B.C. Hydro. chairman — Robert W. Bonner views British Columbia’s economic future with op- _ timism but warns . against pricing ourselves out of the marketplace or losing our reputation for reliability of supply. peaking to the annual Truck Logger Convention in Vancouver wir. Bonner said there appears to be little doubt that traditional -world demand for B.C.'s resources will continue over - the long term. But, he said, the province faces a dilemma from high a kG oe a le oduction costs,. resulting rom rising wages and other conversion costs, which now are higher than in the north- weat states. The dilemma of high production costs is twofold: (1) Prices are forced up to the point that sales are affected, or (2) we continue - to sell, but without profit, in which case modernization is delayed and plants become eventually obsolete. THE. KITIMAT TO ED- MONTON PIPELINE PROPOSAL . In:- recent weeks I have received many letters concerning the proposed Kitimat to Edmonton crude oil pipeline: ENVIRONMENTAL CONSEQUENCES I. appreciate, and share, the-coricern expressed over the possible environmental consequences of this proposal and can assure you . that, as your Member of Parliament, I am continuing to keep myself, and you, my constituerits, fully up to date on.this major issue, On the, basis of the in- . formation available so far, 1 ° do not foresee any major objections to the land route of the pipeline itself. The current. state of pipeline technology is such that, if the-, proper right-of-way allowa1ces can be obtained from tie necessary parties — ,in,luding the various Indian Bands who have unresolved claims over the lands the proposed pipeline will pass through — the line itse}f,can most probably be built..with a minimum of environmental ‘ disruption, provided. adequate en- vironmental and social care ig exercised. . . What does concern me most. profoundly, as I know it ‘concerns many residents of northwestern B.C., is the ve . thought ‘of vessels from 70,000 DWT to the 350,000 - DWT’ -‘‘supertankers”’ passing through the difficult and unpredictable waters of our.northern Pacific coast. The movement of such vessels requires the stric- test. .of environmental safeguards, and 1 am convinced that the provision and assessment — of these. safeguards must be . made an integral part of the _ pipeline proposal, — “Barrett's plan for recovery ~~ V Dave . Barrett, New Democratic Party Jeader has..proposed a six point plan to bring recovery to British Columbia’s failing economy which has been marked by rising unem- loyment. and declining nvestments in the ‘past . year... Speaking in ° the Legislature in reply to the Throne Speech, Mr, Barrett calied for: (1) an immediate reduction in rate on B.C. Ferries; (2) major grants to municipalities for winter works, the funds to come from an advance on the natural-.gas revenue and from:‘the uncollected $11 million in coal royalty. (3) revival of the oil _refinery project as proposed by the previous govern- ment; ; (4) the requirement that a steel mill be built in British ~ Columbia as part of any deal to sell coal to Japan; (6) ‘a federal-provinclal conference on wunem- It bas been said that the pipeline will give nor- thwestern B.C. a great economic shot in the arm. However, the research I have done so far indicates that, aside from the tem- porary boom of the pipeline construction phase — which will employ up to 2,000 persons, many of whom will brought in from outside areas — only 60 to 80 per- manent jobs will be created. LOSS OF FISHERIES? This, in turn, must be - weighed against the possible ‘ economic loss to our fisheries industry. The catastrophic recent oil spill over major fishing banks off the New England coast is another tragic reminder that such accidents have to be considered a question of when— notif. Given the fact that the proposed pipeline has .an expected lifespan of 15 to 20 years while. the fishing industry has been the mainstay of much of our | coastal economy for as long as there have been coastal inhabitants, and, given the fact that the federal government has committed itself to a $350 million upgrading of the fisheries industry through the Salmonid Enhancement Program, I feel that much more information will be required before a proper assessment of the costs and benefits of the proposed pipeline can be reached. in this context, though, it is worth remembering that fishing has been one of the- traditional bases of our B.C. economy,” and generated ~ ployment which would consider early retirements to create more jobs: for young Canadians and a guaranteed income if- surance program, - (6) a requirement by the federal government that all Canadian manufactured or agricultural goods be carried on: Canadian ships, built in Canada and manned ‘by Canadian crews. THIS WEEK from Ottawa lona Campagnole, $250 million in export revenues this yéar alone. As you are no doubt aware, the consortium planning the fipeline has now submitied its formal application to the National Energy Board for a ‘‘cer- tificate of public con-: venience. and necessity’. Before such a certificate can be issued, public. hearings must be held. I have written to-Mr. Mar- - shall Crowe, Chairman of the National Energy Board, requesting that these hearings be held in the area to -be affected by the development, instead of in Edmonton or in Ottawa, and tanker route through our coastal waters, and will not. support the pipeline proposal until-I am satisfied that these tankers do not present a threat, to our environment. . Ever since the Kitimat to Edmonton pipeline proposal was first made last spring, I have been collecting a file of information on it, If you would like to receive a copy of this file, or if you wish to give me your views on this most important subject, please write to me care of e House of Commons, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0X2. No postage is necessary. I wish to hear from you. A hen will lay 12 eggs for every four