SEEKS MORE PRICE INCREASES” “CC DEST Tg nlil7o et )  UT

Westcoast scorns public interest

Christian Science Monitor

“Watch it...you’re not cooperating.”

aay 26 was African Solidarity Day when world public opinion
acked the liberation struggles in Africa.

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By SEAN GRIFFIN

While the U.S. energy crisis
has been momentarily over-
shadowed by the dark cloud cast
by Watergate, Westcoast Trans-
mission hasn’t forgotten it.

In fact, the corporate direc-
tors of Westcoast seem deter-
mined to alleviate at least the
natural gas shortage almost
singlehandedly— at the expense
of B.C. consumers. i

In March Westcoast signed an
agreement with El Paso Natural
Gas in the U.S. to supply 450
millionmore cubic feet ofgasa
day— half again the volume of
present daily exports — to the
United States. The company
will be making application to
the National Energy Board for
approval of the new agreement.

Atthe same time application
willbe made tothe NEB forthe
establishment of a rate base
which will allow them far
greater returns on invested
capital and for hefty price in-
creases to domestic consumers
of natural gas.

The implications of West-
coast’s requests to the NEB are
grave indeed.

In.attémpting to justify the

ue fifter loudly pronouncing ulti-
Baoms to the U.S. about pro-
ae of Canada’s sovereign
ie Ing rights, federal environ-
eo Minister Jack Davis has

€dup the latestroundof talks

‘Uttering little more than a

Whisper.

fe athe agreement concluded
ae riday which will become ef-
nate June 15, Canadian
in €rs will be barred from fish-
: 8 South of Carroll Island off the
ast of Washington and
—merican trollers will be
Prohibited from fishing off the
€st coast of Vancouver Island
XCept for a small area at the

5 Fo cance to the Strait of Juan de

uca,

uted Fishermen and Allied
Re ers Union president
a er Stevens said that he
A disgusted with the agree-
eon Canadian fishermen have
Sold down the river again.”

i from correcting any im-

ini between the two

iner Ties, the agreement
ie) infavorofthe USS.
ih mates are that while the

in ces will lose only $48,000

a , the Canadians will lose
Me $310,000.

istevens said that the Cana-
aed not use all the levers
oe had in negotiating the
Pec cent. For every move
Aa the Americans made, the
in adians, instead of counter-
§, simply capitulated, he said.

entice Stevens had pointed
Baa the issue ‘‘was not a
issue a issue but a national
a Bee e could have told them
ae all their boats outside

chee Charlotte Sound, Dixon.
Nee and Hecate Strait and

enforcing our closing lines
against them as we now enforce
them against other foreign
fishermen.

‘<What should have been done
would be to enforce our entire
fishing jurisdiction. We could
have told the Americans to keep
their boats out of the Gulf of St.
Lawrence and the Bay of
Fundy.”’

The American negotiators
refused to bring the questionof
the Alaska fishery into the talks
and the Canadian delegation,
fearing the complete dissolution
of the working agreement
between the two countries,
bowed to the terms contained in
Friday’s agreement.

That was the basis on which

the Pacific Trollers Asso-,

ciation, a group which has tradi-
tionally opposed the UFAWU,
called the agreement ‘‘the lesser
of two evils.”

Stevens said that he com-
pletely disagreed with Garcia,
president of the PTA, and de-
clared that Canada’s compli-
ance with American demands
was ‘‘again a case of backing
down to the U.S. policy of taking
more than it gives.”

Garcia and Stevens did agree,
however; that Canada must
continue to press for equaliza-
tion of catch division between
the U.S. and Canada to correct
the imbalance that now favors
the Americans. Another round of
talks is coming up in October
at which time the problem of
west coast salmon will be on the

_ table for discussion.

But Stevens emphasized the
need, in any talks, for Canada to
do ‘‘all that has to be done in

Canada's bravado fades
in fishing rights talks

bringing the entire Canadian:

fishing jurisdiction into the
negotiations.’’. Stevens. had

mentioned earlier the need for
Canada to be prepared to open
up salmon fisheries, both within
and outside the Alaska Pan-
handlerivers and onthe Yukon
River, and perhaps even in the
Bering Sea.

