Hi everybody,

I think this is a worthwhile message to pass along - I found it very thought provoking and disturbing Please have a read, and if you agree with what's said, let those who can stop the sale of Terasen know how you feel Try these links:

http://www citizensforpublicpower ca/ http://www enorthernbc com/Terasen-Petition asp

Thanks! Adam

======================================================== From: Donald Grayston grayston@PROTECTED Date: Tue, 4 Oct 2005 15:48:07 -0700 Subject: Corky Evans, democracy and Terasen Gas

Friends

Below you will find a letter from MLA Corky Evans (and thanks to Jim Hearne for passing this on to me) The gist of his letter: unless there is a very loud and articulate protest, Terasen Gas (formerly BC Gas--why the name change in advance of the proposed sale, I wonder?) will be sold to an American consortium He makes an excellent argument why this sale should not go through I plan to contact my MLA and the Premier and the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition (note that the Premier is not required to be loyal!) and protest strenuously against the possibility of this sale Please join me in so doing And if you don't know who your MLA is, now is definitely the time to find out!

Best, DG

Letter from Corky Evans MLA for Nelson Creston September 10, 2005

Dear Friends,

I am home for a day and it is raining Those two things happening at once makes me want to engage in an indoor activity that doesn't include being cold and wet Thus, this letter

I spent yesterday in Vancouver at B C Utilities Commission hearings into the matter of the sale of Terasen Gas to a Texas company called Kinder Morgan

Terasen Gas used to be called B C Gas We used to own it It is the third largest Canadian regulated utility It has assets of $5 billion

I went to the hearings to argue (in my role as Energy critic) against the position of Terasen and Kinder Morgan that the sale of the company should be accomplished without public hearings and in time for the next Terasen shareholders meeting on September 29th

I am not an expert on natural gas or pipelines or utilities I have limited experience in the field of regulatory processes I wasn't even sure when I asked to have my name added to the list of interveners what I might say

The value of electing 33 New Democrats was evident when I asked our new Caucus Research staff for some help a few days ago The fine group of new young people employed by Caucus (with their newly allocated budget determined by the number of seats that we now occupy) produced three pages of background in two hours They registered my name on the list of interested parties at the Utilities Commission and arranged to get me there

When the hearings opened the Chair explained to the thirty or forty people in the room that the Commission would not receive submissions on the advisability of the sale that day They were interested only in the argument of the two companies that the deal should be considered without public hearings and by Sept 29th, to accommodate the stockholders timetable

The first speakers were lawyers for the two companies It was during these gentlemen's speeches that I began to understand what is happening to Canada and to B C

The gist of their comments was that the ownership of a natural gas and pipeline company is no longer a matter of the public interest At most, any consideration of the public's well-being could be covered off by written submissions As I listened to these guys my first response was to be surprised by what seemed to me to be a monumental arrogance They were, essentially, speaking from a microphone in front of a group of people and saying, in the nicest and most professional manner, that those people were not a relevant part of the process

The fact that their company serves 800,000 businesses and homes from Ft Nelson south to the U S border was not even mentioned It was as if the customers could either all travel to this office building in Vancouver, or write them a letter, or stay out of the process

After I got over being stunned by the attitude of the fellows representing the companies I began to realize how hugely the world has changed in our lifetime In a way, the lawyers were not trying to insult the public; they were just stating the obvious, which is that the world is no longer about Citizenship, and the rights of citizens to regulate activities within their borders It is now about Ownership and the rights of stockholders to buy and sell their assets without undue interference by troublesome governments, customers, communities, or regulators

Canada has been most helpful in creating this new way of doing business Industry Canada has been reviewing the sale of Canadian businesses to foreign owners for twenty years All sales of businesses worth more than $237 million have to go through a process to consider the "net benefit" to Canada In the history of Industry Canada's involvement, however, not a single sale has ever been denied 10,928 sales have been considered and allowed 10,928 to zero is pretty good odds for a foreign investor to bet on

Here in B C , it used to be against the law for non-Canadians to own B C Gas Natural gas used to be considered too important an asset to allow it to be owned outside the country because it heats our homes and runs our businesses The availability of this form of energy at an affordable price was considered to be a function of the "public interest " Both New Democratic and Social Credit governments believed in the idea that resources belonged to the people of B C and used the power of legislation to defend that belief

The first crack in our historic armour came with the ending of the Bennet (W A C and his son Bill) era and the election of Bill VanderZalm as Leader of the Social Credit Party and Premier VanderZalm privatized B G Gas and changed the law to allow up to 20% of B C Gas to be owned "offshore " Even then, however, it was strictly illegal for the new company, Terasen, to be owned or controlled from another country

Then, in a legislative change that I (and I bet a lot of us) missed, Campbell's Liberal government changed the law (Bill 85, 2003) to lift the historic rules and allow Terasen to be owned by anybody in the world

As I considered all this and listened to the lawyer's arguments it finally sank in to my head why I have been nostalgic for Social Credit for some years now I have been somewhat embarrassed by my tendency to romanticize the good old days of government by a bunch of used car salesmen that I used to oppose with every fibre of my being

The difference between the fiscal conservatives of old (the Socreds) and those who now govern (the Liberals) is huge It is the abandonment of the notion of the role of the provincial government as an agent of the people It is the idea that a government is not elected to "govern" so much as to "manage " And manage in the interests of corporatism and stockholders, worldwide

When the lawyers stopped talking a great thing happened The very first citizen called to the microphone told the commissioners his name and then said "I don't have anything to say I just wanted to sing O Canada " And then he broke into song before anybody could stop him He got through the first few lines all by himself Then I started to sing with him Shane Simpson, NDP Environment Critic and also at the hearings, started to sing Then two people I didn't know joined in and then they stood up By the end of the song a half a dozen of us were on our feet singing the national anthem I even saw one of the Commissioners smile The Press loved it It changed the mood in the room and told a huge story

Shane and I and a few others made good arguments against the wishes of the companies to hold no hearings and never to leave Vancouver and to finish the process by Sept 29th I have no idea what the Commission will decide

I think I came home understanding our world better, although I admit that the nature of that understanding is hardly hopeful or optimistic I don't know his name but I thank the young blond fellow who stood up to assert his love of his country with song He was a good teacher and, I would bet $100, he may have denied those lawyers their application for a silent process concluded in two weeks

Monday the Legislature opens with a Throne Speech I think of it as The Show One of the new MLA's described it as The Prom

Carole has been working hard to make 33 people who do not know one another into a community with common goals I have been most honoured to be part of such a process No caucus that I have been part of in the past experienced the kind of collaborative orientation that she has provided this group of elected New Democrats

I realize (with chagrin) that in ten years I expended no effort to understand how a Legislature actually works I saw my job in the 1990's as making stuff happen Other people figured out how to make it legal

As Opposition it will be necessary to learn how the Parliamentary system works The rules of Parliament are all that we have to keep the government from acting in an arrogant manner Of course, I wish now that I had paid better attention to the mechanics of the work in years past Of course, I wonder (with humility) about why I did not make a greater effort to educate myself on the Rules when I had the chance to do so in a more relaxed time

I am glad for a second chance in this work Thank you for your support and patience while we, collectively, become adept at the work of Opposition

Rain stopped Bye for now,

Corky

Coordinator CUPE Island Water Watch Campaign 250-616-2156 ldickout@cupe bc ca

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