Right in the centre - First Nations are right on Bipole III

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Published on Thursday, January 22, 2015

By Ken Waddell

In a Winnipeg Free Press editorial earlier this week, Ivan Keeper and Robert Spence, who are part of a Tataskweyak Cree Nation group called Traditional Land Users Standing the Line, have called out the NDP government of Manitoba. Their closing line is a very telling statement. “Hydro’s lawyers may have some permits and licences in their office tower filing cabinets, but there is one thing they don’t have -- the moral authority to build Bipole III and damage more of our water and land.”

How true!

I have been calling on Hydro and the NDP government to re-evaluate BiPole III since I competed in the PC Manitoba leadership race in 2006. Manitoba Hydro originally wanted an east side route that would have been hundreds of millions of dollars cheaper. Some say that the proposed west side route, which is hundreds of miles longer, will cost at least a billion extra. A billion, by the way is 1000 million.

Farmers in southern Manitoba aren’t being treated fairly. Farmers east of Gladstone are being hard done by on land acquisition. Farmers, all the way north to the forest, are being mangled by negotiations and several First Nations communities are understandably upset as well.

It might be helpful to re-visit the why and where about Bipole III.

Hydro has always said they need a third line to carry new power to southern Manitoba and for export customers. A third line, placed some distance away from Bipole I and II would make sense in case of an ice storm or tornado. Everybody understands that logic.

What has changed over the years is that the extra dams to provide extra hydro power have become very expensive and because of the United States moving more to natural gas power generation, caused by low gas prices, the markets are doubtful. They might be there some day but this whole extra dams and new line thing could bankrupt Manitoba Hydro and  the province.

It’s interesting to examine why the line was moved from east to west. Hydro wanted it on the east side as it was a shorter route with less line voltage loss and less cost to build and operate. The dozen First Nations along the route weren’t properly consulted and got their backs up. In short, former premier, Gary Doer messed up the negotiations with the First Nations. Doer apparently learned more diplomatic skills as a result of that mess and got appointed as Canadian ambassador to the United States. He hasn’t been able to get U.S approval on the Keystone pipeline yet, but maybe there’s no connection.

To cover his butt on how badly he screwed up the east side initiative, Doer and his henchmen concocted a big story about how the east side Bipole III line would affect the “pristine” boreal forest and the application for the area to be declared a UNESCO Heritage site. It’s all a hoax and a cover up. The application took years and $10 million to put together. It was rejected once, it still hasn’t been approved and it may never get approved. It’s very hard to convince even the bleeding hearts at the UN that a tiny, thin line of bush clearing will somehow completely disrupt an eco-system. It’s especially hard to prove when, at the same time, the government is building a road through the same area.

If Doer hadn’t messed up the talks in the first place, a logical conclusion would have been for Hydro, the province and the First Nations communities to collaborate on a Bipole III east side line as well as a highway  along side. There would have been huge advantages for everyone.

The First Nations are absolutely right, they have not been properly consulted for decades. Given the record of mismanagement, the lack of consultation, the lack of clean water in communities and the lack of access to health care, it’s no wonder they are mad.

If common sense would have prevailed, we would already have a line, a road, tourism and proper health care and access to clean water.