After my father died in Victoria in 2008 at the age of 91, my sister opened his safety deposit box and discovered $5,000 in shares in the British Columbia Resources Investment Corp., better known as the BCRIC, universally pronounced at the end of the 1970s as the “brick.” When I
Continue readingTag: Bill Bennett
Alberta Politics: Message to the media and conservatives about Alberta’s NDP: Read their lips, no early election!
PHOTOS: Opposition Wildrose Leader Brian Jean and Progressive Conservative Leader Jason Kenney. Below: A clear-eyed Premier Rachel Notley, former British Columbia NDP premier Dave Barrett and the late Jim Prentice, former premier of Alberta. TORONTO “Two years after Alberta NDP win, critics see signs of early election call,” a headline
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Obituary: ‘Old Leather Lungs,’ one of B.C.’s most colourful politicians
Old time Socred MLA and Cabinet Minister Don Phillips was from another era, a time of flamboyant speakers and keen as hell debaters. On the Socred side, Phillips, Rafe Mair and Grace McCarthy would Read more…
Continue readingIn-Sights: What’s good for the BC Liberals may not be good for BC Hydro
One of the last things anyone would ever imagine the B.C. government doing is adopting an old NDP program, but that’s exactly what Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett did this month when he announced a five-year, $300 million hydro bill deferment plan for 13 mines owned by six companies.
Never mind that B.C. Hydro is already grappling with its own deferral problems to the tune of $5 billion.
Make no mistake, there’s a price to pay when B.C. Hydro becomes a political arm of government. The intertwining of self-interests gets complicated, while the interests of ratepayers can take a backseat to political interests.
Three of the six companies in Bennett’s deal were highlighted in a December Financial Post article, “Debt risks mount as Canada’s base metal miners sink deep in the hole.”
One could argue that the headline alone justifies Bennett’s move, except there’s no guarantee – other than a hope and a prayer – that B.C. Hydro will be repaid.
The issue of what happens if metal prices don’t rebound wasn’t addressed in Bennett’s news release.
Consider the “dire financial position” of one of the companies: Colorado-based Thompson Creek Metals.
Last year, Deutsche Bank analyst Jorge Beristain said the company is “quickly approaching an end-game” with debts of $832 million US.
According to the Financial Post, Teck Resources “has more than $3.5 billion US of debt coming due between 2017 and 2023 and lost its investment-grade credit rating last year.”
Taseko Mines, “has more than $260 million of senior notes coming due in 2019, while a $30-million US secured loan matures this May.”
It seems like only yesterday that the company sent Bennett off to lobby Ottawa on its behalf.
In January 2014, Bennett spent a day on Parliament Hill meeting with Natural Resources minister Joe Oliver and Industry minister James Moore to make Taseko’s case for its controversial New Prosperity copper and gold project.
By then copper prices had already fallen 27.5 per cent off their 2011 high.
Taseko is also in the midst of a messy proxy fight with Chicago-based Raging River Capital over $26 million in management fees Taseko has paid Hunter Dickinson Inc. Taseko and Hunter Dickinson share three directors in common.
Imperial Metals owns three of the 13 mines in Bennett’s deal, including Mount Polley, Red Chris and Huckleberry. In 2004, the government quietly forgave $3 million in liabilities owed it by Huckleberry Mine.
Imperial Metals’s controlling shareholder – Murray Edwards – has a net worth of $2.69 billion.
The B.C. Liberal party has done well from them.
From 2005 to 2014, the six companies donated $2.8 million to the party. Key executives kicked-in another $380,000.
Three of the six companies donated $97,010 to the NDP, $75,300 of it in 2013.
B.C. Hydro’s contractual obligations with private power producers have ballooned from $22.25 billion in 2009 for “2010 and beyond” to $56.2 billion for “2016 and beyond.”
It’s the gift that keeps on giving for everyone involved, except ratepayers.
In a 2008 call for independent power projects, 75 proponents registered with B.C. Hydro.
Forty-three submitted proposals and, in 2010, B.C. Hydro signed purchase agreements with 18 of the proponents.
From July 1, 2008 to September 30, 2010 – when B.C. Hydro was making its decisions – 14 proponents donated $268,461 to the Liberals. One donated $1,000 to the NDP.
Ten of the 14 signed purchase agreements with B.C. Hydro. One of the 14 who didn’t, never donated again.
Their before and after donations are interesting too.
For the 10 successful proponents, their donations more than doubled from $112,801 (January 2005 to June 2008) to $229,471.
After the deals were done, they settled back again. Seven donated $112,345 to the Liberals and five gave $16,225 to the NDP (2010 to 2014).In 2008, the Mining Association of B.C. received a $295,188 grant from the Northern Development Initiative Trust (NDIT) to make the business case for the Northwest Transmission Line.
In turn, the association hired Australia-based Macquarie Bank to “determine the threshold of economic activity that would be required to make the construction of the (line) an economically viable infrastructure project.”
NDIT’s Highway 37 Power Line Coalition has 22 private sector partners.
Excluding the six companies in Bennett’s deferral program, independent power producers and those identified by B.C. Hydro as “potential future mines” for the transmission line, three trade associations and ten of the companies donated $962,220 to the Liberals and $10,320 to the NDP.
Macquarie has donated $17,050 to the Liberals.
The $404 million transmission line overshot its budget by more than $300 million, with a final price tag of $716 million. But who counts bills among friends?
There are the nine “potential future mines” that B.C. Hydro hopes will one day connect to the line.
With the downturn in metal prices, B.C. Hydro shouldn’t hold its breath in anticipation.
Excluding donations from Imperial Metals and Teck, who have interests in three of the mines, the most generous companies were Goldcorp at $795,700, the Lundin Group of Companies ($112,145) and Copper Fox Metals ($93,130).
