To the editor;
(“Horgan on LNG, climate and farmland,” B.C. Views, Dec. 18)
Tom Fletcher’s interview with opposition NDP leader John Horgan left me shaking my head in disbelief at the answers he gave. He certainly is no W.A.C. Bennett.
He hasn’t a clue about how business works, or any vision for the future of B.C. As a former premier of B.C., W.A.C. Bennett would say, “He could not run a peanut stand, even if the peanuts were free.”
It is no surprise that the NDP spends so little time in government, and so much time in opposition. In answer to the question about the B.C. Liberal Party building the Site C dame on the Peace River, he talks about adding 8 to 12 billion dollars onto the backs of taxpayers.
Premier Bennett built both Site A and Site B on the Peace River while at the same time paying off the provincial debt of B.C. left by previous governments.
How did he do it? He negotiated a long term contract with the Americans for the surplus power not needed by B.C. at this time, plus down stream benefits accrued to the Americans, and got the total amount in cash.
With this cash, he was able to pay for these two dams. If there is not enough money to pay for the Site C Dam, B.C. Hydro bonds could be sold to raise enough money to pay for this dam, and then redeem the value of these bonds through the sale of the hydro power created by the Site C Dam.
There is no need to increase the provincial debt load. It is too little and too late to wait until this power is needed to start building this dam. It takes a long time to settle all of the land claims, and get this dam into production, and making money. Any delay of this project will result in brownouts and even blackouts that has happened to electrical power in the U.S.A.
The longer we wait, the more expensive this project gets. We do not want that, do we?
Fred Perry
Cloverdale
