Are B.C. voters sick enough yet of being fleeced?

Given that British Columbians were already reeling from the news of the legislature scandal, the recent news that BC Hydro ratepayers are on the hook for $16 billion of unneeded run-of-the-river IPP electricity should have most voters convinced the BC Liberals should never be trusted with running the government again.

One can only imagine, the backroom deals that occurred to enable the Gordon Campbell government to ensure that BC Liberal insiders would be awarded long-term contracts to provide power at vastly inflated prices for electricity to be generated during the spring and summer, just when it was not needed.

Read more: BC Hydro forced to misspend billions on private energy contracts, report says

Read more: B.C. BUDGET: Surplus $374 million after bailouts of BC Hydro, ICBC

Adding insult to injury, the projects were built without adequate environmental oversight, damaging fish streams, and expensive hydro lines were constructed through sensitive forests and landscapes.

Over the BC Liberal tenure, if and when there was a profit at BC Hydro (and ICBC), it was diverted to general revenue to allow for more tax cuts instead of helping pay off the massive debt. As the cost of using electricity skyrockets, remember that it will only increase more once the cost of the Site C dam is included.

The BC Liberal politicians have long promoted themselves as the best party to manage the economy, but now we can all clearly see they were only the best party to further enrich their already wealthy friends and the expense of most citizens.

-Jim Cooperman

@SalmonArm

barb.brouwer@saobserver.net

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