Fraser Institute slams Provincial Government

[steven lloyd]

So I take it that you think the area at the end of the transmission line will eventually be populated like the area in which I live?

LOLOLOL - not bloody likely. The mosquitos up there eat small dogs. The point regarding community development might have a bit more impact were the Transmission Line not coming to a schreeching halt at Bob Quinn Lake – the staging points for mine developments at Forest Kerr, Galore Creek, Nova Gold, etc. – about 100 kms short of Iskut and another 100 kms short of Dease Lake. I’ve driven past the gravel landing strip along the highway many times and it is indeed about as close to the middle of nowhere as one can get. On the other hand these mines will eventually be employing a lot of people ...

– at least we hope so given the tax breaks we have given them and money spent delivering electricity to them
(that government will sell to them for cheaper than they charge BC residents).

p.s. Alcan built Kemano so they would not have to buy power from BC.
We (BC) gave them the water rights and they sell their surplus power.

[bob vernon]

On the other hand these mines will eventually be employing a lot of people ...

At least that's the hope. And we are all paying for these jobs with every Hydro bill. And we are also subsidizing the electricity going through the lines. But it's, you know, the free enterprise system where risks are taken by private capital to generate wealth. Except in this case the mining companies get subsidized hydro, subsidized power lines into the mine, and tax cuts because, you know, they're risking a lot. Hydro's debt is up to something in the $65 billion to $70 billion range now. What's another coupla billion?

[steven lloyd]

Hydro's debt is up to something in the $65 billion to $70 billion range now. What's another coupla billion?

Hey - a billion dollars here, a billion dollars there ...

... pretty soon we're talking real money.

(no worries though - that's what taxpayers are for)

[Smurf]

It's called free enterprise, don't you know. LOL

[Donald G]

Yep said the Lonesome Stranger, "And it's the worst and most wasteful economic system in the world except for all of the others".

[hobbyguy]

There are times when government is going to have to look out into the future and do their best to provide a base for the next generation's prosperity.

WAC Bennett did that. My generation, and and those following, all benefit. Pretty hard to make a case against the significant investments with today's 20/20 hindsight. Especially when you consider that BC is "way ahead of the curve" in providing "clean" and "sustainable" energy - which was probably not even on WAC's radar. However, at the time, much of what WAC was doing was very controversial, especially "nationalizing" electricity generation. Lots of folks were saying "are we ever going to need all that electricity?" Some folks figured there would never be a "payback" on those projects.

The NTL transmission line is indeed controversial. However the potential payback for "us", the working folks of BC is rather large. Will that "payback" arrive? When will it arrive? I can't answer those questions. For an idea of the potential: http://www.eskaymining.com/full_news.asp?nid=57&biraj=Related%20Articleshttps://www.bchydro.com/content/dam/hydro/medialib/internet/documents/projects/ntl/NTL_project_map.pdfhttp://investnorthwestbc.ca/major-projects-and-investment-opportunities/map-view/forrest-kerr/forrest-kerr-hydroelectric-project

To me, the NTL investment, and the debt incurred, is a fairly solid investment in the future. It may take a long time to get "payback", but that is precisely when governments should be involved.

The BC Ferries situation is different. The ferry system was "nationalized" precisely because it was NEVER going to both provide decent levels of service and make money. It has been a political football ever since. In my view, the real problems with BC Ferries started in the 1990's. Service was expanded to buy votes. The "Fast Ferry" fiasco was actually minor compared to the problems created by increasing service to unsustainable levels. (Sorry, I still don't buy that Mayne Island, with less than 2,000 souls, "needs" over 100 sailings per week.) The biggest problem with those unsustainable levels of service, is that people develop their lives around it. And businesses. And when the "fat" is cut... Add to that my perspective that "convenience is not an investment".

At any rate, I personally don't think that BC Ferries should be a Crown Corp. Operating the ferries is an operating cost for the province, with some help from the feds. So it should be directly in the operating budget, and thus separated from the likes of BC Hydro that that can provide payback on investment.

So I'm 50/50 on those two.