pounds of food it consumes—more than 200 eggs a year on the average. ‘have now received a reply a is which indicates that probably will be done. I will continue my efforts though; until that . “probably” ’ becomes a “definitely”’. COST AND BENEFITS — Again, I would like to emphasize my main con- cern with respect to this most important. issue. The proposed pipeline. offers significant economic benefits for our area, but it - also’ has the potential of being an environmental, social and eccnomic disaster. Until such time as I aia convinced that th environmental, ‘social and economic costs are reduced to an acceptable level, and that the benefits to our area — as well as to Canada as a whole ~- are maximized, then I am not prepared to give this proposal my unreserved support. In particular, I am greatly oD concerried ‘over the planned” ‘In his-speech, Mr. Barrett noted that unemployment has increased steadily during the 13 months of Social | Credit ad- ministration, rising from 82,000 in December of 1975 to 92,000 last month. As- a result) of Social Credit licies; 8.8 percent of the abour force is now unemployed, Mr. Barrett said. follows: Saturday: Announcement C.P. Air announces a change in office hours in — the Terrace Ticket Office. a Effective January 24 the hours of business are as Monday to Friday: 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. 11 a.m, to 3:30 p.m. Closed on Sundays ‘and Holidays PARTICIPALTION ~ Pour with pleasure™ — with fresh milk from prow dies ee ee ee ee ed ee eed ae Hydro chairman optimistic....with warning - — x tT nd A be = a ne =e > —— =o ts de D - ae | a Bonner said British Columbia needs new at- titudes in labour relations and a greater recognition of our vulnerability traditional markets on which our economic future as companies — depends. Discussing power development, the Hydro. chairman called for a new ‘approach in husbanding the environment. ‘*Individually and collectively we ‘all have a responsibility to protect the environment,” he said. “But it is now time to move from rigid attitudes against any disruption of the en- vironment to a positive attitude of environmental management.” ‘ "Bonner said there are those who say “no growth” is the answer despite the fact that ‘“‘our rate of unemployment demands as its solution an acceleration of our economy.” ossible a no- He warned of the consequences shoul growth philosophy prevail. “Today we have in- dividuals and groups vigorously opposed to hydro power, to thermal power and, though we aren’t ac- tively considering it at this time, to nuclear power,” he said. “Very often they are in, individuals and, the same people.” Mr. Bonnet warned that British Columbia could face wer problems similar to ose facing Ontario and the U.S. Pacific northwest if new generating plants are not developed in time to meet increasing load. An official of the Bon- neville Power Ad- ministration stated, said Bonner, that the U.S. nor- thwest is faced with at least five consecutive years in which energy deficits could exceed 12 percent of the region’s load. . Mr. Bonner said a similar situation developed in Ontario in December when extremely cold ‘weather forcing peak demands up combined with lower water conditions and technical problems. “As a result’’, said Mr. Bonner, ‘Ontario Hydro was forced to purchase power from New York state, ‘to reduce voltage and to shed some interruptible industrial load during peak riods.” Other customers also were asked to reduce consumption to avoid fur- ther “load shedding” he said. Turning to published reports of an apparent disagreement between B.C. Energy Commission and B.C. Hydro on British Columbia’s future energy THE HERALD, Wedgesday, January 26, 1977, PAGE AS: needs, he indicated that no real difference exists. “When you analyze what the Energy Commission is talking about, you find their best guess is an annual increment of about 7.2 percent for the nett 10 years,” he said. “Not being a utility, they don’t have to add a con- tingency factor to allow for unpredictable conditions, such as abnormal weather, unscheduled equipment down. time or unexpected new load,” he said. “On the other hand, Hydro bears the responsibility of. ensuring that future power supplies are adequate to meet the need.” Mr. Bonner said when a planning factor of about 1.4 recent is added to the nergy Commission's forecast of 7.2 percent, the result is 8.6 percent, which is equivalent to the 4.5 percent probable growth rate employed by Hydro. Looking to B.C.’s electric power aiternatives, the Hydro chairman said public confusion is increased . by those who point to future possibilities for which technology has not yet been developed. “Wind power and solar power (except for sup- plementary heating) are examples of simplistic solutions that are. now practical as major power sources,” he said. . Similarly, tidal power, which has been developed in a few special situations to Plastic Lucerne Homogenized & 2% Partly Skimmed Milk Available Friday ‘In The New 4 litre . provide relatively small: capacity, is not realistic for. British Columbia, where we. do not have the tidal and” catchment basin com-. bination to rake it useful:: here’, said Bonner. © : Another misconception. that can occur in looking to’ energy alternatives is.” biomass, he said. m “Being a forest endowed province, we might think of-.: an energy self-sufficient. economy.It would require ~ the annual growth of 16,000:- square miles of forest to, support biomass plants with *. a capacity equal to the: generating capacility of ~ Hydro’s existing power :: system,”’ said Bonner. °: “Thus the impact of *; biomass would appear to ». make conventional power :: sources relatively attractive -: in terms of environmental *: impact, not to mention = economics of wood. gathering. . The Hydro chairman said the ultimate solution, ‘‘now only glimpsed”, is fusion wer: harnessing of the ydrogen atom. 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