David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
https://youtu.be/75jjY7fs1Y4
http://charlesotherpersonalitie.blogspot.com/2020/01/2020-state-of-province-address.html#comment-form
Thursday, 30 January 2020
2020 State of the Province Address!!!! Difficult time to find Green Party Leader David Coon!!!!!!
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David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Replying to @DavidRayAmos @alllibertynews and 49 others
Content disabled
Methinks some folks may enjoy listening to what Higgy really said N'esy Pas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75jjY7fs1Y4&feature=youtu.be
2020 State of the Province Address!!!! Difficult time to find Green Party Leader David Coon!
#nbpoli #cdnpoli
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/opportunities-new-brunswick-higgs-state-of-the-province-1.5446827
Higgs promises major shakeup at Opportunities New Brunswick in state of the province address
Changes to economic development agency will include letting go of its CEO, says premier
· CBC News · Posted: Jan 31, 2020 5:00 AM AT
New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, pictured during 2019 state of the province, pledged to overhaul Opportunities New Brunswick during this year's address on Thursday night. (Stephen MacGillivray/Canadian Press)
Premier Blaine Higgs has unveiled what he calls a new direction for Opportunities New Brunswick, the province's lead economic development agency.
The premier used his second state of the province speech to confirm that the Crown corporation's CEO, Stephen Lund, won't be renewed now that his five-year contract is ending.
And to chart a new direction for the organization, he said the province consulted experts, business leaders and economists to set a new course for ONB.
"What we heard, essentially, is that we need to embrace a pro-growth agenda now," he told a crowd of business and community leaders gathered at the Fredericton Convention Centre.
Boosting immigration
That means finding a way to fill an expected 120,000 jobs that will become vacant in the next decade and pushing the federal government to increase the maximum number of immigrants the province can take in from 7,500 to 10,000 per year.
Higgs floated the idea of trying to grow New Brunswick's population to one million people by 2040, an increase that he says would boost the province's gross domestic product by $15 billion and add 100,000 jobs.
The embrace of Opportunities New Brunswick, and the premier's effusive thanks to Lund, marks a change for the premier.
Premier Blaine Higgs announced Thursday his government will not be renewing the contract of ONB CEO Stephen Lund, pictured. (CBC New Brunswick)
As opposition leader, he denounced corporate subsidies and called for the CEO's firing over unimplemented recommendations made by the auditor general in the wake of the Atcon loan fiasco.
But Thursday night Higgs praised Lund "for his steady commitment to New Brunswick's growth, and for his role in helping to shape the future of ONB." Lund was hired by the previous Liberal government in February 2015.
New vision
Higgs said an overhauled ONB will play the lead role in implementing his vision of economic growth driven by the private sector and unencumbered by government bureaucracy, generous subsidies and political interference."Government actions can strangle us. They can drag us down. They can suffocate us with high taxes. They can drive people away to work in other provinces. And they can make our businesses uncompetitive by driving up cost," he said.
"It is a vicious cycle, and the worst is when the government has to step in to prop up industry sectors that became uncompetitive because their cost to operate climbed too high."
The new vision for ONB includes helping businesses navigate red-tape and opening offices in Europe and India. (Opportunities New Brunswick)
Since taking power in 2018 Higgs has spoken often of shifting ONB's focus. The organization's budget was reduced by $7 million in the first Progressive Conservative budget and 24 positions were eliminated last June.
Higgs said the agency will become the single point of contact for potential investors, using a standardized evaluation process that is transparent and "free of political interference."
Higgs said the province will open another overseas office in India, this one to attract skilled workers and investors.
The PC government signalled a shift from job creation to employee recruitment last November when it said its 19 regional economic development offices would shift part of their focus to helping employers find skilled workers to fill vacancies.
Higgs said last night the provincial government will also become "a model user" of new technology to set an example for businesses adopting new tools and will launch a new marketing campaign to promote New Brunswick's brand.
"We need to talk about what is great about this province and there is plenty," he said. "We will showcase our success stories, especially those companies that are embracing immigration, exporting globally, and adopting innovation to drive productivity."
NB Power and health care
Higgs also signalled new moves in other areas, saying he has asked NB Power to develop a plan to reduce its level of debt without affecting power rates.
And he confirmed that he'll be announcing major changes to the health-care system within weeks to address an aging population and labour shortages.
He also said the province will use some of the money it's saving thanks to lower interest payments on a smaller accumulated debt to address addiction and mental health issues.
"There are no easy answers, but our government is committed," he said. "This is an issue that can't be ignored."
203 Comments
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks some folks may enjoy listening to what Higgy really said N'esy Pas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75jjY7fs1Y4&feature=youtu.be
Jim Cyr
This
network’s radio coverage of the address was beyond shameful. Never was
it more apparent that anything with a red L attached to it gets praised
by their panel of talking heads (and their news division). Any anything
with a blue C gets automatically panned. Disgraceful bias.....and it’s
from state-run media, no less!
David Amos
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75jjY7fs1Y4&feature=youtu.be
Roy Kirk
Kill ONB, take its budget, and use it to reduce the tax burden on low wage workers.
Roland Godin
And le nord du Nouveau-Brunswick is to south New Brunswick what Alberta is to Canada, a natural resource supply chain feeder...et voilà.
Ned MacAllister
Methinks that David Amos in a wanna be Politician who think's he knows everything. He put his name forward several times but never made the grade. He comments on every post on here but he sways with the wind. No credibility on anything just somebody that wants to but into every post and give his opinion. Just another disgruntled loon. Nes'y Pas ?????
Rick Haars
NB power guy has to go as well.
David Amos
Reply to @rick haars: Methinks everybody but you must know that Mr Thomas is gone next month he is just waiting on Minister Mikey Holland to hold a fancy dinner in his honour and give him a golden handshake and brown paper bag as he heads out the backdoor N'esy Pas?
Jake Newman
Wayne Wright
Making changes at ONB is fine but I hope Higgs is wise enough to NOT change the name just because the Gallant Liberals renamed it. Nothing wrong with the name but changing it will cost PNB thousands of dollars to do that then thousands more just in stationary, etc.
The usual, the winner has the privilege to repaint with their political colour an already thick refurbished framed tableau...et voilà.
Fred Brewer
Higgs asked NB Power to develop a plan to reduce its level of debt without affecting power rates. They have a plan. Phase one of the plan was Joi magic beans. Phase two is perpetual motion, and phase three is cold fusion. Higgs should come up with a plan of his own that involves cleaning house at NB Power including its board of directors.
Mabel Short
so many NBers left new brunswick for Alberta in the last decades...not because of no jobs in new brunswick but because they were english speakers and weren't wanting sweeping street with their Phd's education. this is the truth of the jobs matter. so i suggest Higgs make an economic agreement with the province of Alberta...allowing free trade between the provinces,
tapping into the technical expertise of albertan business, allowing direct flights between calgary and edmonton and Moncton and Saint john. ....developing a trading road without stops from new brunswick to Alberta...perhaps passing thru Maine instead of Quebec. I think this would be a successful future for the 2provinces.....
And respect spells the same in les deux langues officielles...EH!
Tom Simmons
Well,
we need more housing....200000 +/- people will require 50000 unit +/-
at 100000 a unit, 5 billion. along with upgrade to sewage, water, elect.
Need more 3 or 4 more hospitals. Need 20 more schools. Better start
that right away 20 billion investments required over the next twenty
years.
David Amos
David Amos
Reply to @Chuck Stewart: Methinks you should speak for yourself Trust that I am no communist and that my political foe Higgy knows I do not abuse hospital services. I have to pay cash for my Health Care because his minions won't give me back my Medicare Card that I got when it was first created which was no doubt long before you were born N'esy Pas?
Tom Simmons
Reply to @Chuck Stewart: It's sarcasm. I don't expect government do anything but keep the border secure. That being said we will need a massive amount of capital investment and labour in order to grow our province they way Higgs is proposing (which I'm against). I agree about spending on Health as well, but we have a dual system and that isn't going anywhere.
Mabel Short
Reply to @Tom Simmons: if you all were reallly smart you would make Higgs et al cut out all language dispots in filling all provincially funded jobs...let the two languages concept go back to the hell from which it came....hire NBers that are revied by public servants for jobs in government only for experience and for formal educations......new brunswick needs to allow resident citizens to be given the senior jobs in the bureaucracy based on education and experiences only..no language restrictions.....and make sure only residents of NB can be hired for any jobs that are paid for by the NB taxpayers.
Robert G. Holmes
Did I miss something? No re-structuring of NB Power, to take advantage of the Atlantic grid interconnect with Hydro Quebec? Short term "vision" is a problem in NB.
Siemens and NB Power strike smart grid pact
CBC News · Posted: Jul 25, 2012 11:00 AM AT
"Siemens Canada and NB Power have struck an agreement that will see the global technology company create a 10 year energy road map for the province.
The new partnership also sees the company open a new research and development centre in Fredericton.
Gaëtan Thomas, the president and chief executive officer of NB Power, said the use of the smart grid technology will help customers in the future.
"This relationship will be long lasting, and will modernize the New Brunswick electricity system and the way our customers view their own electricity consumption. It will also provide long-term benefits to our customers," Thomas said in a statement."
Invest NB will be subsidizing a portion of those jobs, but CEO Robert MacLeod would not comment on how much the deal would cost taxpayers, saying that figure is still being finalized.
"NB Power will pay Siemens for that service, which could cost millions of dollars per year.
Jan Mrosik, the global head of Siemens Smart Grid, said the global technology company is looking forward to setting up in New Brunswick.
"We'll save hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run and this means that NB Power will have to spend much less in generation," Alward said.
Lou Bell
Meanwhile
Higgs Liberal predecessor has been hired to implement all his FAILED
ideas as a new hire in Ontario . Must be gonna take Melanson , Boudreau
and his other SANB compatriots to help the disgraced SANB pahpet
implement them !
"As opposition leader, he denounced corporate subsidies and called for
the CEO's firing over unimplemented recommendations made by the auditor
general in the wake of the Atcon loan fiasco.
But Thursday night Higgs praised Lund "for his steady commitment to New
Brunswick's growth, and for his role in helping to shape the future of
ONB."
Invest NB officially launched
20 September 2011
SAINT JOHN, MONCTON, CAMPBELLTON (CNB) – Invest NB’s business plan framework and board of directors were announced today by Premier David Alward at the Crown Corporation’s official launch.
Alward, Economic Development Minister Paul Robichaud and Invest NB chief executive officer Robert MacLeod together visited the cities of Saint John, Moncton and Campbellton for three distinct launch ceremonies.
"To promote our pro-business environment, Invest NB will make informed, strategic decisions to capitalize upon our strengths," said Alward." The measurements included are representative of Invest NB's focus to invest public money to create high-salary jobs and to develop the economy."
The board members are:
● Denis Losier, president and chief executive officer, Assumption Life;
● Helena Cain, vice-president, Customer Care, Sales and Strategy, Bell Aliant;
● James M. Baumgartner, president and chief executive officer, Moneris Solutions Corp., pending confirmation from his corporation;
● H. E. A. (Eddy) Campbell, president and vice-chancellor, University of New Brunswick;
● Michael Campbell, vice-president and general counsel, McCain Foods Ltd.;
● René Collette, director of Business Development, TD Bank Financial Group;
● Lily Durepos, business owner and executive, Alliance Assurance;
● Martin LeBlanc, president and chief executive officer, Caprion Proteomics;
● Bill Levesque, deputy minister, Business New Brunswick, ex-officio;
● Denis Mallet, general manager, FPM Peat Moss Co. Ltd.; and
● Jeffrey S. Mitchell, senior vice-president and director of research, Strategic Advisors Inc., pending confirmation from his corporation.
Kyle
Woodman
Does
anyone know how to get on team Higgs? I'm tired of being a regular
citizen and desire all the perks that come with being part of the chosen
few. Do I simply donate lots of money to the PC party? It's confusing.
Is there an certain church or something I should start going to?
Shelley Parks
This
is such welcome news. ONB has been giving handouts to it's own
employees to start up businesses while they continue on the payroll of
same NB Government Corp. Oh! I welcome this decision and am ALL for
transparency and action that may follow any questionable findings, which
I know are running rampant there.
Bill Cosby said it best (no matter what else he did) RIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Guy Richard
This department needs to be dissolved, waste of money, millions pocketed by incompetent leadership.
