NB Power sale is undemocratic

The last time I checked, the province of New Brunswick was a democracy.  The people elect representatives who act in their interest.  I am not sure whom we elected in September of 2006, but they sure haven’t acted in our interest.

Self-sufficiency.
Uranium exploration.
UNB SJ as a technical college.
French immersion.

The sale of our public utility is the last straw.

There are absolutely no benefits to the people of New Brunswick in the NB Power deal.  The only real beneficiary of this deal in New Brunswick is big business.  Shawn Graham’s government has hired a fancy PR firm to “spin” the deal so that it sounds good to New Brunswickers.  (The same PR firm, by the way, that George Bush hired to “sell” the war on Iraq to Americans.)

Let’s review.

Rates.  According to the “spin,” our electricity rates would be frozen for five years.  The truth is that in the sixth and subsequent years, there is no limit to what our rates might be.  And, the cost of any improvements made by Hydro-Quebec over the first five years can be added to our power bills as soon as the five years are up.  Furthermore, our Quebec neighbours will still be enjoying electricity rates that are far lower than ours.

Debt.  According to the “spin,” NB Power’s debt would be entirely eliminated.  The truth is that NB Power has a debt comparable to other public utilities, including Hydro-Quebec.  And, since NB Power sells electricity to a stable market, it will always have income to service its debt.  Not to mention the fact that our provincial debt would not be affected because NB Power’s debt is not included in the provincial debt.

Environment.  According to the “spin,” this deal would reduce our dependence on fossil fuels that cause climate change.  The truth is there are many other ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels without selling our public utility.  How
about purchasing clean power from Hydro-Quebec?  How about developing our own forms of clean power, which would also provide economic development to our province?  Clean power owned and managed by New Brunswickers?  Sounds like self-sufficiency to me.

In some countries, an unpopular government deal would lead to a coup d’etat.  Coups don’t have to happen in democracies like this one.  In democracies like this one, we can take to the streets, demand what we want, and our elected representatives have to listen.

It’s our democracy.  Let’s make it work…for us.