Last week the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) held their annual general meeting in Winnipeg and among the business they conducted was a debate on where the controversial Bi-Pole III hydro transmission line should be located.
Overwhelmingly, by a vote of more than 90%, the AMM voted in favour of a resolution that opposes the construction of the Bi-Pole III line on the west side of the province. The AMM resolution that was passed clearly states that the new hydro transmission line should be built on the east side of Lake Winnipeg.
The resolution lists as its reasons the fact that a west side route would be about 500 kilometers longer than an east side route and that it would cost hundreds of millions of dollars more and impact much more private land and agricultural land.
The passing of this resolution by AMM is no small thing. The AMM is made up of Reeves, Mayors and Councilors from right across the province of Manitoba including the City of Winnipeg. The AMM represents almost every person in our province.
Having a province wide body call on the NDP government to change its decision to run the Bi-Pole transmission line on the west side of the province should be very persuasive. Unfortunately, the NDP government didn’t consider it for even a day before coming out and condemning the AMM resolution and indicating that it would be ignoring it and going ahead with a west side route.
Most disappointingly, the NDP Minister responsible for Local Government, Ron Lemieux, is supposed to be the Minister working with this organization and bringing forward their views to government. Clearly his voice was either not heard or it was not expressed at all. Premier Greg Selinger was quick to dismiss the hundreds of democratically elected municipal officials who were sending a message to the NDP government that Manitobans are opposed to this terrible decision.
I would hope that over the coming weeks the NDP government might think more carefully about the stand taken by the AMM and its members. I would also hope that Mr. Lemieux might take the comments from AMM and from his own constituents in La Verendrye, who are directly impacted by this line, back to the Premier and that he become vocal about the need to reverse this decision.
The voice of AMM spoke loud and clear last week when they said definitively that the NDP decision to place the Bi-Pole line on the west side must change. Hopefully that voice will be listened to by the Minister for Local Government, Mr. Lemieux, and by Premier Selinger.
