the day, haha!
YOU may not have noticed anyone discussing diversification . Andrew weaver was in PG to discuss using our strengths to diversify our economy with a focus on 21 century industries . He even came up with a very cheap at the cost solution . None of the folks you elected would even entertain the subject . Not in person or in writing . Soon PG will have two more useless back benchers in opposition to go with the dead wood on the back bench in Ottawa .
Some of the best farmland in BC is in the Peace River Country and roughly 6469 Hectares (about the size of all the farmland in Richmond BC) will go under water.
Go to the Peace River Country and take a look at the Country, look at the farms, and see what they grow. Who give a s..t what you read in a book. I have seen the land and produce, and know what I am talking about. The **value** like **beauty** is in the eye of the beholder. If this Country relied on pencil pushers to exist we would all starve to death.
Axman doesn’t know anything about this subject and just sends out messages so he can read what he writes.
Dec 2015 Canfisco Cannery in Prince Rupert closes, with loss of hundreds of jobs.
Jan 2010 Eurocan Pulp and Paper closes with loss of 535 jobs.
2008 Abitibi/Bowater close paper mill in MacKenze BC with hundreds of jobs lost.
Endako mines closes two years ago hundreds of jobs lost.
So five out of five, or put another way 100%.
Have a nice day.
BS …. I have been there ……
he **value** like **beauty** is in the eye of the beholder.
NO, the value is the economic measure.
Farming is an industry. Farmland, climate, weather, soil, market value of the produce and the lab our input of the farmers determine the economic value of farmland.
The intrinsic value of human feelings about the land is typically sold to foreigners who are willing to pay to bring their horses to Canada to start a new life.
You’ve missed one other critical component , hours of day light . Call it thee northern advantage that can’t be bought down south .
Not something I missed at all.
The criterium is the economic value of the product produced. It ios the measurement of output.
Input measurement, such as daylight, is important when one evaluates the POTENTIAL of achieving an output, especially when attempting to maximize the output.
“PS: With some exceptions the interior is already poor. This is because of the many mine, lumber mills, pulp and paper mills, and fisheries closures in the past 16 years of Liberal Government. Take a drive around the interior and see whats happening.”
Prince Rupert and Kitimat are not the Interior. 1 mine closing is hardly ‘many’. How many have opened?
Is the pulp mill in MacKenzie closed down? That’s news to me. Perhaps someone should tell them.
Math and geography are not your forte.
Palopu, please read my earlier reply to your 7:04 AM comment!
Cattle grazing land, even rocky and sandy land is considered as agricultural land, and as such it correctly or incorrectly increases the total amount of what is considered “farm” land in the valley!
Not all the “farm land” to be flooded is the rich, fertile farmland that some envision!
Now go help pave another parking lot somewhere!
If you look at the statement that tweedle dee and tweedle dum put out the other day in relation to their plans going forward the areas outside the lower mainland and the south island will get the short end of the stick.
-elimination of tolls on Port Mann and Golden Ears-vote buying at it’s worst nice if you live on this side of the bridge and work on the other leaving the rest of BC to pay for these projects not to mention the Patella and Massey tunnel replacement as future requirements.
Now the Surrey votes have been bought there is mention of a milage tax of .04/km to replace the tolls but no mention that it will be restricted to the big smoke meaning they might make it province wide leaving us to pay pay pay yet receiving little in return.
-Mega bucks for transit…lower mainland main beneficerary for sky train,busses and light rail. In Price George getting to work on time using transit means three transfers and an overnight stop over.
-Housing affordability….once again lower mainland with the mayor of Vancouver already having a huge wish list.
-Increase to carbon tax. With cold winters and larger vehicles required by a lot of people something that hurts northerns pocketbooks more.
-$400 annual rent rebate checks…again targeted to buy votes in the lower mainland
-Eliminating log exports….most of that being exported is of wrong size,species and location to help closed down mills not to mention that a major portion of these exports from the coast and the island are first nations harvesting from their traditional territories. I want a ringside seat when they try to stop that logging.
-Zilch on their list of priorities that is specific to areas beyond Hope…..correction….nothing positive, if Site C and Kinder Morgan are stopped there likely will be people in the north that will be needing subsidized housing and public transit to replace the house and car they can no longer afford.