David Amos
But it won't be dissolved......... let the incompetency continue!
Paul Bourgoin
I wonder where all our forest trees are going or exported and the stumpage fee's are banked where? The volume harvested should give the province stumpage gold but it appears New Brunswick is only banking pennies! The once picture province lured tourism dollars for centuries and the tourism business was excellent, like gold mines. Today, what is left is nothing. Where did the jobs go, 35,000 forestry jobs in 1982, today maybe 7000 jobs left where does the money go?
Paul Bourgoin
"Government actions can strangle us. They can drag us down. They can suffocate us with high taxes. They can drive people away to work in other provinces. And they can make our businesses un-competitive by driving up cost," Sounds like the motto of the Kings of Atlantic Canada where the Poorest Canadians Live, then move away to survive. New Brunswick the only province who doesn't need any Banks because every body is having financial difficulties.
Paul Bourque
Strong
Leadership and Vision are required to move the economy forward and
create industries that will employ the future generations of New
Brunswickers. In the absence of this, NB will continue to be a source
of talent for the rest of Canada.
Having been raised in Moncton and educated at UNB, I have lived the NB
economic reality. I left the Maritimes to start my career. In my view,
the very low economic growth and the very low population growth are tied
together.
The NB population has grown 10% in the past 40 years. Ontario's
population has grown 67%, and Canada's population has grown by 50%, over
the same period of time. These stats are partly the result of kids in
NB growing up, getting educated and leaving to start their careers. The
stats also show that the number of people moving into NB from other
parts of Canada to work is relatively low.
Leadership and Vision are required to break the endless cycle of no job
growth causing no sustained population growth and no population growth
causing no job growth.
We have never had the opportunity to elect Leadership and Vision.
David Amos
Reply to @Fred Brewer: Methinks whereas you fail to mention the Independents who go to the trouble of running and ignore all my replies to your opinions as well YOU definitely do get the governments you deserve just like your beloved Green Party Leader and I have been saying for many years N'esy Pas?
Terry Tibbs
Reply to @Fred Brewer:
I stand by my statement:
We have never had the opportunity to elect Leadership and Vision.
But I will add this: of any colour you choose to name.
Jake Newman
Higgs needs a strong majority.
Ken Dwight
I'd be more inclined to believe Mr Higgs needs a strong drink and a non renewal of his contract. If you are believing today's snow job from Mr Higgs you are definitely part of the problem and not a solution.
David Stairs
you
can bet the new CEO will be a member of the Good Ole Boys Club...
nothing new with the firing...now let's fix this problem and then move
onto NB Power ...let's let common sense and proven resumes stand...
Brian Robertson
I would love to see a real audit of the ONB to see just what we have received for our money.
I have real doubts the decisions they have made and the returns to the Province have been worth the expense.
David Peters
Wasn't ONB involved in Atcon...then refused to correct the leaky bucket, like the AG suggested? The term 'free-for-all at the trough' comes to mind.
Alex Butt
It's unfortunate but New Brunswick was, is and always will be a have not province! In a province with non functioning leadership no real jobs except government, irvings or corporations like nb power, an ever decreasing population, poor health care and education, rotten roads and infrastructure, no real enviromentalstewardship, bilingualism etc. New Brunswick is afraid of change, and that will not change.
Stephen Robertson
Matt Steele
It sounds like Higgs is trying , but so much needs to be changed as the province is facing so many issues . N.B. is saddled with high unemployment , a bottom ranked school system , a massive prov. debt, , one of the oldest populations in Canada , a healthcare system in crisis ; and a top management in the Civil Service made up of incompetent political appointments that are impossible to get rid of . Combine those issues with the forced bilingualism experiment that has drove thousands out of the province ; and no one wanting to move here.......what a mess Brian Galant has left for Higgs and Kris Austin to clean up
Marc Martin
Thomas Black
I could care less what Higgs says about anything.
Marc Martin
Fred Brewer
Mr.
Higgs said the province consulted experts, business leaders and
economists to set a new course for ONB and what we need is to embrace a
pro-growth agenda now. No kidding? Seriously? You needed all that
consultation to determine that an economic development agency needs to
be pro-growth??? How is that a "new course"? Was ONB anti-growth prior
to your consultations?
Yes, it's agenda has historically been based on nepotism.
Jake Newman
a lot of good stuff, but it'll take some time to fix all the damage done by the previous gov't, and it doesn't help having JT in power at the federal level.
Marc Martin
Get rid of the public service practice of baseline budgeting. End collective bargaining agreements, and then introduce free market solutions, including real competition.
What does Russia have to do with healthcare in NB?
In what dimension does communism consist of free market solutions involving real competition?
Communism deals in gov't backed monopolies and crony capitalism. Exactly like the ones we have here in NB...and we can all see how well that's working.
In the US, before gov't got involved heavily in the 60's, you could get a checkup for $5...now, after decades of gov't meddling, a checkup costs $4000.
Once again, healthcare has become prohibitively expensive because of gov't meddling.
What truth is being suppressed?
Exactly, healthcare costs have sky-rocketed since Obamacare came into affect...another real world example of gov't driving up costs in a sector after it attempts to take it over.
The US does not have a free market in healthcare. Not even close.
The red/blue argument is a stall, imo.
Those private clinics are so bogged down in bureaucratic red tape that has driven costs through the roof. The more red tape, the less there is a free market.
Before the gov't/unions/insurance companies/big pharma took over US healthcare in the 60's, the head doctor ran his/her private office. The doctor would decide on the patients cost for major procedures based on the patients income/line of work. The doctor had that kind of freedom then. Not anymore, it's the bureaucracy that sets the price, and they always go with the most expensive way there is, every time...driving up healthcare costs.
Healthcare costs, in the US, have been driven up after all the small take-overs/red tape done by gov't.
As someone once said, "Gov't isn't the solution to the problem, gov't is the problem."
Which claim do you doubt?...or are you now looking at re-writing history?
David Peters
When asked, this morning, if healthcare should turn to free market solutions to meet demand, Higgs said that is not a debate option. Since when does gov't decide what's debatable and what's not? The only other option is to go hat in hand to Ottawa...who is buried in debt.
On the healthcare file, in NB, it appears no one is on the healthcare consumers side. It's all about special interest groups within the industry, and their fight for the budget pie.
Monopolies are also illegal.
"...collective terror of the slippery slope."
Ppl are terrorized by the idea of a slippery slope to better, faster and cheaper healthcare? Looks like the gov't monopoly on k-12 education is paying off in spades.
Right now, there are many doctors making north of a million $/yr...and the system cannot afford to hire enough to meet demand.
A real free market doesn't rely on a zero sum, fake budget...and in a free market, the doctor's themselves would be making the $ decisions, lowering costs for patients to affordable levels. Innovation wouldn't be as strangled as it is now, either...further lowering healthcare costs, producing better, faster service.
Why don't you ask a doctor in the US if he/she makes the $ decisions as far as patient costs go?
Marc Martin
Job cuts, health care cuts, and more money to big corporations nothing new here...The cons way...
.
EVERY area he touches he fails at.
Cam Randal
Mr.
Higgs should do some research before spouting nonsence. What weed is
Mr. Higgs smoking? More immigrants equals more cheap labour for big
companies and more poverty in the province! Mr. Higgs needs to spend
more time on the CBC website to learn about the real situation.
From the CBC on January 15, 2020 "For newcomers who arrived between
2011 and 2016, the rate is as high as 71 per cent, according to the
latest Child Poverty Report Card from the Saint John Human Development
Council.
The report found nearly half of visible minority children in the province (46.7 per cent of 7,840) are living in poverty.
For immigrants, the child poverty rate was 57.1 per cent."
Lewis Taylor
My! how things change from being in opposition to Premier.
Terry Tibbs
Pretty lofty ideas there Mr Higgs for a place that offers no affordable housing, very limited healthcare, and crap for education. A place that has driven it's best and brightest away with lack of opportunity.
You sure don't live in the same NB that the rest of us do.
But yet you continue to attempt to buy our votes with our money and stories of greatness?
Good work of you can get it.
John Pokiok
https://bigcountry969.com/two-new-brunswick-cities-are-the-among-the-most-affordable/
Layton Bennett
Start by rescinding ever corporate property tax break and make them reapply in televised public hearings.
I *think* his grand plan is immigration, where he is guaranteeing the Irvings and the McCains all the minimum wage employees they could ever want.
Alison Jackson
So, when is Higgs going to tell Irving to start paying back that $40odd Billion in taxes they owe NB?
Marc Martin
Justin Time
"the worst is when the government has to step in to prop up industry sectors that became uncompetitive because their cost to operate climbed too high." Yet we continue to prop up billion dollar companies and continue to be held hostage.
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David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
Methinks there ain't no opportunity here even for the sneaky bureaucrats within Opportunities New Brunswick N'esy Pas?
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/06/opportunities-new-brunswick-eliminates.html
#cdnpoli #nbpoli
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/opportunities-new-brunswick-layoffs-1.5183843
Opportunities New Brunswick eliminates 24 full-time positions
Laid-off workers being assigned elsewhere in government, says minister
Opportunities New Brunswick has cut 24 full-time positions. (Opportunities New Brunswick)Economic Development Minister Mary Wilson confirmed Thursday that Opportunities New Brunswick, a Crown corporation set up by the previous Liberal government, has eliminated 24 full-time positions.
It has also not renewed five contract positions that have expired since March.
"The premier has made it clear that we all have to do our part to balance the budget, and ONB is no different," Wilson said in an interview.
She said the organization is now working on a plan "to operate properly with less money while aligning with new priorities."
"Hopefully, in the very near future, we'll have a spot for them," she said.
Wilson said no ONB programs are being shut down as a result of the cuts.
Opportunities New Brunswick received a $40-million budget this year from the Progressive Conservative government, down from the$47-millionbudgeted last year by the Liberals and down from the$44 million it actually spent.
Call for transparency
In opposition, the PCs under leader Blaine Higgs frequently scorned ONB's practice of providing outside companies with subsidies to set up in the province and then refusing to reveal how many jobs were actually created.
After a disagreement in 2017 between ONB and the auditor-general over how many of her recommendations the agency was following, Higgs called for the Liberal government to fire CEO Stephen Lund.
The PC throne speech last November said that "success doesn't come from luring one big employer with subsidies, it comes from seeing hundreds of small and medium businesses growing bigger."
In March, before the first PC budget, Lund said the agency was willing to shift its focus toward small businesses if that's what the new government wanted.
"We take our cue from the premier and we want to do our best to make sure we continue to help these companies grow," he said.
52 Comments
Think about it. Those 24 employees couldn't have been doing much, if they could simply be shuffled along, and the department still operates...............
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David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
https://davidraymondamos3.blogspot.com/2019/01/pcs-step-back-from-hard-line-on-onb.html
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/jobs-progressive-conservative-opportunities-new-brunswick-atcon-1.4986274
PCs step back from hard line on ONB transparency
In 2017, then-Opposition Leader Blaine Higgs called for the firing of ONB's CEO
· CBC News · Posted: Jan 21, 2019 12:25 PM AT
Economic Development Minister Mary Wilson says she has met with officials at Opportunities New Brunswick who say they are committed to transparency. (CBC)
The Tories demanded specific job-creation figures from the agency just two years ago — and called for the firing of its CEO when those numbers weren't provided — but are now counselling patience.
The shift in tone comes after Auditor General Kim MacPherson reported again last week that ONB still won't say how many jobs are created at each individual company it subsidizes.
"It's a big job for ONB to make sure they do their best to answer what the AG requires," Economic Development Minister Mary Wilson said in an interview.
She said she has met officials there and they're committed to transparency.
- Opportunities NB boss won't say if companies hitting job-creation targets
- Opportunities NB boss defends response to Atcon fiasco
- ONB won't make job creation numbers public, says CEO
Wilson also brushed aside questions about the agency's CEO, Stephen Lund.
In 2017, then-Opposition Leader Blaine Higgs called on the Liberal government to fire Lund after accusing him of misleading MLAs about MacPherson's recommendations.
No plans to remove agency's CEO
Now that Higgs is premier, Wilson said there are no plans to remove Lund.
"All I can say if we continue to look in the past, we're not going to be able to move forward," she said.
"So let's draw that line in the sand and work towards tomorrow, and see how we can make things better."
