Thanks Rafe.

Another good article. But midnightsimon you gotta be really naive to think STV will change anything.

Good one randyh

Getting a permit to harness some part of a river for power to sell back to BC is now the new "Gold Rush". I can remember people talking about how they could get into this game some years ago when the word was out that the liberals were providing this "license to print money". These resource pimps should be run out of the province.

IPP money to BC Liberals

Gee I wonder if $800,000 helped the BC Liberals decide to develop $30 billion worth of electricity in the private sector far more expensively than BC Hydro.

http://www.publicpowerbc.ca/ipp-political-contributions-bc-libs-exceeds-800000

Revisionist tripe about Greens, Rafe!

That's blarney about the Greens impeding the STV vote in 2005, Rafe and you know it! What is true is that Adriane Carr, then leader of the GP-BC ,encouraged green party members to evaluate the STV option and make up their own minds about whether or not to support it. I, and many other Greens, most of whom I know had made submissions to the Citizens Assembly advocating on behalf of MMP (MMP was by far the Proportional Rep option most recommended by the public to the CA) ended up supporting STV on election day.

Time to wash off your glasses.

insider moves to IPP industry

Most of the insiders probably moved for altruistic reasons to the IPP industry. They certainly couldn't have gone because of higher pay or stock options will probably make them millionaires.

Everything Gordo's boys do stinks of corruption. Even if all these moves are legit, they don't look good.

For example, BOB Herath is issuing water licenses one day to Max Pacific Power, then the next is working for them. (they have changed their name to Syntaris power)

Why isn't there some sort of Conflict of Interest guidelines that say you can't take money or jobs from industry that you would have been involved in regulating or overseeing?

Revisionist tripe about Greens, Rafe!

That's blarney about the Greens impeding the STV vote in 2005, Rafe and you know it! What is true is that Adriane Carr, then leader of the GP-BC ,encouraged green party members to evaluate the STV option and make up their own minds about whether or not to support it. I, and many other Greens, most of whom I know had made submissions to the Citizens Assembly advocating on behalf of MMP (MMP was by far the Proportional Rep option most recommended by the public to the CA) ended up supporting STV on election day.

Time to wash your orange-and-blue tinted glasses.

michael maser

Huh? Everyone in BC with a tv saw Ms Carr's meltdown over STV being selected over MMP and her resulting anger toward the STV option.

The economy

You know the list of boondoggles by this government is monstorous and they should have no credibility on the economic front whatsoever.

Down the memory hole went the Libs handling of the Softwood lumber file. The deconstruction of FRBC and handing the Billions of dollars that used to stay here in BC to their American pals has been all but fogotten.

Campbell's complicity in having Emerson package up 100s of millions of dollars if not billions and handing it to Bush and his cronies is unforgivable. In fact a slush fund was created for the re-election of bush that was carved out of the tarrifs that crushed our industry especially for the Bush War chest.

Subsequently, high level advisers to both Campbell and Emerson took significant roles in the Bush Administration as one even replaced the renowned prince of Darkness affectionately known as Turd Blossom, the pre-imminent Karl Rove.

So not only are Campbell's global/privatization policies responsible for the decline in our economy he also wrestled millions out of our forests to fund the Bush Administration's destruction of North America.

Campbell implemented and underwrote the entire program that brought us to our knees and now we are going to re-elect him to save us from himself.

Export power

To whom?
As Mark(Seth) states,there is cheap energy coming on line,Pickens with his wind energy,expensive but green,deserts being covered with solar cells,tidal,not to mention cold fusion.....
There will be no one to buy this power,us BCers will be stuck buying this over-priced hydro.

Run of River was envisioned with small micro projects,there are many places where water(small water)falls off the side of a mountain,small micro projects designed to bring power to small towns,local communities,never can it be called green power to run hydro thousands of miles,the loss of power in transmission is enormous.

Rafe is correct,this issue is huge,as well the issue of coruption is huge,to me,corruption and Run of River are intertwined together.

"What a tangled web we weave when first we practive to deceive"

skywalker- or a true

skywalker-

or a true partisan to believe it won't!

Adriane Carr and STV

Frank: Yes, Adriane's initial reaction was well-publicized thanks to the mainstream media meat-grinder which loves to serve up controversy. What was much less-reported was Adriane's repeated suggestions for all BC citizens to make up their own minds about STV and vote accordingly.

michael

Well I think that was what Rafe was referring to.

Anyway, ever since I heard about your "blue energy" years ago I've been a fan, good luck.

strategic voting

what I don't understand, is why anyone would vote for the greens in this election. They have no chance of defeating the libs so why waste the vote.
Even if you are iriitated about the carbon tax (and listening to campbell on that, he is using it to send environmental voters to the greens), vote NDP and yes on STV, next election we will still own BC Hydro and mitigate some of the damage campbell has done, then in 2013, with STV, we can elect greens.
make your vote count, we MUST defeat the libs or we will have nothing left

Plus de Change....

"There will be no one to buy this power,us BCers will be stuck buying this over-priced hydro."

Funny, but EXACTLY the same thing was said when WAC Bennett announced the Columbia River project. At the time, the CCF was dead against it and favoured, get this, coal fired plants near urban areas. The idea was to "save money" on the transmission lines.

Good thing the Liberals are on they way to a landslide when I hear this kind of short sighted talk.

Wilf......

There will be a lanslide, 55 NDP seats 1 independent 29 Liberals seats

You might want to re-read your history.