Hulk Horgan and Weasel Weaver showed up for their press conference announcing their bomance in an electric car. Where will electricity to power electric vehicles come from in the future? From outlets, of course. We don’t need Site C – we already have plenty of outlets.
And where will the money come from to finance future projects? From taxpayers, of course. That’s where money comes from, dumb *ss.
Where will electricity to power electric vehicles come from in the future ? Solar panels on the roofs of EV owners , which further shortens the EROI for both the panels and the EV . It’s not about ideology or dogma . It’s simple economics . By the time SiteC exports its first electron there will be no market for it . Andrew is a mathematician . Hopefully John is a good listener .
Ya know, I have a solar system and think it is a very viable solution for people who want to go off grid and power their house, but as a reliable and economic power source for BC I think is a big stretch. Until they invent solar panels that generate useful amounts of power on cloudy and rainy days it is a pipe dream. We simply don’t have the climate up here. We aren’t California or Australia. You of all people who spout off all the time about the environment should understand that there is nothing in BC of useful quantity to generate power cleaner than hydro. A few people are inconvenienced for a few years until it is forgotten (just like Williston Lake or McNaughton Lake) for literally 100s of years of green energy. The ecosystem it creates is great for the wildlife, especially birds and fish. Whats the problem?
You of all people who spout off all the time about the environment should understand that there is nothing in BC of useful quantity to generate power cleaner than hydro . Err geothermal ! Yes we are not California but we are tied to their grid and they are our export market . By the time SiteC is putting power into the grid California will be a net exporter of electricity at a great deal cheaper than our power as they are moving to laterally integrated system .
But of course because we won’t be energy self sufficient they could also do to us what we did to them – charge whatever they feel like. And what is the source of their power? Hydroelectric – or nuclear. So if the Green/NDP objective is environment – shouldn’t they worry about how their future power source is going to generate that electricity.
And with our current pro-immigration government, our population in BC is expected to increase by 1.5 million in the next 25 years. And if the trend is to electric cars – where is the power for them.
I think Horgan is just trying to pay lip service to his snowflake supporters who weep when a black bear dies and pay not a moments notice to all the environment they have paved over in the lower mainland or the millions of birds violently ripped apart by windmills.
The commission will do it’s review, they will come back and say the dam is a good idea and Horgan has kept his word.
Personally, if global warming is real, then I would expect electricity demand to increase as we are forced off of fossil fuels.
No one will be forced off fossil fuel . It is progressing at the same pace as it did over a hundred years ago . No one forced anyone to stop using oxen or horses for transportation and farm equipment . It’ was simply more efficient to us ICEs . Now we a witnessing a leap in efficiency . The ICEs have reached their thermodynamic efficiency wall . EVs thermodynamic wall is a long way away . It’s happening has little to do with climate change and every thing to do with money . Communities are the big winners as the money that is pumped into the gas pumps doesn’t stay in communities . It goes into the pockets of the likes of the Koch brothers that really hate solar and EVs . They are doing everything they can to stop the revolution but they will fail once people clue in .
“Err geothermal ” .. well that’s great if you want to keep your house a nominal temperature year round, but the kind of geothermal needed for power generation doesn’t exist in BC.
That’s because our so called leaders are only visiting China . They should visit Iceland to see how it’s done . We have the second largest group of volcanos in North America and more fault lines than does Iceland . We have the resource but not the will .
I’m surprised none of you righties aren’t up set about the impending $15.00 minimum wage . And how it will be the end of the fast food businesses and bars .
I don’t buy fast food or go to bars. Too busy working my butt off to pay the wages for our over bloated public sector work force.
Better? :)
Much better ! Reminds me of my rat race days , brrrrrr. I much appreciate watching my money go to work every day .
Ya, fast food and bars aren’t really on my list of priorities. But I did notice you didn’t make any comment regarding not being able to use solar in BC as a realistic mass power source and instead brought up another source that up until now I haven’t heard you mention.
I’ve mentioned geothermal more than a few times . As for solar ? It’s speaking for itself . Try vrec.ca and see their ever growing inventor . And the real Green college in bc . It’s in cranbrook , not PG .
