A foul smell in the pipeline

The take over of Terasen Gas by Kinder-Morgan of Texas just got a whole lot easier. Tuesday's Vancouver Sun reported (subscription required, sorry) , that in a surprising move the British Columbia Utilities Commission decided against holding public hearings about the controversial purchase.

As posted previously here on Podunk, the sale of British Columbia's main gas provider to a company born out of the demise of Enron has been the talk of the province for the last month or so.

Many felt that the BCUC would offer one last sober second look at the transaction and report back as to whether the best interests of the Province and its citizens were being met. Instead the worst fears of those against the deal from the outset have been realized, the BCUC effectively just rubber stamped the process, turning over a major instrument of energy supplies in BC to an American company.

It's a situation that will come as a surprise to the over 6,000 Canadians who e mailed the BCUC urging them to overturn the sale and short of that at least hold a public hearing into the process. Not to mention the many who have asked just what is good in this deal for BC. The Tyee has been running a series on the outsourcing of jobs in BC, the BC Fed's Jim Sinclair sees the turn over of Terasen to Kinder-Morgan as just another slip on that slippery slope.

The whole Terasen situation is an interesting story to follow, especially considering the anxiety in BC over the recent software lumber problems. Wasn't it a little while ago those residents of BC were suggesting that the Federal Gov't threaten to cutback, or tax energy sales to the US mainly from Alberta? Well, at the time the Premier of Alberta said that idea wouldn't fly in his province and who can blame him on that. Really, if the province of BC isn't willing to step in and at least investigate the sale of a major energy provider, then why should Alberta or anyone else pick up the ball for them?

While lumber and gas pipelines don't have much in common, the simple fact is that BC has washed its hands of the pipeline company turning its citizens heating gas provider over to an American company. Instead of sending a message to the US over its way of doing business on lumber, they instead have handed them the tool to increase the flow of gas out of the country. All carrot, no stick.

Even putting aside the possibility of using Terasen to get the attention of the Americans in terms that they might understand, whatever happened to serving the best interests of British Columbia?

Michael Smyth who hosts an evening talk show on CKNW, brought the surprising development to light on Tuesday evening, (check out the Tuesday audio archive for 8-8:30 for details) expect the story to gain legs as the word gets out. Corky Evans of the NDP, has been keeping the story on the burner when no one seemed inclined to listen, he may find a bit of company now that the BCUC has made its decision.

A public hearing certainly couldn't do any harm, if the deal from Kinder-Morgan is as good for the Terasen Shareholders and indirectly for BC as stated, then there shouldn't be any problems in getting that message across in a public forum.

Instead, people will now wonder if the deal wasn't something arranged a while ago, with no interest in investigating the sale, the Liberal government leaves itself vulnerable to attack from those conspiracy types that usually can't attract a large audience.

Far too often our resources seem to be sold off without a proper investigation as to the benefit to the public. While it's true no actual resource is being sold here, the only way to move that resource has just been placed in foreign hands.

So much, for a safe, secure supply of energy for Canada. There are many unofficial questions about this deal that never seemed to get answered, it's a pity we didn't even get a chance to ask them in a public forum!

With the BCUC stepping aside, only one other hurdle is in place to stop the deal. The Federal Government has made plans to review the sale and determine if it is of a net benefit to Canada. The review will be led by Lucianne Robillard, the intergovernmental affairs minister who is pinch hitting for David Emerson the Industry Minister. Emerson once sat on Terasen's board and felt he should not be involved in the discussions over a company he once was involved with. Whether the Feds will rule against a plan apparently approved by a provincial government is now the million (or in this case 6.9 billion) dollar question.

Maybe the Kinder-Morgan proposal is indeed the best thing for BC, however, the way this has been handled will certainly create more suspicion than celebration.