By Peter Josselyn

When Liberal MLAs, including a cabinet minister, came out publicly that they would not vote for deal to sell NB Power to Hydro Quebec, miraculously, two days later, a new deal was presented that had 100 per cent caucus approval. Reception to the revised memorandum of understanding (MOU) to sell the utility has been more positive than when the first MOU was announced in October.

^{NB Opposition Leader David Albright speaking to a crowd in Fredericton
Photo Credit: Kyle Albright, The Aquinian}

The vast majority of New Brunswickers were against the first deal, which is why Premier Shawn Graham had to renegotiate. Graham must also be mindful of his own political future since the scheduled election for September 2010 is not far away. Already, the NB Power deal has framed the debate and informal campaigning has begun. And that debate has taken on some pretty bizarre proportions.

If the instance of selling off provincial assets to relieve debt wasn’t unusual enough for the Liberal political stripe, the provincial Tories have taken a decidedly more unique approach in re-inventing themselves. The Leader of the Opposition, Progressive Conservative David Alward, has even spoken about nationalizing the utility if elected in NB, effectively undoing the MOU that will likely go through the legislature shortly. Many have pointed out that this position is more populist than Conservative. Nationalization could have many negative economic effects for the province as it takes on the debt load of the beleaguered utility, including reduced bond ratings.

With criticisms being lobbed from all sides, it is difficult to find out exactly what each party wants. The revised MOU ditches the unpopular aspect of selling the potentially lucrative grid of power ines to Hydro Quebec, but it still allows HQ to pick and choose which power generators it wants. This much is for certain: the MOU has eased relations between neighbouring provinces, especially Newfoundland and Labrador, which wants to eventually use the NB grid to sell energy to the potentially lucrative US market. It must also still be a good deal for Quebec, or, frankly, it would not be on the table.

Despite improvement in the deal, there is still a great deal of opposition. Some claim that the MOU is too influenced by the big industrial users in the province, who will see the greatest rate cuts. Others are worried that the valuation placed on NB Power assets is too low. Some of the more intangible assets, such as intellectual property are not included.

What even the Globe and Mail called “anti-French sentiment” (“The art of the possible”, Jan 21) is a simplistic analysis of Canada's only bilingual province. NB Power naturally has spin-offs such as sourcing of materials, workers, and services. How the deal will affect these collateral, soft assets is anyone’s guess. Still, it seems an unlikely hypothesis that rural (and predominantly French) New Brunswickers are more concerned with distrusting their neighbours than with asking legitimate questions about preserving their jobs.

Arguably, the board of directors of NB Power would be in a good position to say whether they approved of any deal to sell assets. Until a few days ago they were mum, but then released a cautious statement in favour of the revised MOU. But in New Brunswick politics nothing goes off without a hitch. The President and CEO of NB Power, David Hay, has announced his retirement effective January 31. And as for what he thinks, well, he's not talking.