MacPherson first called for greater transparency at ONB in 2015, when she issued 19 recommendations as part of an audit into tens of millions of dollars of lost loans and loan guarantees to the Atcon group of companies.
ONB didn't exist at the time and Lund has said the Atcon money would never have been approved through his agency's more rigorous scrutiny.
Among MacPherson's 19 recommendations was one urging ONB to release figures comparing how many jobs are expected and created at each company that received a subsidy.
I recall our premier stating that over many years, there's been huge money handed out on corporate handouts, and again, where's the accountability? Are jobs being created? Job creation is the number one thing we're looking for, and that's my job going forward.- Mary Wilson, Economic Development MinisterIn January 2017, Lund got into a lengthy and tense exchange with then-PC MLA Kirk MacDonald at a legislative committee hearing. Lund refused to give MacDonald job-creation results for several companies MacDonald listed.
The Tory MLA suggested that companies shouldn't get subsidies if they weren't willing to let their job-creation results go public.
ONB said last March it could not release company-by-company results because that would reveal commercial, competitive information protected by confidentiality.
Instead, the organization says on its website how many total jobs have been promised and how many have been created. As of Friday, the site said 10,907 jobs have been committed and 4,989 have been created since ONB's inception in April 2015.
In a written statement, ONB vice-president Heather Libbey did not respond to a question about company-by-company job figures.
Instead, she said MacPherson's report "validates that ONB continues to demonstrate its commitment to improving access to and proactively disclosing how it manages and invests public funds."
More transparency needed
Wilson, a first-term MLA elected last September, at first defended ONB's decision to provide only aggregate numbers, calling it "all of their information that New Brunswickers would want to see."
But over the course of a 10-minute interview, she warmed to the need for more transparency.
"We have to be careful on those corporate handouts, absolutely," she said.
- A breakdown of the auditor general's report
- 'Living beyond our means': Auditor general troubled by debt growth
- Frequent school reforms hurt student performance, auditor general finds
She said she will be reviewing the issue in the months to come.
ONB discloses how much money it has handed out to each company, but last year it said it surveyed recipients and found 70 per cent did not want their individual job numbers released.
Auditor general upset over lack of progress
Even so, MacPherson returned to the issue in her report released last week, writing that she was "disappointed further progress has not been made on this important recommendation."
MacPherson said last week 12 of the 19 recommendations to ONB have now been implemented, up from her count of four in 2017.
The call by Higgs for Lund's firing stemmed from a disagreement over how MacPherson counted implemented recommendations.
ONB claimed in 2017 it had implemented 15 recommendations, only to be contradicted by MacPherson's count of four.
Minister doesn't see major changes coming
ONB vice-president Paul Fudge said last year they had put in place most of the extra monitoring MacPherson wanted, but, in a few cases, some files "were missing a piece of paperwork." ONB considered that an implemented recommendation but MacPherson did not.
After the auditor general contradicted Lund's count in 2017, Higgs declared, "Stephen Lund should lose his job over this. He should be fired."
But Wilson said, "in fairness, they are working very hard to make things better, accountable, transparent. I don't see any major changes coming in the near future."
The minister said in the coming months the Higgs government will launch an all-party review of ONB's mandate and will look at other ways to "energize" the private sector by lowering taxes and reducing red tape.
Commenting is now closed for this story.
David R. Amos
David R. Amos
I think anyone that starts every post with Methinks, does other readers a favour. No need to read them. Still annoying but you can skip over them.
David R. Amos
Methinks some folks may find this worth reading N'esy Pas?
https://www.halifaxexaminer.ca/featured/how-nova-scotia-has-sold-its-soul-to-cater-to-tax-avoidance-schemes-morning-file-tuesday-november-7-2017/#1.%20The%20Paradise%20Papers,%20Appleby,%20and%20Nova%20Scotia%E2%80%99s%20welcome%20to%20tax%20avoiders
"Lund, for his part, has his own interesting history:
About that NSBI job… the position used to be held by Stephen Lund, who before coming to work for NSBI worked at Butterfield Bank in Bermuda. At the helm of NSBI, he oversaw the extension of $9.1 million in payroll rebates for Butterfield Bank to expand in Halifax, but somehow neglected to mention he once worked for the bank. Lund left NSBI in August 2013, heading back to his old stomping grounds and took charge of the Bermuda Business Development Agency. But he abruptly left that job in April for unspecified personal reasons, and headed back to Nova Scotia. Lund was gobbled up by the Irvings and now works as Vice President of the Halifax Shipyard, where he uses his expertise in ladling out public funds to private corporations to design war ships, I guess.
Lund left Irving for a job as CEO of Opportunities New Brunswick, which is that province’s equivalent of NSBI. I can’t imagine how he reflects upon a career trajectory that took him from working for one of the world’s largest hedge fund banks in sunny Bermuda to an obscure posting in podunk and cold New Brunswick, but that’s his business. Still, there in New Brunswick, he’s managed to make himself the subject of a legislative controversy."
Greg Clouston
Richard Dunn
Jacques Poitras, and his liberal bias, is becoming even more annoying......if that is possible.
Dream on
Lou Bell
Lou Bell
Fred Brewer
It seems he will be a back-pedaling premier just like the rest of them.
Dianne MacPherson
12 of 19 recommendations isn't good enough, Mr. Higgs !!
Opportunities NB has been getting away with a
half-*** performance for years ....time to bring the
hammer down !!!
WHEN will the Bureaucracy in this Province ever be
FULLY held to account ????
FULLY held to account ????"
Survey Says?
In order to change the public’s perception of politics, the lies must stop
Samual Johnston
Gabriel Boucher
Yet another people that finally realized he should have voted People's Alliance!
Rod McLeod
Matt Steele
The only time the Liberals and Conservatives will listen is when they both lose.
This slush fund is simply too big for the powers to be to leave it to chance of an election...
David Peters
Harold Fitzgerald
Craig O'Donnell
...or better yet, rid of the crooked practice altogether. End all forms of corporate welfare.
David Peters
The headline could read, "Gov't backed companies refuse to give job numbers"
---------- Original message ----------
From: "MinFinance / FinanceMin (FIN)" <fin.minfinance-financemin.
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2020 18:14:24 +0000
Subject: RE: CBC is blocking me again for the benefit of NB Power and
their liberal buddies Methinks I will have to make a few calls again
N'esy Pas Rob Moore and Higgy?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
The Department of Finance acknowledges receipt of your electronic
correspondence. Please be assured that we appreciate receiving your
comments.
Le ministère des Finances accuse réception de votre correspondance
électronique. Soyez assuré(e) que nous apprécions recevoir vos
commentaires.
---------- Original message ----------
From: Newsroom <newsroom@globeandmail.com>
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2020 18:14:16 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: CBC is blocking me again for the benefit of
NB Power and their liberal buddies Methinks I will have to make a few
calls again N'esy Pas Rob Moore and Higgy?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Thank you for contacting The Globe and Mail.
If your matter pertains to newspaper delivery or you require technical
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This is the correct email address for requests for news coverage and
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---------- Original message ----------
From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca>
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2020 18:14:16 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: CBC is blocking me again for the benefit of
NB Power and their liberal buddies Methinks I will have to make a few
calls again N'esy Pas Rob Moore and Higgy?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read,
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Thanks again for your email.
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---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Thu, 6 Feb 2020 14:14:10 -0400
Subject: CBC is blocking me again for the benefit of NB Power and
their liberal buddies Methinks I will have to make a few calls again
N'esy Pas Rob Moore and Higgy?
To: robmoorefundy <robmoorefundy@gmail.com>, "rob.moore"
<rob.moore@parl.gc.ca>, premier <premier@gnb.ca>, "robert.gauvin"
<robert.gauvin@gnb.ca>
Cc: "Robert. Jones" <Robert.Jones@cbc.ca>, David Amos
<motomaniac333@gmail.com>, "Holland, Mike (LEG)"
<mike.holland@gnb.ca>, lclark@nbpower.com,
colleen.dentremont@
<Bill.Morneau@canada.ca>, premier <premier@ontario.ca>, Office of the
Premier <scott.moe@gov.sk.ca>, premier <premier@gov.ab.ca>, wharrison
<wharrison@nbpower.com>, gthomas <gthomas@nbpower.com>,
Andrea.AndersonMason@gnb.ca, jesse <jesse@viafoura.com>, news
<news@dailygleaner.com>, nben@nben.ca, "blaine.higgs"
<blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>, "dominic.leblanc.c1"
<dominic.leblanc.c1@parl.gc.ca
<Dominic.Cardy@gnb.ca>, "jeff.carr" <jeff.carr@gnb.ca>, "mary.wilson"
<mary.wilson@gnb.ca>, oldmaison@yahoo.com, andre <andre@jafaust.com>,
"Ginette.PetitpasTaylor" <Ginette.PetitpasTaylor@parl.
"Sherry.Wilson" <Sherry.Wilson@gnb.ca>, "Ross.Wetmore"
<Ross.Wetmore@gnb.ca>, megan.mitton@gnb.ca, "David.Coon"
<David.Coon@gnb.ca>, "Arseneau, Kevin (LEG)"
<Kevin.A.Arseneau@gnb.ca>, Newsroom <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>,
Nathalie Sturgeon <sturgeon.nathalie@
"steve.murphy" <steve.murphy@ctv.ca>, "nick.brown"
<nick.brown@gnb.ca>, "robert.mckee" <robert.mckee@gnb.ca>,
"Kevin.Vickers" <Kevin.Vickers@gnb.ca>, "Tim.RICHARDSON"
<Tim.RICHARDSON@gnb.ca>, "Trevor.Holder" <Trevor.Holder@gnb.ca>,
"rick.desaulniers" <rick.desaulniers@gnb.ca>, "michelle.conroy"
<michelle.conroy@gnb.ca>, "Mike.Comeau" <Mike.Comeau@gnb.ca>, "carl.
davies" <carl.davies@gnb.ca>, "carl.urquhart" <carl.urquhart@gnb.ca>,
"Cathy.Rogers" <Cathy.Rogers@gnb.ca>, "Roger.L.Melanson"
<roger.l.melanson@gnb.ca>, "Roger.Brown" <Roger.Brown@fredericton.ca>,
"ron.tremblay2" <ron.tremblay2@gmail.com>, philippe@dunsky.com,
Steven_Reid3@carleton.ca, "darrow.macintyre"
<darrow.macintyre@cbc.ca>, "Chuck.Thompson" <Chuck.Thompson@cbc.ca>,
"sylvie.gadoury" <sylvie.gadoury@radio-canada.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/
Questionable Florida investment by NB Power in spotlight at rate hearing
Utility and province spent $13M on licensing rights for technology
claiming to generate hydrogen from seawater
Robert Jones · CBC News · Posted: Feb 06, 2020 6:00 AM AT
27 comments
David Amos
Methinks my friend Roger Richard made NB Power kinda nervous too N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: NEW BRUNSWICK ENERGY and UTILITIES BOARD
Matter 458
IN THE MATTER OF an application by New Brunswick Power Corporation for
approval of the schedules of rates for the fiscal year commencing
April 1st 2020.
Held at the Delta Hotel, Saint John, N.B. on February 5th 2020.
DR. RICHARD: Now Mrs. Mitchell if you want to go to document NBP 1.27.
Page 4. Go a little bit at the bottom of the page. Ok. Are all your
unions due to negotiate their contracts in 2020?
MR. MURPHY: Yes, I believe as indicated here, we currently have our
distribution in customer service in transmission collective agreements
currently under negotiation and the generation and nuclear ones,
current collective agreements would terminate December of ’19. So
they, you know, in due course subsequently will be negotiated during
the 2020 year.
DR. RICHARD: Will it affect our financial plan?
MR. MURPHY: So recognizing these collective agreements were due, we
would make assumptions around the cost of renegotiating the collective
agreement, and we would build that into our forecast both in the test
year and in the 10-Year Plan. So there would be assumptions in there
in recognition of the fact that these were coming1 due and providing
some provision for their negotiation.
DR. RICHARD: That must explain why the union letter is the only letter
from the public that is for the increase in electricity prices. Thank
you for your time.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/
First net-zero energy home sits empty as builder struggles to find buyers
Builder says mortgage and appraisal system keeps families out of low
energy homes
Connell Smith · CBC News · Posted: Feb 06, 2020 7:00 AM AT
140 Comments
David Amos
Methinks the local government reps Rob Moore MP or his buddy Higgy the
Premier should set an example and buy it in order to live in it
themselves N'esy Pas?
