Kelvin Goertzen, MLA, Steinbach MB Website: http://www.kelvingoertzen.com Hanover Residents Expressing Concerns About Bi-Pole III Route Through Municipality Press Release- 07/28/2010 Steinbach MLA, Kelvin Goertzen, says a number of Hanover residents have received letters from Manitoba Hydro indicating that the proposed Bi-Pole III hydro transmission line may be running through the municipality. The actual route for the line is expected to be announced as early as this week. Several Hanover residents who live along Highway #52 west of Mitchell have received letters indicating that the bi-pole transmission line may be located nearby. That is causing concern not simply because people don t want it in their back yard, but they recognize that the line is going down the wrong side of the province all together, said Goertzen. Goertzen says that there is widespread opposition to the new transmission line coming from the north-east down the west side of the province instead of the east side which is the preferred route by Manitoba Hydro. The NDP government overruled Hydro and directed them to put the line on the west side of the province. Virtually all the stakeholders agree that the east side route is preferred because it is shorter, cheaper and more environmentally friendly than the west side route, said Goertzen. Goertzen noted that landowners in Hanover who may be impacted by the line are not simply expressing a not-in-my-backyard frustration, but rather a frustration that the decision to run the line down the west side of the province is a bad decision for the long-term interests of Manitobans. If there was a reasonable explanation as to why the line should be coming down the west side and possibly through Hanover the reaction might be different. But that reasonable explanation doesn t exist. It s just a bad decision by the NDP government and one that we will reverse if we form government after the next election, said Goertzen. Goertzen noted that before construction on the line can begin there has to be negotiations with landowners and environmental reviews of the project.
Goertzen Wants Residents To Know Bi-Pole Decision Not A Done-Deal -- News Release Press Release- 9/28/2010 Steinbach MLA, Kelvin Goertzen, says he is concerned by a growing feeling among local residents and others in the province that the decision by the NDP government to build a new hydro transmission line down the west side of the province instead of the shorter route on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, is a donedeal that can t be changed. Each of the arguments the NDP government has put forward for directing Manitoba Hydro to build the line on the west side of the province have proven to be either wrong or without merit. Now the NDP strategy is to just tell people that it can t be changed and to stop talking about it, said Goertzen. That is completely false. There is both the time to change the decision and the willingness by many people to do so. The proposed route of the new transmission line (known as Bi-Pole III) cuts partially through the R.M. of Hanover and Tache. There are a number or residents asking me whether its true that it s too late to change the route to the east side of Lake Winnipeg, which is where Manitoba Hydro wanted the line to go all along before the NDP directed it go on the west side, said Goertzen. My message to these residents is that it s not too late to change the route. It s not a done-deal. Goertzen notes that Hydro itself has stated that it will take at least 2 or 3 years before construction on the line can begin. In fact, nothing can happen with the line until a federal and provincial environmental review are completed and that review will not start until at least the middle of next year. There will be a provincial election long before construction of the line and the outcome of that election could certainly impact the route. Goertzen went on to repeat that running the Bi-Pole line on the east side of Lake Winnipeg would be shorter, cheaper, more environmentally friendly and is the route favoured by Manitoba Hydro.
We Pay More Than U.S. For Our Hydro?-- View From The Legislature Report From The Legislature- 9/23/2010 This past week it was confirmed by Manitoba Hydro that the rate Manitoba homeowners pay for their electricity is nearly three times the rate that we sell that electricity to the United States for. Undoubtedly this will come as a surprise to many Manitobans. For years the NDP have been telling us that Manitoba s ticket to prosperity was the combined effect of having affordable electrical power at home and the ability to sell that power for top dollar to the United States. In fact, only last month, NDP Premier Greg Selinger, told Manitobans that our American neighbors are willing to pay a premium international price for power, which will pay for the assets that we re developing. The way things are going, it will be Manitobans who will be paying most of the cost of new Hydro projects while export customers get the cheap electrical power. In fact, the average export rate for hydro in 2009/2010 was 2.37 cents per kilowatt hour. That was about half of what Hydro sold electricity internationally for the year before. And it is well below the 6.38 cents per kilowatt hour that Manitobans are charged. Manitobans not only have the right to question why it is that we pay so much more for the electricity that we generate than we charge those who buy it from us, they also have reason to be concerned. That s because the NDP government has been justifying adding $1.75 billion to the cost of a new hydro transmission line (Bi-Pole III) by saying that our export sales will pay for it. That transmission line is coming from northeastern Manitoba all the way to Winnipeg and instead of choosing the shorter, cheaper and more environmentally friendly route on the east side of Lake Winnipeg, the NDP forced Manitoba Hydro to plan to build it along the west side of the Lake. That decision adds $1.75 billion to the cost of the project. The decision is wrong for Manitoba Hydro and for future generations of Manitobans. It needs to be reversed simply as a matter of common sense. But now, adding to the concern, is the fact that Hydro is selling power internationally at such a cheap rate. If those conditions continue over a longer period of time, it will be Manitobans who are forced to pay the cost of the NDP government s mismanagement of Hydro, not international customers. Selling electricity at a price three times cheaper than Manitobans pay and wasting $1.75 billion is no way to run a Crown Corporation like Manitoba Hydro. Unfortunately, it is the NDP way, and it costs all of us.
Don't Blame Hydro-- View From The Legislature Report From The Legislature- 11/1/2010 Consultation meetings regarding the route of a new hydro transmission line are happening in southeastern Manitoba and other parts of the province. Unfortunately, these consultation meetings are not really consultation meetings in the true sense of the term because a decision has already been made to run the line down the west side of the province at a cost of at least $1.75 billion more then the much shorter route on the east side of the province. The hydro line will start on the northeast side of the province. The NDP are forcing it to run west across the northern part of Manitoba, along the Saskatchewan border, across the Trans-Canada highway, through the Red River floodway, across southeastern Manitoba and then looping around Winnipeg. It makes no sense. And it makes no sense to Manitoba Hydro either. It was always Hydro s intention and desire to build the line on the east side of Lake Winnipeg. It had been preparing with that in mind for more than a decade. And then along came the NDP government who are forcing a west side route. I know many landowners in Hanover and in Tache are attending the consultation meetings hosted by Manitoba Hydro and have expressed their frustration. However, it isn t Manitoba Hydro that deserves the blame. This decision is being made by the NDP government and the NDP cabinet. It is a decision, if it is not changed as a result of a change in government after the October 2011 election, that will end up costing future generations of Manitobans for years to come. It will result in higher hydro rates for the very people who should be benefiting from our hydro generating capacity. But ultimately, this is a decision by the NDP government. And the consultations don t allow Manitobans to have input on the real issue at stake, which side of the province the line should run. If you are concerned about the route of the new transmission line, call an NDP MLA and let them know. And then you can let them know again at the ballot box next year. Kelvin Goertzen, MLA, View From the Legislature Report From The Legislature- Carillon News - 12/2/2010 Listen to AMM Mr. Lemieux
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.