NB Power deal saving jobs already - Graham
Published Wednesday November 18th, 2009
As protesters loudly railed against the pending sale of NB Power to Hydro-Quebec, Shawn Graham continued to defend the deal, saying it was already protecting jobs and spurring the interest of companies looking to set up shop here.
"This deal is about jobs. It is about creating more jobs and maintaining jobs in the province of New Brunswick," Graham said.
He didn't name names, but he said the province has heard from companies intent on learning more about the multibillion-dollar power deal between Quebec and New Brunswick. He said the combination of low taxes and the same industrial electricity rate as Quebec is a tempting lure.
He's also crediting the deal with a turnaround for Fraser Papers.
Graham said the deal will move Fraser Papers, which closed a sawmill in Juniper that employed 175 people, out of bankruptcy protection and AV Nackawic, which employs 325, will see increased financial stability.
In the speech from the throne, the Liberal government reiterated its explanation that the province's energy rates have cost thousands of New Brunswick workers their livelihoods in forestry and manufacturing and have made it tougher to attract investment.
"It is about creating jobs, it is about giving hope to our communities for potential new industries, that's what we're focused on as well," he said.
"Now with a proposal to make rates lower, we've learned that Fraser Papers will be moving from bankruptcy to profitability. With this proposed agreement, New Brunswick will be a magnet for investments and job creation."
Fraser operates a pulp mill with 325 employees in Edmundston. The throne speech noted that 120 workers returned to the job at Fraser's recently upgraded Plaster Rock sawmill operations this week.
Fraser Papers CEO Peter Gordon said the power deal means everything to people in the forestry industry.
His company stands to save $8 million alone on forestry costs.
"Clearly this is going to help Fraser and its employees. It's also going to have an impact on our stakeholders, our suppliers and everyone else," he said.
In the case of the Juniper sawmill, the power deal won't automatically lead to it reopening. Low lumber prices and the high Canadian dollar are hurting its ability to make money, Gordon said.
But he said cutting the power rates would shift the balance towards reopening.
The power deal would see electricity costs at both the Juniper and Plaster Rock facilities fall by about $200,000 a year each.
"It will impact when we reopen," he said.
Mark Arsenault, CEO of the New Brunswick Forest Products Association, said he hopes the Opposition doesn't just oppose the deal, but looks to improve it.
"I'm hoping the Opposition will be looking to make this a very good or a better deal by being involved and engaged in the legislative process."
David Plante, New Brunswick representative of the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, said his members need more details about the deal.
Part of the agreement includes decreasing the rate large industrial users pay per kilowatt hour, while residential customers and small companies get a five-year rate freeze.
Many of his members will pay the same rate as residential customers, but they face power bills in the $50,000-a-year range, and they want to know what will happen in the longer term after the rate freeze.
"That's essentially when rates become unbundled and we know what the cost of a large portion of power rates will be - they'll be tied to CPI (consumer price index)," Plante said.
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If they were given power for free for the next year it would hardly matter. The high Canadian dollar, slowdown in the economy, tariffs and restrictions on exports and the lessened demand for forest products are the driving factors. It does not help to produce something that you can't sell. The computer your reading this on has resulted in much less demand for newsprint, emails have reduced the need for much of the paper that used to be used by government agencies, business and personal use. Canada post has had a signifigant drop in the amount of mail sent out in the last decade.
Less paper required means less pulp required. Toilet Paper sales will rise though, with all the Liberal BS flying around!
Please stop with the 'creating jobs' line. If cheaper power were the answer then there would be more mills and plants being built in Quebec at a record pace. They already have the cheapest industrial power rates in NA. Further this new lower rate is only for exisitng industry. States it right in the MOU. So why would a mill/plant open here and pay higher rates than Quebec? Is this fantasy island?
The reality is mills and other manufacturing plants are closing everywhere and the drivers include slowing demand for the end products like newsprint and magazine grade paper and cheaper labour and raw materials in other countries (China and Brazil). Plus many others. Costs of power is way down on the list.
This deal is so bad is it laughable. Over the coming months NBers will continue to learn more about it and as do the opposition will continue to grow. The only thing more humourous is how Graham continues to try to sell the deal on make believe merits. Sad. Very sad.
This will soon become an exercise in futility as long as the facts remain off the table. The fact that the auditor general does not see the same benefits to the deal as the premier is something that should not be diminished. Both sides should be open to seeing the big picture then making informed decisions. We all need to be rationale as the future prosperity of NB at stake.
It is inappropriate for the people of NB to be kept in the dark and it is inappropriate for Premier Graham to waste the valuable time and resources of his office. He is acting like a bad saleman and we need much more than that from his office. We need transparency and the opportunity to decide our economic future.
Put the matter to a plebisite - let democracy rule. Read - donotshit.me - and comment.
-Sell our Utility (lose control of our infrastructure)to become ...?Self sufficient? kinda like giving away your car to have transportation. makes no sence!!
- Prime Minister is supposed to represent the people of 'HIS/HER PROVINCE', I don't think* the people of 'OUR PROVINCE' want this!!
-Other companies have shown interest in coming to our province and creating jobs?? what do they want u to give them?? hmm.. as this Hydro Quebec deal marks the start of the Great New-Brunswick Blowout Sale!!
Starting with the N-B Power givaway, whats next? ,give our forests to B-C ,give our fisheries and fishing rights to Newfoundland , give Natural gas finds to Alberta
[Actualy ,I think I just figured it out,the new jobs that Graham is talking about that are so far *unmentioned ,probly have to do with the Toxic Waste Industry]
Cant we fire this guy. We gave him a job to represent us "as a Whole" and not "as a Hole"
The article starts out with: "As protesters loudly railed against the pending sale of NB Power to Hydro-Quebec, Shawn Graham..." and continues ad-naseum presenting Premier Graham's sales pitch and nothing else.
No mention of how many protestors or what they had to say.
No mention of what the opposition parties had to say.
No mention of any questions about the deal.
No mention of exactly which companies had supposedly contacted Graham or exactly what they wanted to know.
No journalistic integrity at all.
They say if you want to control a people the first thing you do is take control of the mass media. This paper proves the Irvings learned that lesson very well indeed.