BruceJack Speculator
Reply to @David Amos: Really ? Wouldn't that mean the taxpayers of NB
would be paying for it in some way?
David Amos
Reply to @BruceJack Speculator: NOPE
https://www.cbc.ca/news/
Province isn't close to hitting its electric vehicle target, and
officials blame expense
Province set 2020 goal of having 2,500 electric vehicles on the roads
Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Feb 05, 2020 5:53 PM AT
76 Comments
David Amos
Methinks I will have to make a few calls again N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks all the usual suspects should quit complaining about NB Power
and the government etc and do something. At least my friend Roger
Richard ran for public office and intervened in several EUB matters
just like I did. There is a PUBLIC EUB Hearing going on in Saint John
right now. Why not attend? At the very least clever crybabies parked
in front of computers should go to the EUB website and download the
transcript in order to read what my friend said yesterday before the
board on behalf of ordinary folks such as I N'esy Pas?
---------- Original message ----------
From: "Harrison, Wanda" <WHarrison@nbpower.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2020 01:00:01 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: EXT - Methinks some folks may enjoy
listening to what Higgy really said N'esy Pas?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
I am currently out of the office with no access to my email.
Please contact Joanne Regan at jregan@nbpower.com or 458-3711 for any issues.
Thank you
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---------- Original message ----------
From: Premier of Ontario | Premier ministre de l’Ontario <Premier@ontario.ca>
Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2020 01:00:00 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: Methinks some folks may enjoy listening to
what Higgy really said N'esy Pas?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Thank you for your email. Your thoughts, comments and input are greatly valued.
You can be assured that all emails and letters are carefully read,
reviewed and taken into consideration.
There may be occasions when, given the issues you have raised and the
need to address them effectively, we will forward a copy of your
correspondence to the appropriate government official. Accordingly, a
response may take several business days.
Thanks again for your email.
______
Merci pour votre courriel. Nous vous sommes très reconnaissants de
nous avoir fait part de vos idées, commentaires et observations.
Nous tenons à vous assurer que nous lisons attentivement et prenons en
considération tous les courriels et lettres que nous recevons.
Dans certains cas, nous transmettrons votre message au ministère
responsable afin que les questions soulevées puissent être traitées de
la manière la plus efficace possible. En conséquence, plusieurs jours
ouvrables pourraient s’écouler avant que nous puissions vous répondre.
Merci encore pour votre courriel.
---------- Original message ----------
From: Newsroom <newsroom@globeandmail.com>
Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2020 01:00:03 +0000
Subject: Automatic reply: Methinks some folks may enjoy listening to
what Higgy really said N'esy Pas?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Thank you for contacting The Globe and Mail.
If your matter pertains to newspaper delivery or you require technical
support, please contact our Customer Service department at
1-800-387-5400 or send an email to customerservice@globeandmail.
If you are reporting a factual error please forward your email to
publiceditor@globeandmail.com<
Letters to the Editor can be sent to letters@globeandmail.com
This is the correct email address for requests for news coverage and
press releases.
---------- Original message ----------
From: "MinFinance / FinanceMin (FIN)" <fin.minfinance-financemin.
Date: Sat, 1 Feb 2020 01:00:05 +0000
Subject: RE: Methinks some folks may enjoy listening to what Higgy
really said N'esy Pas?
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
The Department of Finance acknowledges receipt of your electronic
correspondence. Please be assured that we appreciate receiving your
comments.
Le ministère des Finances accuse réception de votre correspondance
électronique. Soyez assuré(e) que nous apprécions recevoir vos
commentaires.
On 1/31/20, David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
Date: Fri, 31 Jan 2020 20:59:55 -0400
Subject: Methinks some folks may enjoy listening to what Higgy really
said N'esy Pas?
To: "mary.wilson" <mary.wilson@gnb.ca>
Cc: "Robert. Jones" <Robert.Jones@cbc.ca>, David Amos
<motomaniac333@gmail.com>, "Holland, Mike (LEG)"
<mike.holland@gnb.ca>, lclark@nbpower.com,
colleen.dentremont@
<Bill.Morneau@canada.ca>, premier <premier@ontario.ca>, Office of the
Premier <scott.moe@gov.sk.ca>, premier <premier@gov.ab.ca>, wharrison
<wharrison@nbpower.com>, gthomas <gthomas@nbpower.com>,
Andrea.AndersonMason@gnb.ca, jesse <jesse@viafoura.com>, news
<news@dailygleaner.com>, nben@nben.ca, premier <premier@gnb.ca>,
"blaine.higgs" <blaine.higgs@gnb.ca>, "dominic.leblanc.c1"
<dominic.leblanc.c1@parl.gc.ca
<Dominic.Cardy@gnb.ca>, "jeff.carr" <jeff.carr@gnb.ca>,
oldmaison@yahoo.com, andre <andre@jafaust.com>,
"Ginette.PetitpasTaylor" <Ginette.PetitpasTaylor@parl.
"Sherry.Wilson" <Sherry.Wilson@gnb.ca>, "Ross.Wetmore"
<Ross.Wetmore@gnb.ca>, megan.mitton@gnb.ca, "David.Coon"
<David.Coon@gnb.ca>, "Arseneau, Kevin (LEG)"
<Kevin.A.Arseneau@gnb.ca>, Newsroom <Newsroom@globeandmail.com>,
Nathalie Sturgeon <sturgeon.nathalie@
"steve.murphy" <steve.murphy@ctv.ca>, "nick.brown"
<nick.brown@gnb.ca>, "robert.mckee" <robert.mckee@gnb.ca>,
"Kevin.Vickers" <Kevin.Vickers@gnb.ca>, "Tim.RICHARDSON"
<Tim.RICHARDSON@gnb.ca>, "Trevor.Holder" <Trevor.Holder@gnb.ca>,
"rick.desaulniers" <rick.desaulniers@gnb.ca>, "michelle.conroy"
<michelle.conroy@gnb.ca>, "Mike.Comeau" <Mike.Comeau@gnb.ca>, "carl.
davies" <carl.davies@gnb.ca>, "carl.urquhart" <carl.urquhart@gnb.ca>,
"Cathy.Rogers" <Cathy.Rogers@gnb.ca>, "robert.gauvin"
<robert.gauvin@gnb.ca>, "Roger.L.Melanson" <roger.l.melanson@gnb.ca>,
"Roger.Brown" <Roger.Brown@fredericton.ca>, "ron.tremblay2"
<ron.tremblay2@gmail.com>, philippe@dunsky.com,
Steven_Reid3@carleton.ca, "darrow.macintyre"
<darrow.macintyre@cbc.ca>, "Chuck.Thompson" <Chuck.Thompson@cbc.ca>,
"sylvie.gadoury" <sylvie.gadoury@radio-canada.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/
207 Comment
David Amos
Content disabled
Methinks some folks may enjoy listening to what Higgy really said N'esy Pas?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
David Amos
Methinks its blatantly obvious just how two faced and dumb Higgy truly
is N'esy Pas?
"As opposition leader, he denounced corporate subsidies and called for
the CEO's firing over unimplemented recommendations made by the
auditor general in the wake of the Atcon loan fiasco.
But Thursday night Higgs praised Lund "for his steady commitment to
New Brunswick's growth, and for his role in helping to shape the
future of ONB."
Lou Bell
Reply to @David Amos: And you'd have preferred he denigrate him in
front of the crowd ! Nice !! He said his contract wouldn't be renewed
, not hard to get the message . He praised Lund for " his commitment
to NB's economic growth , he just didn't say Lund achieved it ! And he
fired him . So really , what's your point ??
David Amos
Reply to @Lou Bell: Deja Vu for you and the Good Old Boys in Blue
Invest NB officially launched
20 September 2011
SAINT JOHN, MONCTON, CAMPBELLTON (CNB) – Invest NB’s business plan
framework and board of directors were announced today by Premier David
Alward at the Crown Corporation’s official launch.
Alward, Economic Development Minister Paul Robichaud and Invest NB
chief executive officer Robert MacLeod together visited the cities of
Saint John, Moncton and Campbellton for three distinct launch
ceremonies.
"To promote our pro-business environment, Invest NB will make
informed, strategic decisions to capitalize upon our strengths," said
Alward." The measurements included are representative of Invest NB's
focus to invest public money to create high-salary jobs and to develop
the economy."
The board members are:
● Denis Losier, president and chief executive officer, Assumption Life;
● Helena Cain, vice-president, Customer Care, Sales and Strategy, Bell Aliant;
● James M. Baumgartner, president and chief executive officer, Moneris
Solutions Corp., pending confirmation from his corporation;
● H. E. A. (Eddy) Campbell, president and vice-chancellor, University
of New Brunswick;
● Michael Campbell, vice-president and general counsel, McCain Foods Ltd.;
● René Collette, director of Business Development, TD Bank Financial Group;
● Lily Durepos, business owner and executive, Alliance Assurance;
● Martin LeBlanc, president and chief executive officer, Caprion Proteomics;
● Bill Levesque, deputy minister, Business New Brunswick, ex-officio;
● Denis Mallet, general manager, FPM Peat Moss Co. Ltd.; and
● Jeffrey S. Mitchell, senior vice-president and director of research,
Strategic Advisors Inc., pending confirmation from his corporation.
Lou Bell
Reply to @David Amos: This was David Alward ! Higgs wasn't running the
show . Alward was a one term failure . Like someone who runs 7 or 8
times and gets less votes than what's even on their nomination papers.
David Amos
Methinks folks should never forget that the CEO of Nb Poower Gaëtan
Thomas is gone net month or that Alward appointed Robert MacLeod a
former wannabe leader to be the first CEO of ONB. It wasn't long after
we started paying for "Not So Smart" meters that Higgy wants to push
through the EUB process before he loses the next election N'esy Pas?
Siemens and NB Power strike smart grid pact
CBC News · Posted: Jul 25, 2012 11:00 AM AT
"Siemens Canada and NB Power have struck an agreement that will see
the global technology company create a 10 year energy road map for the
province.
The new partnership also sees the company open a new research and
development centre in Fredericton.
Gaëtan Thomas, the president and chief executive officer of NB Power,
said the use of the smart grid technology will help customers in the
future.
"This relationship will be long lasting, and will modernize the New
Brunswick electricity system and the way our customers view their own
electricity consumption. It will also provide long-term benefits to
our customers," Thomas said in a statement."
Invest NB will be subsidizing a portion of those jobs, but CEO Robert
MacLeod would not comment on how much the deal would cost taxpayers,
saying that figure is still being finalized.
"NB Power will pay Siemens for that service, which could cost millions
of dollars per year.
Jan Mrosik, the global head of Siemens Smart Grid, said the global
technology company is looking forward to setting up in New Brunswick.
"We'll save hundreds of millions of dollars in the long run and this
means that NB Power will have to spend much less in generation,"
Alward said.
Rod McLeod
It will be interesting to see what his severance will be. Cha-ching!
I'm also inclined to think we could do without ONB as well.
David Amos
Reply to @Rod McLeod: I Wholeheartedly Agree Sir
Rick Haars
NB power guy has to go as well.
David Amos
Reply to @rick haars: Methinks everybody but you must know that Mr
Thomas is gone next month he is just waiting on Minister Mikey Holland
to hold a fancy dinner in his honour and give him a golden handshake
and brown paper bag as he heads out the backdoor N'esy Pas?
Jake Newman
need someone like Higgs as PM
David Amos
Reply to @Jake Newman: Methinks I should thank you for the chuckle as
I heat up my beans and franks N'esy Pas?
Wayne Wright
Making changes at ONB is fine but I hope Higgs is wise enough to NOT
change the name just because the Gallant Liberals renamed it. Nothing
wrong with the name but changing it will cost PNB thousands of dollars
to do that then thousands more just in stationary, etc.
David Amos
Reply to @Wayne Wright: Waste Not Want Not. Methinks many agree that
ONB should be shut down ASAP. In my humble opinion the stationary
could be given to the homeless to burn in their campfires as they try
to stay warm while heating up their beans and franks and dreaming of
fancy dinners Lucien and Higgy and their well heeled cohorts attend
with lots of fine looking French ladies to talk to in the Chiac lingo.
N'esy Pas?
