a aaiieiieantae

By MAURICE RUSH
B.C. Provincial Leader
Communist Party

When B.C. Hydro announced
farly in October that it plans to
build a new dam on the Peace River
at a spot known as Site C it brought
to the fore the whole issue of power
development in B.C.

The issue is not just this one dam
and whether it should be built,
although in the overall picture that
1S where the fight is centred now.
The real issue is: Shall B.C. have a
hydro policy which serves the needs
Of the people, or shall we have a
hydro policy which develops huge
blocks of power at public expense
to feed low-priced energy to the big
Corporations and for massive ex-
Port to the U.S.?

At the centre is B.C. Hydro,
headed by Robert Bonner, with its
Undemocratic, pro-big business and
Continentalist policies.

The fight over hydro policy

€came particularly sharp three .
Years ago around the issue of the
Revelstoke dam. Strong public op-

position against the building of the
dam held up action for some time,
but B.C. Hydro and the provincial
government overrode all public pro-
test and construction was begun. At
the time opponents pointed out that
there were other measures. which
could be taken that would make the
dam unnecessary. They also
pointed out that the power which
would be generated by the
Revelstoke dam would be surplus
power.

That claim has now been borne
out. British Columbia has a large
surplus of power and B.C. Hydro
has applied to the National Energy
Board for permission to expand
power exports to the U.S.

Some months ago the public was
stunned by a statement by Bonner
who proposed that B.C. build dams
on all available sites and sell huge
blocks of surplus hydro power to
the U.S. as a means of generating
revenue and profit.

That statement was never
repudiated either by the board of
governors of B.C. Hydro or by the

Sub drive...

to

hare were some notable achievements in the annual subscrip-

On drive this week — Dennis Haikalis brought his total to six
ae Subs and Roger Perkins brought in five — but Marty Smith
above) gets a special mention for bringing in three new readers
“ all in one day’s work at the Carpenters Union convention. We
Nie have 50 new subscribers on a target of 200, which leaves a
\ stantial number still to go. Give us a hand. e,

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: a The Young Communist League aS,

provincial government. In fact,
there is every indication, judging
from an interview with Bonner
published in the Province on Oc-
tober 24, that B.C. Hydro is pro
ceeding along that course. :

If B.C. is to opt for’a policy of
surplus energy production it should
be as part of a tie-in with an east-
west electrical grid which would
serve the interests of this province
and all Canada. To do otherwise
could only have the effect of
strengthening continentalism and
turning the province’s valleys into
huge lakes for the purpose of pro-
viding energy to the U.S.

The building of the Site C dam on
the Peace River would be another
major step towards implementing
Bonner’s policy. The dam would
cost $1.5 billion, flood about
10,000 acres of agricultural land,
destroy forests and wildlife habitat,
endanger fisheries, and create an 80
kilometer reservoir which would
alter the climate in the whole
region.

Does B.C. need the additional
hydro power now or in the next few
years? B.C. Hydro says yes and
forecasts that demand for electricity
will grow at 6.4 percent a year for
the next 11 years. But that estimate
is contested by the B.C. Energy
Commission whose experts claim
the demand will rise at only 3.3 per-
cent a year until 1992.

The fact is there has never been
an independent estimate of the pro-
vinces power needs by an indepen-
dent agency. The reason is quite ob-
vious. B.C. Hydro and the provin-
cial government don’t want one
because by maintaining the inflated
“demand’’ they can proceed to
dam one river after another and ex-
pand exports to the U.S. while con-
tinuing to provide cheap and under-
priced power to the large multina-
tional forest and mining companies.

Experts in the energy field, in-
cluding University of B.C.
economist John Helliwell, have
pointed out that B.C.’s expanding
hydro power needs can be met for
many years to come without
building new dams. Commenting

Greeting
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Cards are a project of

B.C. Hydro’s Site C dam project
underlines power Sellout policies

on the announcement by Hydro to
proceed with the Site C dam,
Helliwell said ‘‘B.C. nelds a new
hydro rate structure — not a new
dam.”’

That statement underlines the
real problem. B.C. Hydro’s rate
structure is weighted in favor of the
big corporations. The large bulk
users get power extremely cheaply
while resident-users pay high prices.