Misleading article on many fronts

I like reading articles when there is a nuance or interesting position to be had, but unfortunately, this article was full of misleading assertions that really just echos NDP propaganda. I'm not a BC Liberal, but I will call BS when I read it.

The articles claims about the environment are misleading. For example, there is considerable controversy over how environmentally damaging run of river power projects are. Nobel Prize winning Professor Andrew Weaver called the expensive efforts against private power as "greenwashing" by union bosses threatened more by the privatization implicit in the plan than the environmental damage run of river will supposedly cause. According Weaver, private power is one of the least environmentally damaging forms of energy generation out there. Also, because run of river power require no damming, there is very little wildlife or habitat destruction. It's ok to oppose private power on the basis that privatization is bad, but don't try to fool people by claiming private run of river projects are bad for the environment. They are anything but.

Why is it so impossible to have informed, factual constructive dialogue and debate in BC politics?

NDP and the Asian Meltdown

Thank you for bringing this up and putting the economics of the NDP era in focus. And quite rightly that if the NDP are to be held responsible for that, it follows that the Liberals must be responsible for the meltdown we are experiencing now. Give 'em hell, Rafe.

Spudster

When did Andrew win this Nobel prize? And was it for being against public ownership?

It's just silly Frank

Weaver claims to have won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 because he wrote some of the reports (three of them at least) of the UNIPPC which was a joint winner with Al Gore...

I think that's on a par with a passenger on the SS United States claiming a share of the Blue Ribband for crossing the Atlantic faster than any other ship.

I happened to have the good fortune to hear Stephen Lewis lecture on Friday last, he drew a laugh from the crowd after the fella who introduced him said he was the recipient of some 27 degrees.

Lewis staightened his audience pretty quickly when he noted he'd actually attended 4 universities and managed not to graduate from any of them.

I put Andrew Weaver's membership in the Nobel Club on a very LOW pedestal.

To midnightsimon

Not to change the debate but In my part of the province Elections BC has the BC STV riding down as everything Northe of Quesnel. That is half the province currently containing 7 Ridings. So assume all three parties run candidates, that's 21 who must campaign in every town from Quesnel to the Yukon border, become know by the voter and run campaigns with about 25 local newspapers and about half as many radio stations. The voter is suppose to know enough about all the candidates to choose 7 of the 21 plus candidates.
Only a naive person thinks this makes sense. It is an absolute abortion of an electoral system.

randyh

Thanks, randyh....that is one incredible eye-opening IPP insider list.

Certainly tells us "who benefits".

Would make a great investigative report by The Tyee.

randyh

Yes, interesting list. Thanks!

Confusion over Run of River

Run of the River is being spun by the doctors into whether it is Green or not.
That is not the issue.
Whenever it is mentioned in the media it is glumped into Ecology with the carbon tax.
The ecologists and the left, arguing amongst themselves whether the NDP or the Liberals are Greener.
The Real Question in this election should be if Gordon Campbell is elected will he continue GIVING AWAY all publicly owned assets, BC Rail, our ferries, our forests, our rivers, our water.
Gordon Campbell should be labeled as the HENCHMAN that he is. An agent for American corporations who is systematically destroying everything in this province he sees as socialist.
Like a magician he distracts us with attacks on public sector workers, teachers, our health care, education, B.C. rail, our ferries, and behind the smoke he gives away your Forests, your Rivers, your water and your trees to any corporation that will finance his re election.
When we have to buy our water and electricity from an international corporation we won't be able to afford healthcare or education. They will be privatised by default.

Pirate Power

private power is one of the least environmentally damaging forms of energy generation out there.

Private or public has absolutely nothing to do with whether or not it is environmentally damaging. It is the specifics of the project that determine whether or not a power project is environmentally benign.

That said, the BS that is being trumpeted by private power producers in that we cannot meet our current domestic power demand is simply that -- BS! We can comfortably meet our needs if we do much better at conservation and if we didn't export power. That means we don't have to alter any river. That is the greenest option.

more smoke

Romeogolf, there you go again looking at the smoke. While we debate whether it is green or necessary, good or bad, it is being stolen from us. If I could convince you that owning a house was not green, would you give it to me so i could lease it back to you at 10 times todays rates for the next 40 years.
When B.C.hydro starts losing money because it has to buy all that power at 10 or 20 times the going rate Campbell will sell it off as a losing business just like the fast ferries.
By then we will all be renters , not owners like we have been for generations. What will we be leaving for our children?

Fire

joelunchpail, there wasn't any point in being redundant. If there's no need to alter any river and people are strongly against it, then if no rivers are developed, the issue of ownership doesn't even come into question, does it?

However, if ruin-of-river projects by pirate power producers are given the green light, your point of ownership is entirely valid and one of the most critical.

"...the government environmental poodle, Dr. Mark Jaccard,..."

I am surprised, not to mention delighted and amused, that this phrase was not EDITTED FOR LEGAL CONCERNS.

We can all learn from Rafe Mair.

Ah Sta la vista baby

When it comes to selling BC short Mr. Campbell's impaired thinking makes me wonder if I need to join Alanon as BC's rivers and natural resources are jepordized. Do you know what I have to say about that?
That's right.
Ah sta la vista Campbell and take your
Terminator with you. Dry up before are rivers do.
And on that note Take back BC Hydro.

bc

It seems the libcons have found a way to give a jewel to the( right sort of people) and a lump of coal for the rest.Keep us informed Rafe! god bless!