Fred Brewer
Higgs asked NB Power to develop a plan to reduce its level of debt
without affecting power rates. They have a plan. Phase one of the plan
was Joi magic beans. Phase two is perpetual motion, and phase three is
cold fusion. Higgs should come up with a plan of his own that involves
cleaning house at NB Power including its board of directors.
David Amos
Reply to @Fred Brewer: Methinks if you were a wiseguy you would attend
the next public hearing before the EUB of the 357 Matter Trust that
Minister Mikey Holland and his pal your beloved Green Party Leader
know that I have few things to say about a very questionable Yankee
Strawman Report created under Chatham House Rules for the benefit of
NB Power and corporate pals whom ONB has giving our money to for
years. Many folks no doubt agree that Mini Nukes and the "Not So Smart
Meters" are just like the Joi Scientific nonsense and are definitely
not in the best interests of citizens who own NB Power N'esy Pas
Mabel Short
so many NBers left new brunswick for Alberta in the last decades...not
because of no jobs in new brunswick but because they were english
speakers and weren't wanting sweeping street with their Phd's
education. this is the truth of the jobs matter. so i suggest Higgs
make an economic agreement with the province of Alberta...allowing
free trade between the provinces,
tapping into the technical expertise of albertan business, allowing
direct flights between calgary and edmonton and Moncton and Saint
john. ....developing a trading road without stops from new brunswick
to Alberta...perhaps passing thru Maine instead of Quebec. I think
this would be a successful future for the 2provinces.....
David Amos
Reply to @mabel short: Methinks you are preaching to the choir but the
preacher this article is about is under orders not to listen N'esy
Pas?
Tom Simmons
Well, we need more housing....200000 +/- people will require 50000
unit +/- at 100000 a unit, 5 billion. along with upgrade to sewage,
water, elect. Need more 3 or 4 more hospitals. Need 20 more schools.
Better start that right away 20 billion investments required over the
next twenty years.
David Amos
Reply to @Tom Simmons: True
Chuck Stewart
Reply to @Tom Simmons: When did it become the duty of government to
build you a house, have we become a communist society where the state
looks after you ? Also we have too many hospitals, what we need is a
public that does not abuse hospital services. WE are have about 20 %
of the population of Toronto yet we have 85 % of Toronto's budget.
David Amos
Reply to @Chuck Stewart: Methinks you should speak for yourself Trust
that I am no communist and that my political foe Higgy knows I do not
abuse hospital services. I have to pay cash for my Health Care because
his minions won't give me back my Medicare Card that I got when it was
first created which was no doubt long before you were born N'esy Pas?
On 1/22/20, David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com> wrote:
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: "Harrison, Wanda" <WHarrison@nbpower.com>
> Date: Wed, 22 Jan 2020 00:04:16 +0000
> Subject: Automatic reply: EXT - Too Too Funny Methinks the LIEbranos
> could use a little Deja Vu N'esy Pas Ross Wetmore?
> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>
> I am currently out of the office with no access to my email.
>
> Please contact Joanne Regan at jregan@nbpower.com or 458-3711 for any
> issues.
>
> Thank you
>
>
> ______________________________
> This e-mail communication (including any or all attachments) is
> intended only for the use of the person or entity to which it is
> addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If
> you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, any use, review,
> retransmission, distribution, dissemination, copying, printing, or
> other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this e-mail, is
> strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please
> contact the sender and delete the original and any copy of this e-mail
> and any printout thereof, immediately. Your co-operation is
> appreciated.
> Le pr?sent courriel (y compris toute pi?ce jointe) s'adresse
> uniquement ? son destinataire, qu'il soit une personne ou un
> organisme, et pourrait comporter des renseignements privil?gi?s ou
> confidentiels. Si vous n'?tes pas le destinataire du courriel, il est
> interdit d'utiliser, de revoir, de retransmettre, de distribuer, de
> diss?miner, de copier ou d'imprimer ce courriel, d'agir en vous y
> fiant ou de vous en servir de toute autre fa?on. Si vous avez re?u le
> pr?sent courriel par erreur, pri?re de communiquer avec l'exp?diteur
> et d'?liminer l'original du courriel, ainsi que toute copie
> ?lectronique ou imprim?e de celui-ci, imm?diatement. Nous sommes
> reconnaissants de votre collaboration.
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
> Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2020 09:18:46 -0400
> Subject: Attn Lori Clark Why do yo keep asking Roger Richard if I will
> be attending the EUB hearing?
> To: lclark@nbpower.com, colleen.dentremont@
> Cc: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>
> Obviously I am not there today nor am I coming so the Saint John cops
> can quit hanging around the meeting rooms at the Delta looking for me
> and do something important like catching crooks If you wish to speak
> to me I have no doubt that Colleen Dentremont saved my cell number
> after she finally called me back last week
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: "Harrison, Wanda" <WHarrison@nbpower.com>
> Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2020 12:21:19 +0000
> Subject: Automatic reply: EXT - Methinks Jacky Boy Keir and his
> LIEbrano cohorts are too Happy Happy Happy these days to suit some
> folks N'esy Pas Minister Mikey Holland?
> To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
>
> I am currently out of the office with no access to my email.
>
> Please contact Joanne Regan at jregan@nbpower.com or 458-3711 for any
> issues.
>
> Thank you
>
>
> ______________________________
> This e-mail communication (including any or all attachments) is
> intended only for the use of the person or entity to which it is
> addressed and may contain confidential and/or privileged material. If
> you are not the intended recipient of this e-mail, any use, review,
> retransmission, distribution, dissemination, copying, printing, or
> other use of, or taking of any action in reliance upon this e-mail, is
> strictly prohibited. If you have received this e-mail in error, please
> contact the sender and delete the original and any copy of this e-mail
> and any printout thereof, immediately. Your co-operation is
> appreciated.
> Le pr?sent courriel (y compris toute pi?ce jointe) s'adresse
> uniquement ? son destinataire, qu'il soit une personne ou un
> organisme, et pourrait comporter des renseignements privil?gi?s ou
> confidentiels. Si vous n'?tes pas le destinataire du courriel, il est
> interdit d'utiliser, de revoir, de retransmettre, de distribuer, de
> diss?miner, de copier ou d'imprimer ce courriel, d'agir en vous y
> fiant ou de vous en servir de toute autre fa?on. Si vous avez re?u le
> pr?sent courriel par erreur, pri?re de communiquer avec l'exp?diteur
> et d'?liminer l'original du courriel, ainsi que toute copie
> ?lectronique ou imprim?e de celui-ci, imm?diatement. Nous sommes
> reconnaissants de votre collaboration.
>
>
> https://davidraymondamos3.
>
>
> Tuesday, 21 January 2020
>
> Smart meter critics change tone on NB Power's new business case
>
>
> https://twitter.com/
>
> David Raymond Amos @DavidRayAmos
> Replying to @DavidRayAmos @Kathryn98967631 and 49 others
> Methinks folks should thank Dr. Roger Richard He went to a great deal
> of effort and expense to bring Dr. Paul Heroux and Dr. Francis
> Tatoutchoup before the EUB to speak in defense of our interests N'esy
> Pas?
>
> https://davidraymondamos3.
>
> #nbpoli #cdnpol
>
> https://www.cbc.ca/news/
>
>
> Smart meter critics change tone on NB Power's new business case
> Outside energy consultants say tweaked plan ‘a good business case’
>
> Robert Jones · CBC News · Posted: Jan 21, 2020 6:00 AM AT
>
> NB Power's $92-million smart meter plan has been under the microscope
> during EUB hearings this month. (Robert Jones/CBC)
>
> NB Power's $92-million plan to buy and deploy smart meters in New
> Brunswick got a late endorsement Monday from a pair of consultants
> unconnected to the utility who had lobbed early criticisms at the
> project — a change in tone not lost on at least one Energy and
> Utilities Board member who will soon be deciding its fate.
>
> "Both of you there just gave some compliments to NB Power on their
> business case. So you think this is a well-prepared business case?"
> asked EUB member Michael Costello during the testimony of Philip
> Diodomenico and Kathleen Kelly, consultants with Daymark Energy
> Advisors Inc. of Worcester, Mass.
>
> Diodomenico and Kelly were hired by public intervener Heather Black to
> independently review NB Power's smart meter plan and told Costello
> despite some shortcomings it is a much better proposal than they have
> dealt with elsewhere
>
> "Generally, the business case is a good business case," said Diodomenico.
>
> U.S. energy experts Philip Diodomenico and Kathleen Kelly gave NB
> Power high marks for its smart meter plan on the final day of witness
> testimony, despite being critical in a November report. (CBC)
>
> "It's made good use of outside consultants and expertise. It's taken a
> conservative approach in a number of areas, not everywhere, but in a
> number of areas. Yeah, so it's a good business case."
>
> Kelly said although NB Power might be underestimating expenses and
> overestimating benefits of its smart meter plan by several millions of
> dollars, it still looks to be a solid investment.
>
> "We've tried to take some of the assumptions and expand them and make
> them more conservative to make ourselves more comfortable with it,"
> said Kelly.
>
> "We've reduced the benefit cost ratio, but we haven't seen it go to
> one [break even] or lower."
>
> EUB member Michael Costello is one of three who will decide the fate
> of NB Power's smart meter plan and was struck by compliments it was
> getting from experts hired by the public intervener. (CBC)
>
> Black recommended against the adoption of NB Power's smart meter plan
> during the utility's first application in 2018 and, although she has
> expressed no personal opinion on the matter so far this time, her
> experts gave the utility's case an important boost at a critical time.
>
> The two said they would not recommend against the project moving
> forward if NB Power expands on a risk assessment of things that could
> go wrong and how they might be fixed and develops acceptable ways to
> measure whether the meters are accomplishing predetermined goals.
>
> New Brunswick public intervener Heather Black opposed NB Power's smart
> meter application in 2018, but experts she hired for the current
> application are giving it high marks. (CBC)
>
> Diodomenico and Kelly were the final two witnesses to be called during
> the hearing, which has lasted six days and moves to final arguments on
> Wednesday.
>
> Extent of financial benefits questioned
>
> NB Power has presented evidence suggesting its acquisition of 360,000
> smart meters will provide 16 financial benefits that together will
> exceed the projected cost of the project by $31.1 million over 15
> years.
>
> Although Diodomenico and Kelly said that net benefit number is
> probably too high, it's likely not zero, something a second
> independent expert was less certain of.
>
> Alice Napoleon, a senior associate with Synapse Energy Economics of
> Cambridge, Mass., also testified Monday.
>
> A third U.S.-based energy expert who testified Monday about NB Power's
> smart meter plan was less flattering. Alice Napoleon was hired by the
> EUB and testified over the phone the proposal is risky for NB Power
> customers and may cost more than it makes. (Synapse Energy Economics)
>
> Synapse was hired to independently evaluate the smart meter plan as
> well, but by the Energy and Utilities Board itself.
>
> Napoleon told the board it is unclear from her analysis — because of
> vagueness in NB Power's numbers — whether the project will be a
> financial benefit or liability in the long run.
>
> "We find that NB Power has presented a proposal that, under plausible
> conditions, would result in benefits to ratepayers," said Napoleon in
> her opening statement.
>
> "Under alternative but still plausible conditions, the proposed AMI
> (advanced metering infrastructure) plan might not provide net benefits
> to customers."
> Intervener raises health concerns
>
> Also testifying Monday was McGill University lecturer Paul Heroux, who
> was called by intervener Roger Richard, a staunch opponent of smart
> meters.
>
> Heroux said his research shows that even low levels of radiation, like
> from radio frequencies that will be constantly emitted by smart
> meters, pose a health hazard to humans.
>
> NB Power rate used to justify smart meters 'low,' says expert
>
> Expert says true smart meter value won't emerge until after they're
> approved
>
> "We have been for a long time influenced by this radiation
> unknowingly," said Heroux.
>
> Earlier in the hearing, Dr. Michele Plant, a witness for NB Power,
> testified there was "no carcinogenic risk" from radio waves or
> frequencies at "an exposure level thousands of times higher than those
> measured near a smart meter."
>
> In the hearing two years ago, the EUB ruled it could find no credible
> evidence that smart meters posed any health risks.
>
>
> CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices
>
>
> 70 Comments
> Commenting is now closed for this story.