NANCY McDONALD, a Canadian
Union of Public Employees dele-
gate onthe Hamilton Labor Coun-
cil and a_ well-known Com-
munist, became the first woman
to be elected as secretary of the
Hamilton and District Labor Coun-

cil. The position of secretary is”

the key job on the council.

price increases, Kelly Gibson,
chairman and chief executive
officer of Westcoast, hit the
headlines protesting that the
U.S. customer — El Paso
Natural Gas— had voluntarily
renegotiated its contract and
accepted higher prices while
B.C. consumers had not.

But Gibson neglected to men-
tion a few necessary details.
When a new contract to supply a
greater volume Of gas is signed,
a package deal is always renego-
tiated. Since Westcoast had no
options under the old agreement
to supply more gas, the
increased supply was soldata
higher price and, when it was
combined with the old
agreement, yielded what is
called in the gas business, a
“‘rolled-in”’ price.

The rolled-in price in the latest
agreementis 37 cents per thou-
sand cubic feet (mcf) — just
barely more than the price
charged B.C. Hydro despite the
fact that it is B.C. gas.

Inaddition, Westcoastis seek-
ing price increases of five to six
cents per mcf for its B.C. cus-

tomers— which if it is approved -

by the NEB would push domes-
tic prices higher than the price
charged to El Paso in the United
States. :

_Attorney-general Alex Mac-
Donald stated last week that the
provincial government would
fight any increase in the domes-
tic price of natural gas and
advocated instead higher prices
for the export market which, he
said, ‘‘have beenreceiving our
gas at bargain basement prices
over the last 25 years.”

The prices have been bargain
basement and continue to be
despite Kelly Gibson’sprotesta-
tions to the contrary. At37 cents
per mcf, the U.S. is getting gas
at less than one-quarter the price
stipulated in a $40 billion, 25
year agreement that was tobe
signed with the Soviet Union last
winter; anagreement that was
subsequently postponed when
more Canadian reserves became
available.

Moreover, Libyan natural gas
coming to the east coast of the
U.S. costs $1.23 per mcf and
Algerian gas $1.37 per mecf—in
both cases, more than three
times what is paid for Canadian
gas!

Much of the motivation for
Westcoast’s new drive for
increased exports of natural gas
and price hikes for domestic
consumers is the increased taxa-
tion imposed upon the
company’s operations by the

provincial government. Amend-
ments to the Colored Gasoline
Tax Act (resulting in tax on
natural gas used as compressor
fuel) and the Capital Utilization
Act will both generate provin-
cial revenue from Westcoast’s
operation and represent a
tentative step towards making
the resource industries pay their
way. i

Westcoast, of course, views
the taxes as a threat to profit
levels and is seeking to go over
the heads of the provincial
government and recover the
amount lostin taxes by imposing
price increases. If the provin-
cial government is trying to
shift the tax burden on to the
resource industries and away
from the individual taxpayers,
Westcoast is seeking to cancel
out any effective shift by adding
to consumers’ cost for utilities.

At the same time, Westcoast is
looking to a long term high level
of profit by seeking from the
federal National Energy Board a
much higher base rate of return
on invested capital.

If approved, the higher base
rate will result in consumers
being milked by price increases
at every turn. For every new tax
imposed by the provincial
government, Westcoast will
invoke the federal ruling and
jack prices up.

Profits for Westcoast through-
out its 25 year history have been
some of the most lucrative for
B.C. industry. The first quarter
of 1973 is no exception. West-
coast enjoyed an increase of
89.5% over the previous three
months and an increase of 41.5%
over the same period in 1971
which was a banner year for
Westcoast.

Conrad Rademaker, a
financial analyst writing inthe
Sun, echoed Westcoast’s hollow

‘arguments in support of a price

increase and while pointing out
that the ‘‘latest corporate earn-
ings have been impressive
indeed’’, warned thatif business
is not allowed to earna “‘reason-
able rate of return on invest-
ment, it willstop expandingits
facilities and service to the
public will deteriorate.”

What is areasonable returnon
investment?...andwhatisthe
public interest if consumers
have to pay more than the export
market? These are the ques-
tions that will be asked at the
B.C. Energy Commission
hearing June 12. And they beg
the answer that Westcoast does
not serve the public interest and
should be taken over by the
provincial government.

Beaver Transfer
* Moving

* Packing
* Storage

790 Powell St.

Phone 254-3711 _

PACIFIC TRIBUNE — FRIDAY, JUNE T, 1973 — PAGE 3

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