I don’t think all the money in the world would fool Manitobans on this one, but the NDP are sure going to try. And they are going to use your money to do it.
This week the NDP government, through Manitoba Hydro, began to spend upwards of $700,000 on an ad campaign designed to convince you that spending another $20 billion is a good idea and not a terrible gamble. The $20 billion is what Manitoba Hydro expects to spend on building two new hydro generating stations, Keeyask and Conawapa, along with the costs of the new Bi-Pole III hydro transmission line and other capital expenditures.
That $20 billion estimate is likely to be much, much higher according to the Public Utilities Board. If the Bi-Pole III line, which the NDP are forcing on the longest and most expensive route imaginable is any indication, the final price tag for all these projects will be far greater than $20 billion.
So why does the NDP feel it has to spend $700,000 to convince you these projects are a good idea? Because so many people are saying that they are a great big gamble. Former officials of Manitoba Hydro and former NDP members have come forward to say this needs a long second look.
Hydro export sales (the reason the generating stations and transmission line are being built) are not even paying enough to keep Manitoba Hydro in the black right now. Hydro has been losing millions of dollars recently because the export price of hydroelectricity is low because of a flat U.S. economy and new sources of cheap natural gas. In fact, as a result of the low demand and price for hydro, Manitoba Hydro has asked that local rates go up about 4 per cent every year for the next decade. Manitobans are essentially going to be subsidizing hydro exports to the United States.
Many have called for the NDP government to stop, look and listen before it pushes ahead with spending $20 billion. An outside independent economic analysis could show whether this $20 billion in new expenditures makes sense or whether its something that is going to hamper future generations of Manitobans.
But that is not the approach the NDP has taken. Instead, they have simply taken another $700,000 and cranked up the ad machine to try to convince you that everything with Manitoba Hydro is going great. But all the money in the world won’t hide the facts. And the facts are that you are paying more for hydro while it is being sold at a discount rate in the United States. There is no economic analysis that says this $20 billion gamble will pay off and quite to the contrary, there is nothing but red flags about these expenditures.
So when you see the ads ask yourself why, if these projects make so much sense, have the NDP decided to spending hundreds of thousands on propaganda, instead of simply doing an economic analysis?
