The privatization of Canada's energy resources has taken a big leap forward with a BC Supreme Court ruling that awards multinational aluminum giant Alcan the right to sell electricity to BC Hydro.
In the 1950s, the BC government allowed Alcan to divert massive amounts of water from the Nechako River, drilling massive tunnels through entire mountains. Water from the "Kemano Project" could be used to generate electricity only for the purposes of smelting aluminum and creating jobs at Kitimat. But in the early 1990s, Alcan revealed plans for the "Kemano Completion Project" (KCP) to divert even more water from the Nechako and expand the electrical generating facilities.
The original project flooded much of the traditional territory of the Cheslatta aboriginal nation and severely damaged salmon spawning habitat. Environmental groups, the United Fisherman and Allied Workers Union, and the Cheslatta fought the KCP, which was halted by the NDP provincial government in 1995. In return, Alcan was awarded a monthly payment of $1 million from BC Hydro to compensate for "lost revenues" which would have been realized through selling electricity.
The purpose of KCP was to generate electricity to sell for profit, since Alcan had sufficient existing generating capacity for its Kitimat smelter. Alcan is now more brazen than ever; since the BC Liberals have passed legislation forbidding BC Hydro to develop new sources of electrical generation, the utility must now buy power from privately owned concerns.
The town of Kitimat took Alcan to court to stop an upgrade to Alcan's smelter which would cost 500 jobs. The company plans to shift its main emphasis to electrical production which will further reduce the number employed at the smelter, from 5500 jobs at the peak, to 1500 today. Kitimat has the fastest shrinking population in BC, falling from 14,000 to 8900 in about 20 years.
The BC Supreme Court ruling is interesting, because the plan to sell electricity to BC Hydro was nixed recently by the BC Utilities Commission as too expensive for the province. At that time it was revealed that Premier Gordon Campbell owned shares in Alcan, of which he claimed to be unaware.
Alcan has now dropped its appeal of the Commission's decision, in favour of "revamping" its proposal. BC Hydro and Alcan both say discussions on a new deal are "going well" and agreement is expected soon. In other words, the details are being tweaked, and Alcan will soon be able to sell its "surplus" electricity for a windfall profit.
The incessant drive for more and more profit is fueling the government-approved process of using public resources to generate private wealth. Nothing is permitted to get in the way; aboriginal rights, environment protection, people's jobs and security - all fall aside in the wake of this drive.
In the upcoming federal election, people need to remember these things and cast their votes appropriately. A vote for candidates of the Communist Party of Canada would send a strong message that we are fed up with the mayhem and destruction that occurs when private profit is constantly put ahead of public need.
--George Gidora is the British Columbia leader of the Communist Party, and the Communist candidate in the riding of Port Moody-Westwood-Port Coquitlam.
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