Oct. 18, 2018
Canadian Taxpayers Federation supports review of Hydro debacles
REGINA, SK: The Canadian Taxpayers Federation is applauding Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister for launching a review of multi-billion-dollar debacles at Manitoba Hydro.
“Manitoba Hydro belongs to Manitoba taxpayers and they deserve to know what happened to billions of dollars of their money,” said Todd MacKay, Prairie Director for the CTF. “It would appear obvious that former premier Greg Selinger and his government deserve much of the ultimate blame, but taxpayers need definitive answers as to what specifically went wrong; who is specifically responsible; and, most importantly, what the current government is going to do to make sure this never happens again.”
The unnecessarily elongated route for the Bipole III transmission line inflated costs by $900 million and the Keeyask Generating Station was supposed to cost $6.5 billion, but the final bill is now projected to be up to $10.7 billion.
Hydro’s debt has soared to $19 billion and it’s projected to hit $25 billion in five years. Credit rating agency S&P Global states that Hydro’s debt is no longer “self-supporting” – in other words, taxpayers may be left with the Crown’s debts if it’s not able to make the payments.
Hydro is projecting significant rate increases on power bills for years to come.
Pallister is appointing Gordon Campbell, former premier of British Columbia, to conduct a review of the decision-making process that spiraled into the Bipole and Keeyask debacles. His report is due by Dec. 31, 2019. The review has a budget of $2.5 million.
“It’s frustrating to see millions spent to get to the bottom of this mess, but if it stops future billion-dollar debacles, it’ll be money well spent,” said MacKay. “Accountability is not luxury, it is an absolute necessity and it’s vitally important for taxpayers to get answers about the Hydro debacle.”
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation has repeatedly and publicly called for a comprehensive investigation into the Hydro scandal.
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For more information, please contact:
Todd MacKay – CTF Prairie Director – 306-582-7717 – [email protected]
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