>
>
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Methinks Higgy and Minister Mikey would agree that their silence on
> this topic speaks volumes to political animals such as I. For a year
> they could have picked up the phone to stop this "Not So Smart" Meter
> madness and saved us 100 million loonies in the process. Instead the
> conservatives opted to roll the dice and leave the matter in the hands
> of EUB Commissioners all of whom are politically appointed liberal
> buddies. Its a wicked game and I am very curious as to how it will
> play out but I have no doubt whatsoever Jacky Boy Keir already knows
> N'esy Pas?
>
>
>
>
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @David Raymond Amos: "Intervener raises health concerns Also
> testifying Monday was McGill University lecturer Paul Heroux, who was
> called by intervener Roger Richard, a staunch opponent of smart
> meters."
>
> Go Figure
>
> NEW BRUNSWICK ENERGY and UTILITIES BOARD
>
> Matter 452
>
> IN THE MATTER OF an application by New Brunswick Power Corporation for
> approval and Advanced Metering Infrastructure capital project
>
> Held at the Delta Hotel, Saint John, N.B. on January 20th 2020.
>
> Page 880
>
> Q. - Oui merci. Si la Commission accepterait les compteurs
> intelligents et le compte de report en ce qui concerne l’amortissement
> de leur valeur comptables restant des compteurs d’électricité
> actuellement installes d’Énergie Nouveau Brunswick, est-ce que cela
> affecterait votre travail ou votre revenu?
> A. Non.
> Q. - Merci. Depuis quand on se connait, vous et moi?
> A. On s’est connu il y a plusieurs visages qui sont familiers. J’étais
> dans la session précédente, il y a un ou deux relativement à la même
> question, j’étais ici. Vous étiez là. Monsieur Furey, je le reconnais.
> DR. RICHARD: Merci. Monsieur le président, je demande respectueusement
> à la Commission de reconnaitre Docteur Héroux expert dans la
> technologie des ondes.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Donc c’est un peu différente de ce que vous avez envoyé
> par courrier électronique. Si je relis votre courrier électronique que
> vous avez envoyé aux parties, Docteur Richard, vous avez l’intention,
> dans ce moment-là de le reconnait comme un expert en tant que
> physicien chercheur dans les technologies des ondes. Est-ce que vous
> mainteniez cette…
> DR. RICHARD: Oui
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @David Raymond Amos: Continued
>
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Okay, merci. So there is -- I am just wondering if
> there is anybody who is objecting to the qualification of Dr. Heroux
> in the area of expertise that Dr. Richard has suggested? So hearing
> nothing, Dr. Heroux will be recognized -- and I will say this in
> French -- Comme un expert en tant que physicien chercheur dans la
> technologie des ondes. Docteur Richard?
> Q. - Oui, merci. Madame Mitchell si vous pouvez remettre le document
> RR 1.03. Merci. Si je comprends bien monsieur le président, Docteur
> Héroux a droit à un opening statement?
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Oui Docteur Richard, et j’aimerais juste vous rappelez
> Docteur Héroux que vous n’avez pas besoin de nous relater votre
> rapport. On l’a lu. On a pris connaissance de votre rapport. Si vous
> voulez donner peut-être juste un sommaire de vos conclusions. À ce
> moment-là, lorsque vous avez donné ça, les parties vont pouvoir vous
> contre-interroger sur le rapport.
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @David Raymond Amos: Continued
>
> MR. FUREY: Excuse me, Mr. Vice-Chair. We have been provided with no
> opening statement.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: No, he is not giving an opening statement, Mr. Furey.
> He is just providing a conclusion of his report -- a short conclusion
> of what his report is.
> DR. HEROUX: So I have a number of pages and on the first page I talk
> about the potential advantages of smart meters. Then on the second
> page I talk about the fact that meters, when installed, could become a
> significant source of exposure beyond what is initially intended. Then
> I talk about the difference between heat, recognizing heat only as an
> agent, versus recognizing the field as a biologically active agent and
> how I would say companies have avoided recognizing fields and only
> recognize heat and I talk as well about the fact that recent research,
> the National Toxicology Program, the Ramazzini Institute have changed
> the situation and that -- also that it is likely that the public
> health community will change its recommendations in the very near
> future in relation to biological impact. That smart meters are special
> in the sense that most people can choose to avoid exposures from cell
> phones or from other devices, but that a smart meter is sort of
> blanket imposed on a number of people, that this question is important
> to -- is well known in society that epidemiologists are detecting that
> some increases in diseases are occurring and that the pattern of
> damage that is seen in animal models is not compatible with the
> engineering view that is based on heat.Is that short enough?
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @David Raymond Amos: Continued
>
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Thank you, sir. Autre choses Docteur Richard avant que
> votre témoin soit contre-interroger?
> DR. RICHARD: Non.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Ok merci.
> Mr. Furey, I am just wondering how long you are going to be? It is
> getting close to a morning break and if you anticipate to be --
> MR. FUREY: I have no questions, Mr. Vice-Chair.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Okay, thank you. Mr. Bourque, do you have any questions
> for this witness?
> MR. BOURQUE: Yes, I do.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Can you move forward please?
> MR. BOURQUE: Thank you.
> CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. BOURQUE:
> Q. - The first question is what is the health implications for
> children and pregnant women that stay at home all day?
> A. Well I do promote the idea that in schools, for example, we should
> not use wifi because of experimental evidence that we have on
> modifications seen in the brains of rats following exposures to wifi.
> And as you know, the radiation from smart meters is not very different
> from that of wifi. So contrary to the report of Dr. Plante who does
> not believe that the electrosensitive people are real, I believe that
> they are very real, that they are only a small fraction of the
> population but that chronic exposure to these fields from smart
> meters, either alone or in combination, because of the length of
> exposure, can have an effect that is physiological and perhaps even
> irreversible. So I believe that this is a serious question and you may
> be aware that a number of countries in the world already, it is
> forbidden to use wifi near very young children. So when you were
> talking about brains in development, a number of connections are being
> made that are -- that depend on very delicate processes that can be
> influenced, in my opinion, by electronic waves.
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @David Raymond Amos: Continued
>
> Q. - Thank you. Would this have an effect on the elderly also that are
> confined to, you know, homes, that can’t get out?
> A. Yes. I don’t know if you have been given a copy of my most recent
> publication relating to oxygen and magnetic fields? Has this been
> provided, Dr. Richard?
> DR. RICHARD: Non malheureusement je ne l’ai pas déposé.
> A. A just completed work --
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: So if it is not in the public record before us, Dr.
> Heroux, I would ask you not to comment on it.
> WITNESS: So I would not comment on the publication but can I comment
> on the work leading to the publication or --
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Well if it is not before us, it is hard for us to
> understand what was written and to have the parties to question on it
> so, no, I would ask you not to comment on it.
> WITNESS: Then to answer the question is that there is a large body of
> literature that is not connected to me that already exists, that says
> that exposure to electromagnetic radiation increases free radicals.
> Maybe you know what free radicals are. Those are molecules that are
> activated in the body that can create damage and there is a very
> substantial literature that says that exposure to electromagnetic
> radiation, even at low intensities, can increase the amount of free
> radicals in the body.
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @David Raymond Amos: Continued
>
> Free radicals, by physiologists, are implicated in a large number of
> chronic diseases. In other words, you may not feel these effects
> immediately but you will feel them later either by increases in the
> rates of disease or by diseases progressing more quickly. This is what
> free radicals are understood to do. And they do this in very, I would
> say important diseases, for example, in diabetes, which is 25 percent
> of your health budget, in things like Alzheimer’s and in Parkinson’s.
> And indeed there are people who promote the idea that these individual
> diseases are connected with electromagnetic radiation exposures and
> these connections are observed not only with cell phones, but they are
> observed with even proximity to a cell tower, which is if you live
> within 500 meters of a cell tower, that is low field intensities, we
> observe health changes in relation to this. So this was essentially
> confirmed not only by epidemiology in the field, but also by the data
> of the Ramazzini Institute which was released at the same time as the
> National toxicology program that studied the -- I would say the
> effects of cell phones.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Methinks a lot of folks should thank my friend Dr. Roger Richard
>
> At the very least Minister Mikey Holland and his political cohorts
> cannot deny that my friend went to a great deal of effort and expense
> to bring the expert witnesses Dr. Paul Heroux and Dr. Francis
> Tatoutchoup before the EUB to speak in defense of our rights and
> interests AGAIN N'esy Pas?
>
> BruceJack Speculator
> Reply to @David Raymond Amos: let's wait to see if the effort was
> successful . . .
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @BruceJack Speculator: Methinks that person who does not have
> enough class to use his real name should at least thank your neighbor
> for trying to defend what you hold so dearly in your wallet N'esy Pas?
>
> BruceJack Speculator
> Reply to @BruceJack Speculator: was that the guy talking about radio
> waves or something? what about the hazard from 60 hertz power itself
> all 24 hours . . . what about the use of cell phones or in-house
> portable phones . . . for a smart meter why not just put a metal
> shield on the wall behind it ? would that protect the residents? maybe
> wear a hat with a metal shield and save oneself from all other types
> of E-M radiation too? who could a person thank if they don't know
> really why the expert was testifying and perhaps the chance for a
> personal gain? let's wait to see if the effort is successful and see
> if there is any way to determine why the person intervened?
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @BruceJack Speculator: Methinks folks should understand why
> you don't use your real name N'esy Pas?
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Justin Time
> From a previous CBC article.
>
> "A recently revived Energy and Utilities Board review is examining
> potentially extreme pricing changes that would shift more cost to
> residential consumers in New Brunswick with electric heat and move
> other residential consumption to lower demand periods.
>
> The so-called "rate design" initiative could eventually result in
> premium prices for consumers in high-demand periods, discounts during
> lulls, special charges for peak monthly consumption levels, known as
> demand charges, or other measures or combinations of measures designed
> to reshape New Brunswick electricity demand. "
> https://www.cbc.ca/news/
> This same Brattle group also promotes the benefits of smart meters .
> What a coincidence.
> Residental customers are going to take it again.
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Justin Time: Methinks Minister Mikey knows that I will have
> a lot to say Brattle Group's report when the EUB finally holds the
> hearing about it that has been delayed since December N'esy Pas?
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Justin Time
> There's one big assumption that has been made that I don't think has
> been sufficiently addressed. Customer acceptance and customer
> benefits/detriments. If enough customers opt out then the grand plan
> may not meet expectations.
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Justin Time: I must disagree with ye who has a name I do not
> believe
>
> I do so because I try considering things in extremes
>
> Methinks if everybody opted out then NB Power would make a rather huge
> profit collecting our penalties monthly yet it would not have to spend
> a dime on "Not So Smart" meters because nobody wanted them in the
> first place N'esy Pas
>
> Justin Time
> Reply to @David Raymond Amos: We can't get much by you can we.
> I think there may be a chance quite a few people opt out of smart
> meters unless they can be shown that there is a personal financial
> benefit to them. However, I think that the chance of NB Power not
> spending a dime on smart meters is next to zero. N'esy Pas?
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Justin Time: Methinks everybody knows NB Power already
> signed the contracts to get the "Not So Smart" meters This is a just
> smoke and mirror show at the circus brought to us by spin doctors from
> south of the 49th This article attests to the fact that it has become
> rather obvious that our so called "Public" intervener and her Yankee
> consultants have changed their tune and she is now working against our
> interests N'esy Pas?
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Justin Time: Trust that I made certain that Higgy and his
> cohorts knew about this "Not So Smart" Meter nonsense long before the
> last election
>
> IN THE MATTER OF an application by New Brunswick Power Corporation
> for approval of the schedules of the rates for the fiscal year
> commencing April 1, 2018. held at the Delta Hotel, Saint John, New
> Brunswick, on February 9th 2018.
>
> Transcript Page 601
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: I was a bit surprised when I heard this morning and
> yesterday that you are entering into a contract at the end of February
> and is that with respect to the purchase of the smart meters?
> MS. CLARK: That's correct.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: So how can you enter into a contract without the firm
> approval of this Board, if we are going to approve or not the AMI? How
> prudent is that?
> MS. CLARK: So we are at the end stages of the contract in terms of
> just the final terms and conditions, but we have been very clear that
> we -- with the vendor -- and they recognize that, because we also have
> Nova Scotia Power, who is part of our consortium, who also needs Board
> approval. So should we not get -- this is conditional on EUB approval.