Take away most of the insults and ive actually read some great points in here today! Good job!
Axman. As usual you can’t read, or you cannot absorb information. If you did read my post you would see that I said **Paper Mill** not Pulp Mill in MacKenzie. There is a difference. I could have added the closure of Huckleberry Mine also, and no doubt there are others, however its not my job to bring you up to speed on whats happening in the Province.
Prince Rupert and Kitimat may not be in the Interior but they are close enough to
have an effect on the Interior. You are just grasping at straws because you are so **wrong**.
Hart Guy. If I wanted an interpretation of what is or isn’t farm land, you would be the last person I would ask. Seems you have never been to the Peace River.
gopg2015 Serve yourself a plate of **economic measure** heated with a shot of useless electricity and see how long you stay alive. This Country was built by people who had the ability to see more than a monetary value to everything. This area could be self sufficient in most produce, and meat, etc; if it chose to be, and someday we may need to be. Why kill off valuable land just to elect a useless, less than stellar Government.
“This Country was built by people who had the ability to see more than a monetary value to everything.” .. this from a devoted Harperite? Precious.
I’m wrong? Holy cow. Vancouver and Victoria also affect the Interior so do you want to start lumping them with the Interior when and if it suits your argument?
It’s OK to admit you’re wrong.
OK I admit you’re **Wrong**
Palopu, seems you would be wrong about me never being to the Peace River, as I was just there last weekend! I’m awfully confident that I’ve spent a lot more time there than you have, what with living in the North Peace area for more than 35 years and all!
Now, what was your question about farmland again?
There is only one reason site C has to be built. Christy and her clowns had to come up with something to pay back all of her contractors who have been heavy financial supporters to the BC Liberals. When people start paying 25,000 dollars a plate to have lunch with Christy they expect something back in return. If Site C is completed we will all be shackled with heavy debt for many yrs to come.
The public sector is saddling us with heavy debt for many years to come. Everything level of government from the local municipality to the Feds is not sustainable.
Why do we distinguish one from the other? The civil service also gets pay back from the NDP for supporting them, where do we draw the line? How do we go about getting a government that governs for everybody instead of their own select special interest groups?
Politicians are in politics to line their own pockets and the pockets of their friends. They is no nobility on politics.
Yes I feel that many of the Politicians no longer stand up for what they were elected for. The fear that one of the steps on the ladder might break and lesson their chance for advancement and it appears it has been happening in this area for a long time. Would be nice to see some conflict within their own parties on issues instead of all hanging together like a bunch of bats.
I think your on target there oldman . Weren’t the liberal’s own numbers projecting the need for site C power not for another 30 yrs? Ten years to construct so why the need to be putting such a push on to get it past the point of no return ? This one is going to leave a mark .
If the NDP/Greens hold together we should be able to get a good look at the books, and who knows, maybe even find out what went on behind closed doors with the selling of BC Rail. That sale also cost us over 1000 jobs.
You may have to lock out the delete button on all their computers first. The paper shredder is most likely running at max capacity and trucks hauling the waste to the pulp mill to be re-cycled.
I guess if the Liberals need a lesson on shredding documents, perhaps they can learn from the NDP’s Nanaimo Bingogate fiasco, eh Oldman! Bet there was lots of shredding going on there, haha!
How about the Glen Clark sundeck fiasco? Did Glen get caught shredding his invoice, or was he even given an invoice for his free sundeck?
Hart Guy your funny . Comments about a 9 billion $ dam project and you bring up a 20 yr old 3k deck invoice lol
Actually reallyrick, what’s funny is Oldman1 suggesting that the Liberals are shredding documents while he is convinced that his precious NDP is beyond reproach!
Hart Guy- I am not sure if this is true or not but I heard that Work Safe was called in by all the Liberal office workers because of to much noise pollution from shredders. Had to supply all the workers with ear protection at no cost to the employee.
and then you woke up in a cold sweat, realizing that the noise pollution that you were hearing was just your dear wife’s snoring! Rolled her over onto her side, popped your ear plugs back in and you were probably back in lala land in mere minutes, right?
Cheers!
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