Rafe Mair Online

Those who have followed my checkered career will know of my intense dislike of the CanWest dailies in our town, The Vancouver (Seriously West Coast) Sun and The Province. They are simply lousy papers who play down stories contrary to the government’s interest or policy and save their criticisms until after an election is safely behind them.

If you took Wednesday’s Toronto Globe and Mail – the National Edition – and looked at the front page, left column you would have seen this headline – “Green Premier’s Agenda hits snag as energy plan rejected” with the sub headline “Commission says Campbell’s initiative not public interest”. This was followed by a full article by the eminent Mark Hume outlining how the British Columbia Utilities Commission (BCUC) has roundly criticized the private rivers scheme of the Campbell government.

I’m not going to deal with the issues themselves today – the Save Our Rivers Society will issue a press release in the next few days.

This story is a block buster with shares of Plutonic, one of the major players in the private energy scam, taking a sizeable plunge. The Globe and Mail knows it’s a major story so let’s see what the local CanWest papers had to say.

The Province told us about hoods on bail (this story has taken on the status of regular feature with this paper), the sale of the “fast ferries”, a story about Translink and the Ferries and the perils of driving while using a cell phone, There was the start of a housing project, two full pages about the heat wave, a Canadian killed in Puerto Rico and how you should take your garbage with you (including unopened CanWest papers one assumes). We have now reached the op-ed page and nary a word about the BCUC ruling!

As we move on, we have HST and restaurants, guilty letter carriers and Hutterites and photo ID. On and on it goes, a big story on tanning beds on A 20 and we’re through the News section. Knowing this paper’s penchant for burying stories I even checked out the Sports section.

The Vancouver (seriously West Coast) Sun is the same except that Vaughn Palmer, who usually comments upon the news and doesn’t report it, uses the story for his column and obviously is checking back tears as he relates this tragic condemnation of his Liberal government.

So here we have it – The Globe and Mail, on the front page, not in the BC section, fully reports this blockbuster story while it doesn’t outrank lost dogs and losing BC Lions quarterbacks with “seriously west coast” CanWest.

I said I won’t deal with the finer points because Save Our Rivers Society (www.saveourrivers.ca – check out its Board of Advisors) – has people much more knowledgeable that I to do this. I will, however, give you a political opinion.

The Campbell government has based its very existence on the its rivers policy which is a shameful sham. It encourages the destruction of our rivers beyond repair so that large international companies can produce power which MUST be purchased by BC Hydro at prices 2 to 3 times the value on the spot market. Because this power is mostly produced during the spring run off when BC Hydro had fill reservoirs and lots of power, private power it’s all but useless for British Columbia customers and will be exported at a huge loss by BC Hydro. The policy is madness and if you doubt me, read Dr. John Calvert’s book, Liquid Gold. (Dr. Calvert is on the SORS Board of Advisors.) Given these facts no intelligent observers, as are the members of BCUC, could fail to see that the Government’s rivers policy was a colossal mistake.

Now here’s what happens. Because BCUC offered some positive words about the Burrard Thermal Plant and Site “C” the government will hop on these to justify legislating the BCUC decision out of existence. I need hardly tell you how irresponsible this will be. Whatever other things the BCUC said, the condemnation of the private power scheme stands on its own. The government knows that BC Hydro can indeed phase out Burrard Thermal (which is only used in an emergency) and make up power needs by conservation, upgrades of current generators, new generators and, by exercising our powers under the Columbia River Treaty, repatriating power we send for to the US.

This issue is a political one and it involves a government and a premier with an overweening sense of infallibility which allows them holding their noses but with otherwise straight faces, protecting not the citizens but its corporate paymasters. Rather than do what is right Campbell will not permit BCUC to embarrass him. To him and his crowd, loss of face ranks far ahead of the public good.

It’s a marvelous victory for all who laboured so hard to expose and end an atrocious policy but it won’t last because – and you can bet on this – Campbell will legislate his power policy so that Plutonic’s shares will rise again at the expense of us the voters.

To this government good policy is trumped by his policy even if it’s disastrous – which this is.

Tags: BCUC, Canwest Global, Gordon Campbell