> So should we not get EUB approval, the contract would not proceed.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Now there was discussion yesterday, I think it was with
> Mr. Stoll regarding time of use and time based pricing, and so I went
> through the evidence this morning, and in your main evidence, and I
> think one of the objective of having the AMI going forward to a time
> of use price structure -- rate structure. So am I understanding that
> correctly
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Justin Time: Continued
>
> MS. CLARK: That is correc. And in the evidence, we did answer an
> interrogatory on that and you will see that AMI is an enabler for time
> varying rates in the Energy Smart NB Plan. And we did have time
> varying rates included in our investment rationale. We took it out,
> because we couldn't -- we couldn't pinpoint without more detail as to
> what those time varying rates may be and the benefit of those, so we
> took them out of the investment rationale at this point in time, but
> certainly it's something that we are looking at in the future
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: So the fundamental question here is that the Board
> should heard -- or hear Matter 357 before approving the AMI? So if we
> don't approve time of use, that basically what will happen with your
> AMI, I mean it's -- if we don't approve the time of use, which we are
> going to hear next year, how can we proceed in approving the AMI
> before we look at the rate structure?
> MS. CLARK: As we have talked about in our investment rationale, there
> are a number of other benefits to both the customer and to the utility
> over and above time varying rates that we believe are important for
> the utility and for the movement forward of our Energy Smart New
> Brunswick plan. Many of those benefits accrue to the customer. And
> many of those benefits accrue to the utility and ultimately the
> customer. So even if we were not to move in the direction of time
> varying rates, we believe that the investment rationale supports the
> AMI installation based on the other investment -- or based on the
> other benefits that it provides
>
>
>
>
>
> Justin Gunther
> If you're a crown corp in a representative democracy, and you propose
> something that citizens clearly don't want, what do you do? You keep
> hiring experts to say the same thing over and over again and until the
> citizenry is worn down and decides it can no longer invest time and
> energy in defending itself.
>
> Justin Gunther
> Reply to @Justin Gunther: One too many "and's", apologies still on my
> first coffee.
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Justin Gunther: Me Too but my coffee has gone cold because I
> am enjoying the circus too much today. Methinks a lot of folks are
> gonna enjoy the closing arguments tomorrow N'esy Pas?
>
> DON MOFFATT
> Reply to @Justin Gunther: I seem to recall someone from history that
> used that tactic. Keep telling people the same thing over and over
> again and eventually they will think it is the truth. This person used
> it a lot in the 1930's and 1940's until he committed suicide.
>
>
>
>
>
> Roy Nicholl
> I have always wondered why they need to use meters with wireless
> communications given the meter is connected to a perfectly fine
> network over which data could be transmitted.
>
> Steve Cohen
> Reply to @Roy Nicholl: which "perfectly fine network" are you referring to?
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Roy Nicholl: BINGO
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Ben Haroldson
> Must have got them in on the butter too
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Ben Haroldson: NOPE Methinks everybody knows that Cardy and
> Higgy have the market cornered on Butter Tarts N'esy Pas?
>
>
>
>
>
>
> April Foster
> Having looked at the fiasco in Saskatchewan and Ontario, they should
> not even be looking at smart meters. If this is supposed to reduce the
> rate of consumption, how does NB Power ever expect to recover their
> investment? You got it, INCREASE RATES. As for using only in off peak
> hours are you ready to freeze in winter and sweat it out in summer. I
> think not.
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @April Foster: Methinks if you have read the EUB transcripts
> in this matter then you should be a fan of the former leader of the
> KISS Party N'esy Pas?
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Paul Bourgoin
> Is this OK?
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Paul Bourgoin: NOPE
>
>
>
>
>
>
> Alex Butt
> This whole EUB is just a circus show put on by the government and nb
> power. Mr Thomas will get his way and when this fails, and millions
> wasted he will be long gone and we are stuck paying for it for
> decades. Just like the magic joi bean scandal.
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Alex Butt: Welcome to the cirus
>
>
>
>
>
> John Valcourt
> This is a crock. NBPower is going to do everything they can to get
> these smart meters installed. There is no cost savings to New
> Brunswickers it is just the first step towards prime time billing so
> it will give the New Brunswick citizen owned corporation more money
> that they can waste. It is time to stop them.
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @John Valcourt: Methinks you are not alone with that opinion
> The question is Minister Mikey and his boss Higgy or their PANB pals
> paying attention N'esy Pas?
>
>
>
>
> Justin Time
> This whole smart meter thing could become an election issue even
> bigger than the failed Hydro Quebec sale.People get upset when you
> start hitting their pocketbook and it looks like this will be
> inevitable in order to make this whole smart meter thing work. With
> the number of residential customers in this province the payback is
> questionable. Some studies show a minimum customer base of 1 million
> in order to reap the benefits of smart meters. We don't have that many
> people, let alone electricity customers.
>
> Roy Kirk
> Reply to @Justin Time: The better way is to use monthly consumption
> data to estimate mean and variation about mean for each customer over
> their prior years use and use those numbers to classify them. Those
> with relatively stable monthly consumption go in a low-cost rate
> class, those that show greater variation in their energy consumption
> go in classes with higher rates. Those who improve their performance
> get automatically moved to the lower rate class when their numbers
> show the improvement, and they stay there as long as they perform at
> that level. Nice predictable billing for the customer and eliminates
> the subsidies that small residential users with stable consumption now
> pay to cover the cost of larger residential customers that cost more
> to serve than they pay in rates.
>
> The net result is much fairer rates for customers and good price
> signals for customer investments. All without a 90+ million capital
> investment. But benefits without costs just aren't in the wheelhouse
> of most utilities. ;-(
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Justin Time: Methinks everybody knows before the last
> election the liberal appointed board did not say ok to "Not So Smart"
> meters and Gallant promised to freeze Nb Power's rates just like
> Alward did However as soon as Higgy and the PANB took over the mandate
> NB Power made another stab at the Metter Madness and have been begging
> to rate hikes even though their profit have never been better. So of
> course this will be an election issue N'esy Pas
>
>
>
>
> Dan Flanagan
> There is a big imbalance between daytime electricity demand &
> nighttime demand. A utility has to build its grit for peak demand
> & at night the infrastructure is at an idle-----very inefficient.
> With pricing policies that encourage off-peak use (dish & cloth
> washers, industrial use), we will can avoid building more plants or
> buying from out-of-province suppliers. Whether or not I save money, at
> least we're doing something for the planet.
>
> Roy Kirk
> Reply to @Dan Flanagan: Actually, the big imbalance is between winter
> peak demand and summer demand, as the data clear shows. The day night
> swing is not insignificant, but it is not the biggest problem on the
> system and doesn't justify 90 million investment when most of the
> benefit can be gained with existing meters. 'Do what you can with the
> equipment you have before you by new equipment' is always good advice.
>
> Dan Flanagan
> Reply to @Roy Kirk: Agreed, seasonal variation is bigger than daily
> variation. That being said, the only economy I see is to use more
> electricity at night & less during peak time; you can't get that
> advantage on seasonal usage. Bear in mind, peak US electricity use is
> June when AC is in full swing, good for NB generation.
>
> Roy Kirk
> Reply to @Dan Flanagan: You can adopt a rate design that uses
> existing meters and gives a much better price signal to customers.
> That should be done before considering any new meter investment. It'll
> work on the summer/winter discrepancy in load, and also the diurnal
> load variation that is quite large in winter because of diurnal
> outside air temperature swings. Then you can use all that excess
> capacity for export sales
>
> Fred Brewer
> Reply to @Dan Flanagan: And we can do a lot for the planet by using
> that night-time excess power capacity to recharge electric vehicles.
> NB Power saves $92 million and gets new night-time customers. Win-Win.
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Reply to @Dan Flanagan @Fred Brewer: A little Deja Vu 4 U 2
>
> NB Power launches PR campaign for revived smart meter plan
>
> The utility plans to reintroduce its smart meter plan for approval
> later this year
> Hadeel Ibrahim · CBC News · Posted: Jan 10, 2019 7:19 PM AT
>
> Fred Brewer
> @Dan Flanagan
> Your vigorous defense of NB Power sounds like you might have a vested
> interest.
> Perhaps you are an employee or related to an employee?
>
> Dan Flanagan
> @Fred Brewer
> I'm retired. No relatives at or business with NB Power & never
> worked for them. I don't think NB P is out to screw the consumer. I
> feel utilities need to have enough revenue to provide for the future
> & be competitive & efficient. But smart meters should save
> many users money. Remember, the gov't has control over rate increases.
> I trust NB Power more than the government.
>
> David Amos
> @Dan Flanagan Whereas you are retired consider studying the
> transcripts of the EUB Hearings about Smart Meters etc
>
> Gerry Ferguson
> I don't want one on my house.
>
> Dan Flanagan
> @Gerry Ferguson
> WHY ?
>
> David Amos
> @Dan Flanagan "WHY ?"
> Methinks you should talk to Roger Richard or me if you truly care.
> Everybody knows that our contact information is on record within the
> 375 and the 357 matters of the EUB N'esy Pas?
>
> Roger Richard
> @Dan Flanagan Read Dr. Héroux testimony in NBEUB’s matter #375. It is
> in the fourth, fifth or sixth days of the hearin
>
>
>
>
> David Raymond Amos
> Surprise Surprise Surprise
>
>
>
>
> NEW BRUNSWICK ENERGY and UTILITIES BOARD
>
> Matter 452
>
> IN THE MATTER OF an application by New Brunswick Power Corporation for
> approval and Advanced Metering Infrastructure capital project
>
> Held at the Delta Hotel, Saint John, N.B. on January 20th 2020.
>
>
> Page 880
>
> Q. - Oui merci. Si la Commission accepterait les compteurs
> intelligents et le compte de report en ce qui concerne l’amortissement
> de leur valeur comptables restant des compteurs d’électricité
> actuellement installes d’Énergie Nouveau Brunswick, est-ce que cela
> affecterait votre travail ou votre revenu?
> A. Non.
> Q. - Merci. Depuis quand on se connait, vous et moi?
> A. On s’est connu il y a plusieurs visages qui sont familiers. J’étais
> dans la session précédente, il y a un ou deux relativement à la même
> question, j’étais ici. Vous étiez là. Monsieur Furey, je le reconnais.
> DR. RICHARD: Merci. Monsieur le président, je demande respectueusement
> à la Commission de reconnaitre Docteur Héroux expert dans la
> technologie des ondes.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Donc c’est un peu différente de ce que vous avez envoyé
> par courrier électronique. Si je relis votre courrier électronique que
> vous avez envoyé aux parties, Docteur Richard, vous avez l’intention,
> dans ce moment-là de le reconnait comme un expert en tant que
> physicien chercheur dans les technologies des ondes. Est-ce que vous
> mainteniez cette…
> DR. RICHARD: Oui.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Okay, merci. So there is -- I am just wondering if
> there is anybody who is objecting to the qualification of Dr. Heroux
> in the area of expertise that Dr. Richard has suggested? So hearing
> nothing, Dr. Heroux will be recognized -- and I will say this in
> French -- Comme un expert en tant que physicien chercheur dans la
> technologie des ondes. Docteur Richard?
> Q. - Oui, merci. Madame Mitchell si vous pouvez remettre le document
> RR 1.03. Merci. Si je comprends bien monsieur le président, Docteur
> Héroux a droit à un opening statement?
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Oui Docteur Richard, et j’aimerais juste vous rappelez
> Docteur Héroux que vous n’avez pas besoin de nous relater votre
> rapport. On l’a lu. On a pris connaissance de votre rapport. Si vous
> voulez donner peut-être juste un sommaire de vos conclusions. À ce
> moment-là, lorsque vous avez donné ça, les parties vont pouvoir vous
> contre-interroger sur le rapport.
> MR. FUREY: Excuse me, Mr. Vice-Chair. We have been provided with no
> opening statement.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: No, he is not giving an opening statement, Mr. Furey.
> He is just providing a conclusion of his report -- a short conclusion
> of what his report is.