One of the founding directors of Copper Fox Metals is Hector MacKay-Dunn, who co-chaired the B.C. Liberal’s 2009 election preparation efforts.
MacKay-Dunn is affectionately known in some party circles as Hector the Collector for his prowess at political fundraising.
The nine companies behind the potential mines have donated $1 million to the Liberals and $18,050 to the NDP ($10,000 of it from Copper Fox in 2013).And at the same time the government was imposing hydro rate increases on schools and hospitals in 2014, Bennett announced a $100 million B.C. Hydro initiative for pulp and paper producers to “support investments in more energy efficient equipment.”
The forest industry has donated more than $4.2 million to the Liberals and $294,905 to the NDP.Tidy haul.
Add it all up: more than $9.8 million in donations from interested parties to the Liberals and $417,185 to the NDP, not including their 2015 donations.
Guess who gets saddled with the bill?
Including operating and capital development agreements that have tripled to $3.3 billion since 2010, B.C. Hydro’s contractual obligations now stand at $59.7 billion, not including their debt which has grown from $6.8 billion in 2004 to $16.7 billion last year.
They’ve had to borrow $3.2 billion just to turn around and give it to the B.C. government as so-called dividends.
Meanwhile, Hydro-Quebec cut a dividend cheque of $2.5 billion for the Quebec government in 2014.
They didn’t have to borrow money to cover the cheque and still had $700 million in profits left over.
In 2014, it’s rates were nearly two cents per kWh lower than B.C. From 2007 to 2015, its cumulative rate increase was 17.1 per cent. In B.C., it was 63.2 per cent.
Total donations from all of Hydro-Quebec’s suppliers and contractors to the Parti Quebecois and the Quebec Liberal party in the last 30-years? Zero.
Quebec bans corporate and union donations. The maximum any Quebec resident can give to a political party is $100 annually.
Dermod Travis is the executive director of IntegrityBC. www.integritybc.ca
In-Sights: What’s good for the BC Liberals may not be good for BC Hydro
An article by Dermod Travis of Integrity BC. First published February 15, 2016, repeated here with permission. One of the last things anyone would ever imagine the B.C. government doing is adopting an old NDP program, but that’s exactly what Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett did this month when
Continue readingIn-Sights: What’s good for the BC Liberals may not be good for BC Hydro
An article by Dermod Travis of Integrity BC. First published February 15, 2016, repeated here with permission.One of the last things anyone would ever imagine the B.C. government doing is adopting an old NDP program, but that’s exactly what Energy an…
Continue readingIn-Sights: Pants on fire
Before the last election, Premier Clark justified BC Hydro rate increases as a “common sense decision” that would enable the private/public utility to pay off the billions in its deferred accounts.”People are struggling, it’s a tough economy, and hydro…
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Eight months of the NDP in review: Main themes pretty much as predicted on Day 2
PHOTOS: Premier Rachel Notley gives her victory speech on the historic evening of May 5, 2015, moments after the Alberta NDP’s victory was declared. Below: Former British Columbia NDP premier Dave Barrett, former Ontario NDP premier Bob Rae, later a …
Continue readingAlberta Politics: Hunting for hangover remedies with Bill Bennett and other tall tales from Social Credit British Columbia
PHOTOS: Former British Columbia Social Credit Party Premier Bill Bennett on the steps of the B.C. Legislature in Victoria. Below: Another shot of Mr. Bennett, who died on Dec. 3, looking a little shaggy; NDP Premier Dave Barrett; W.A.C. Bennett, B.C.
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Head of review panel repeats call for delay to BC Hydro’s Site C Dam
Richard Hughes- Political Blogger One of the biggest illusions in BC politics is that the BC Liberals are down to earth business disciplined stewards managing the most prudent course on behalf of the citizens of BC. Admittedly led by Premier Christy Clark they are better fabricators, spinners and show an
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: It is not ‘Miller Time’ Dan, Green Up or Brown Out!
Richard ‘Hub’ Hughes- Here is disappointing post from former NDP Premier Dan Miller. It reads like the flashback that it is. Time will tell whether Miller’s missive will be embraced, rejected or ignored by the new BC NDP opposition leader, John Horgan. Dan Miller: How will we pay
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: BC Hydro Rate Shock Powered By Lies
Rafe Mair One of my favourite bloggers is longtime broadcaster, and former Socred Cabinet Minister Rafe Mair. Here he is his going after corruption and deceit over BC Hydro Rate increases. How do you know when a politician’s lying? When you see his/her lips move. Bill Bennett, the BC
Continue readingCowichan Conversations: Rafe Mair Rants About BC Hydro Lies From BC Liberals, But Hydro Is Blameless
As we are treated to distortion, lies and revisionist BS Rafe Mair of the Common Sense Canadian steps in and tells it like it is. Rafe Mair The crap we’re obliged to take is becoming too odorous for these old nostrils. We’re told by Bill Bennett that there will be
Continue readingAlberta Diary: A tale from the political crypt: a tip o’ Broadway Bob’s Top Hat to Hizzoner Rob Ford
Bob McClelland spotted walking down a staircase in Victoria, circa November 1985. (Ancient Vancouver Sun photo.) Mr. McClelland didn’t know it yet, but forgiveness for his sins was at hand. Below: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. He’ll be forgiven soon too. Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a province
Continue readingEnvironmental Law Alert Blog: Two reports on pesticide risks
Thursday, May 31, 2012 When a politician says that his report is about the science, and not about the politics, it’s probably wise to take that claim with a grain of salt. That’s made crystal clear by two studies released in the last month about the risks of pesticides –
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