The result of the one-sided rate
structure is that the big companies,
especially the forest companies,
which could use the wastes from the
forest industry to provide almost all
their energy needs have no incentive
to conserve energy. Helliwell charg-
ed in his statement ‘‘that with an
appropriate rate structure and an
economic use of power co-genera-
tion in the pulp and paper industry,
Site C would not be required for
quite some time.’’ The big com-
panies will not go to the expense of
installing equipment to burn wood
waste, which would cut into their
profits, as long as they can get
cheap, publicly-subsidized power
from B.C. Hydro.

In order to build the new dam
B.C. Hydro will have to go to the
international money market to
borrow the required $1.5 billion at
high interest rates. Already, B.C.
Hydro is spending 41 cents of every
dollar on debt servicing, a burden
that is borne by the public through
higher utility rates and higher taxes.

Unfortunately, the present
regulations and structure of B.C.
Hydro rule out any suitable forum
for public hearings into B.C.
Hydro’s policies, whether it be to
spend a billion dollars on a new
dam or to increase rates. The pre-
sent structure is even less
democratic than the old B.C. Elec-
tric structure, which had to justify
its rates and policies before a Public
Utilities Commission and public
hearings. — ;

The proposal to build the Site C
dam should be strongly opposed by
public-spirited organizations until
there has been a full public hearing
into the scheme. Premier Bennett
and the provincial cabinet should be
urged to hold up any action until
such a hearing is held and until
there has been a full review of
B.C.’s hydro needs and the present
rate structure, as well as the policy
of large scale exports of hydro to
the U.S. :

VICTORIA
Anniversary of the
October Revolution
The Soviet Union,

1979 :
Slide showing, commentary
with Ernie Knott
Sect’y Victoria CPC
Fri. Nov. 9, 8 p.m.
Union Centre,
Hall B
2750 Quadra St.
Victoria

CLASSIFIED
ADVERTISING

Ads must be submitted to the
Tribune office by 4 o’clock Mon-
day.

COMING EVENTS

NOV. 3. — 20th annual banquet
celebrating the Great October Rev-
olution, Sunnyside Hall, corner
18th Ave. and 154th St., Surrey at
6:30. Adm. $6; half price for child-
ren. Hear Pacific Tribune editor
Sean Griffin. Music from the ac-
claimed Stories and Songs of Chile
production. Sponsored by the
South Fraser Region, CPC.

NOV. 17 — Welcome back party
and housewarming for Allen and
Peggy Chunn. See newest slides of
Trans-Siberian railway tour of
USSR, 8 p.m. at 3074 Charles St.,
Van. Refreshments. Adm. 33.

NOV. 24 — Save this date for ban-
quet and dance following CPC pro-
vincial convention, Sat., at the
Ukrainian Hall, 805 E. Pender.

DEC. 8 — Pre-Xmas Bazaar, Ukrai-
nian Hall, 805 £. Pender. Bazaar
Committee invites craftspeople or
anyone wanting to help out, to
phone Dian at 684-3254 or Miguel
at 684-4321. —

LEGAL SERVICES

Rankin, Stone, McMurray, Bar-
risters and Solicitors. 500 Ford
Building, 193 East Hastings St.,
Vancouver 682-7471.

HELP WANTED

Due to job work load, would ap-
preciate help with housework for
six hours one day a week. $5 an
hour. Prefer Fridays. Phone Helen
at 254-4180.

FOR SALE
1980 ANC Calendars can be

_ ordered now through Danny and

Fatima Palmer. Phone 255-9404 at
2016 Kitchener St., Vancouver,
VSL 2W6. Cheques should be
payable to the African National
Congress - South Africa. Quantities
are limited of this commemorative
edition marking the 25th anniver-
sary of the Freedom Charter and
the Congress of People.

20th Annual Banquet and
Dance Celebrating the

October |
Revolution

Hear: Pacific Tribune
Editor Sean Griffin.
Music from the acclaimed
“Stories and Songs of’
Chile’ production.

Sat. Nov. 3, 6:30 p.m.
Sunnyside Hall

Corner 18th Ave. and
154th St., Surrey
6:30 p.m. Adm. $6;
Half Price For Children
Sponsored by South Fraser Region, CPC

Banquet and Dance Marking the
62nd Anniversary of the

Great October
Socialist Revolution

Feature speaker: Maurice Rush,
B.C. provincial-secretary, CPC
Cultural program includes:
KOBZAR DANCERS @ FRC CHOIR @ and others
‘Dance to the music of Spare Change
Saturday, Nov. 10 — 6 p.m.
600 Campbell Ave., Vancouver, Admission $7
Sponsored by the Greater Vancouver Regional Committee, CPC

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—NOVEMBER 2, 1979—Page 11