[LabComm] NDP Calls for Full Public Hearings into Terasen Sale

[BC NDP NEWSWIRE]

NDP Calls for Full Public Hearings into Terasen Sale



VICTORIA -- The Campbell government is ignoring the public interest by refusing to demand full public hearings into the sale of B.C.-owned Terasen Gas to Texas-based energy giant Kinder Morgan, NDP Leader Carole James said today.

"This proposed sale will affect every family and thousands of business in British Columbia," said James.  "The Campbell government has an obligation to put the public interest first and demand open public hearings in every region of this province."

NDP Energy Critic Corky Evans said that on September 9, the BC Utilities Commission held a "procedural conference" to consider the sale of Canada's third-largest public utility without the benefit of public hearings.  He said the Campbell government flew an official to Vancouver to inform the BCUC that the Province had "no position" on public hearings.

And earlier this week, BC Liberal Energy Minister Richard Neufeld dismissed public concerns regarding the sale, and suggested concerns were largely "manufactured." Neufeld stated instead that anyone with concerns could simply write a letter to the BCUC.

"The BC Liberal government wants to slip the sale through under the public radar to avoid serious scrutiny of the deal," said Evans.  "Already, Terasen Gas executives are awarding themselves big financial bonuses in anticipation of this sale, while the public is left with skyrocketing gas bills and little say in a deal that could have serious environmental implications."

According to media reports, an internal Terasen Gas memo indicates that senior Terasen executives "are poised to cash in stock options worth $20 million if shareholders approve the transactions at meetings in Vancouver on October 18."  Last week, the BCUC approved a 13-per-cent hike in natural gas prices Terasen charges to B.C. consumers.

"Our energy resources belong to the people of British Columbia," said James.   "And British Columbians have right to speak out on this sale and have their voices heard before a B.C. based company is sold off to an American conglomerate."

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