> DR. HEROUX: So I have a number of pages and on the first page I talk
> about the potential advantages of smart meters. Then on the second
> page I talk about the fact that meters, when installed, could become a
> significant source of exposure beyond what is initially intended. Then
> I talk about the difference between heat, recognizing heat only as an
> agent, versus recognizing the field as a biologically active agent and
> how I would say companies have avoided recognizing fields and only
> recognize heat and I talk as well about the fact that recent research,
> the National Toxicology Program, the Ramazzini Institute have changed
> the situation and that -- also that it is likely that the public
> health community will change its recommendations in the very near
> future in relation to biological impact. That smart meters are special
> in the sense that most people can choose to avoid exposures from cell
> phones or from other devices, but that a smart meter is sort of
> blanket imposed on a number of people, that this question is important
> to -- is well known in society that epidemiologists are detecting that
> some increases in diseases are occurring and that the pattern of
> damage that is seen in animal models is not compatible with the
> engineering view that is based on heat.Is that short enough?
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Thank you, sir. Autre choses Docteur Richard avant que
> votre témoin soit contre-interroger?
> DR. RICHARD: Non.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Ok merci.
> Mr. Furey, I am just wondering how long you are going to be? It is
> getting close to a morning break and if you anticipate to be --
> MR. FUREY: I have no questions, Mr. Vice-Chair.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Okay, thank you. Mr. Bourque, do you have any questions
> for this witness?
> MR. BOURQUE: Yes, I do.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Can you move forward please?
> MR. BOURQUE: Thank you.
> CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MR. BOURQUE:
> Q. - The first question is what is the health implications for
> children and pregnant women that stay at home all day?
> A. Well I do promote the idea that in schools, for example, we should
> not use wifi because of experimental evidence that we have on
> modifications seen in the brains of rats following exposures to wifi.
> And as you know, the radiation from smart meters is not very different
> from that of wifi. So contrary to the report of Dr. Plante who does
> not believe that the electrosensitive people are real, I believe that
> they are very real, that they are only a small fraction of the
> population but that chronic exposure to these fields from smart
> meters, either alone or in combination, because of the length of
> exposure, can have an effect that is physiological and perhaps even
> irreversible. So I believe that this is a serious question and you may
> be aware that a number of countries in the world already, it is
> forbidden to use wifi near very young children. So when you were
> talking about brains in development, a number of connections are being
> made that are -- that depend on very delicate processes that can be
> influenced, in my opinion, by electronic waves.
> Q. - Thank you. Would this have an effect on the elderly also that are
> confined to, you know, homes, that can’t get out?
> A. Yes. I don’t know if you have been given a copy of my most recent
> publication relating to oxygen and magnetic fields? Has this been
> provided, Dr. Richard?
> DR. RICHARD: Non malheureusement je ne l’ai pas déposé.
> A. A just completed work --
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: So if it is not in the public record before us, Dr.
> Heroux, I would ask you not to comment on it.
> WITNESS: So I would not comment on the publication but can I comment
> on the work leading to the publication or --
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Well if it is not before us, it is hard for us to
> understand what was written and to have the parties to question on it
> so, no, I would ask you not to comment on it.
> WITNESS: Then to answer the question is that there is a large body of
> literature that is not connected to me that already exists, that says
> that exposure to electromagnetic radiation increases free radicals.
> Maybe you know what free radicals are. Those are molecules that are
> activated in the body that can create damage and there is a very
> substantial literature that says that exposure to electromagnetic
> radiation, even at low intensities, can increase the amount of free
> radicals in the body. Free radicals, by physiologists, are implicated
> in a large number of chronic diseases. In other words, you may not
> feel these effects immediately but you will feel them later either by
> increases in the rates of disease or by diseases progressing more
> quickly. This is what free radicals are understood to do. And they do
> this in very, I would say important diseases, for example, in
> diabetes, which is 25 percent of your health budget, in things like
> Alzheimer’s and in Parkinson’s. And indeed there are people who
> promote the idea that these individual diseases are connected with
> electromagnetic radiation exposures and these connections are observed
> not only with cell phones, but they are observed with even proximity
> to a cell tower, which is if you live within 500 meters of a cell
> tower, that is low field intensities, we observe health changes in
> relation to this. So this was essentially confirmed not only by
> epidemiology in the field, but also by the data of the Ramazzini
> Institute which was released at the same time as the National
> toxicology program that studied the -- I would say the effects of cell
> phones. In other words, the NTP released this year data that says yes,
> cell phone radiation is connected with cancer. It primarily of the
> neurological system, because pulsed radiation, I would say, affects
> mainly, at least initially, the nervous system. While the Ramazzini,
> an equally large study, NTP was $28 million U.S. Ramazzini essentially
> verified that even at low amplitudes, we see the same effects. And so
> for a range of exposures, the literature now says that we have
> evidence for bioactivity in relation to cancer. And so this is why Dr.
> Anthony Miller comments that in his opinion, IARC, which classified
> previously radiofrequency radiation as 2B is likely to promote to
> category 1 carcinogen, because what was missing was animal evidence.
> And now NTP and Ramazzini have provided that.
> So frankly, this mis why I think it is unwise to, at this point in
> history, to go ahead and increase the burden of electromagnetic
> radiation. In essence, I know New Brunswick Power may disagree with
> me, but I wish that they would not, so to speak, go in this direction
> for their own benefit.
> Q. - So this is the electromagnetism that comes off of these machines?
> A. Yes, those are fields that are either radiated intentionally by
> antennas or in the case of power systems, unintentionally. It is a
> parasite essentially. The lines radiate this, but it is a loss that
> would be eliminated if it were possible.
> Q. - Now would this environment affect office workers to the point
> that it could possibly affect their health?
> A. It is a recognized disability in Sweden and in France and in Italy
> that if you are affected by these fields, you employer is required to
> take measures to provide a work station or a work situation where you
> are not affected. Electrosensitive people represent maybe 3 or 4
> percent of the population, and the extremes, the people who are truly
> disabled are a smaller proportion even. But because of the nature of
> the interaction with living systems, all living systems, including
> bacteria, including trees, including all animals are changed when the
> electromagnetic radiation environment changes.
> So this is a blanket effect on biology that is brought about by
> changes in your electromagnetic environment. So what this means is
> that yes, there is no category that is immune to this effect. These
> effects, in my opinion, have progressively increased since we have
> changed the electromagnetic environment in the 1900s. Author
> Firstenberg, who published a book on this, observed that in 1900s
> there was very little diabetes documented. Now a large proportion of
> our population is, and from my work even before my last one, I noted
> that electromagnetism disturbs metabolism in a way that makes it a
> good candidate to increase diabetes.
> Q. - We heard that the analog meters are slipping and not reading
> accurately, do they still make these analog meters that you know of?
> A. This is not -- I did not go to a company myself, but on the
> committee, the New Hampshire Committee, Senator -- not senator,
> representative Abrami is also on the committee that deals with smart
> meters, and he assured me that he has talked with manufacturers who
> were quite willing to make these older devices which are essentially
> very, very well designed, they are entirely passive, require no power,
> and have a very long life time. They don’t provide all of the
> capabilities of course of a smart meter though.
> Q. - Right. Since you were here last time, it gave me a lot of
> knowledge about this stuff that I wasn’t aware of. And I went to a
> gentleman and I got a meter to check the radiation from my microwave,
> and cell phone and tv and all that. Is there a meter that checks the
> magnetism or whatever the readings are off of these smart meters
> available?
> A. Yes, there has been substantial progress in this area, and in fact,
> the models are being updated all the time. And in view of the extended
> frequency range that will be -- that might be coming with 5G, there
> will be more upgrades to these meters. These meters cost about $200.
> But for example, the one made by CORNET, the ET88Plus is a rather
> sophisticated device that allows for less than $200 to measure ELF
> fields and various categories of radio frequency fields and in fact,
> log the data, over 1,000 data points can be logged over time
> automatically. So whereas in the past, measurements of these fields
> were more or less the province of people who had very expensive
> equipment, my equipment to measure these fields cost $40,000 by Narda,
> but now the commoner will have access to these measurements.
> And in a sense, because the measurements will be -- the data will be
> available to a lot of people, you can expect that there will be many
> more challenges about exposures since it will be very, very common --
> commonly available.
> Q. - It was reported earlier in testimony that it is a 900 megahertz --
> A. Yes, 900 megahertz.
> Q. - Megahertz. What would you consider a safe level? If it goes above
> 900, is that dangerous, 900 okay?
> A. The frequency is not really the issue. The way this works from the
> point of view of living systems is that we have lived over the past 2
> billion years, life has lived in the static field of the earth which
> is 50 microtesla. We are inherently resistant to that field.
> As well, we are resistant to radiation from the sun. But the sun emits
> practically no microwave radiation. So biological systems do not
> develop resistance against agents that they never meet.
> So when you are introducing in the environment significant components
> of new frequencies that were never there before, you run a very strong
> risk that reactions will occur. And I resent very, very heavily as in
> a sense a miscarriage of science the fact that we would only limit the
> effects of electromagnetic fields to heat as is done by the FCC in the
> United States, and as is done by Code 6 in Canada. I think those are a
> very, very poor reflection on the scientific level of these
> institutions.
> Now the FCC is a spectrum allocation agency that if you know the
> situation, is entirely dominated by industry. But governments should
> have the role of ensuring public safety and at the moment, this is not
> being done unfortunately. You are left to defend yourself agai
> radiation.
> Q. - One --
> A. May I point out that it is entirely possible for power utilities to
> provide power and to have all the telecommunications that we need much
> more safely than we are doing now. So I think utilities could benefit
> from a change that would make their power system practically immune to
> the criticisms that they experience now. This is possible over a long
> period of time. And cellular phones can be redesigned to reduce your
> personal exposure by a factor of 100. The problem is that we have no
> convinced the engineering community because of its enthusiasm and its
> success in commerce to be careful about effects on humans. Those
> effects are always detected later.
> We have experienced this with air pollution. We didn’t believe that
> air pollution was significant for our health until 1952 when 12,000
> people died in London over four days, and then all of the sudden, we
> realized we have to take this into account.
> In 1921 when General Motors decided to introduce lead into gasoline.
> This was a decision was strictly financial one, because they could not
> patent ethanol. The decision was made anyway. 50 million American
> children lost 10 IQ points as a result and got 20 irreversible
> behavioural problems because of this decision.
> Right now, we are in a position in which engineers have the techniques
> to do this cleanly, to do things cleanly. What we need to do is
> convince them that it has to be done and that is it. We can do it,
> and I might add, profitably.
> Q. - Excuse me. One last question, I mentioned earlier in this session
> that we heard testimony that the smart meters have set fires in
> Saskatchewan. They removed them from -- they put in 100,000, then
> they ordered them taken out because of fires. And so these smart
> meters, you don’t have to look at them to read them, so I suggested
> that they put them on top of the hydro poles --
> A. Mm-hmm.
> Q. - -- and would that be a lot safer for people that lived there,
> instead of having them on the side of the house?
> A. Of course if they are more distant, the level of radiation will
> diminish. I think it is a fairly good idea. Frankly problems with
> meters catching fire are a problem of construction, and those problems
> will be 18 solved. This is not, I would say, a philosophical problem.
> It is a very technical problem that the utilities, I am sure, will
> solve very rapidly.
> But of course, if you distance users from the source of radiation, it
> improves the situation. But furthermore, the link on the pole to the
> network is with optical fibre, you eliminate the need for any
> radiation whatsoever. You eliminate the political problems, you
> eliminate technical problems. So in my opinion, I do not understand
> why, when faced with challenges that are coming from the health area,
> why a company would not use 5 its skill to just wipe these things off
> the table.
> MR. BOURQUE: That is all my questions. Thank you.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Bourque. We are going to take a recess
> for 15 minutes, and we will reconvene afterwards. Thank you.
> (Recess)
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Mr. Stewart, any questions for this witness?
> MR. STEWART: No, Mr. Vice-Chair.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Mr. Flood, any questions for 15 this witness?
> MR. FLOOD: No, Mr. Vice-Chair.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Mr. Stoll?
> MR. STOLL: No, Mr. Vice-Chair.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Ms. Black?
> MS. BLACK: No questions, Mr. Vice-Chair.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Thank you. And Ms. Desmond?
> MS. DESMOND: We just have a couple, Mr. Vice-Chair.
> CROSS-EXAMINATION BY MS. DESMOND:
> Q. - Dr. Heroux, as you are probably aware, Dr. Plante did testify in
> this hearing and was also qualified as an expert. I am wondering if
> you could just, at the highest level, summarize for the Board where
> you see the 4 difference between how you landed at your opinion and
> how Dr. Plante would have arrived at his opinion?
> A. Well that is very easy. Essentially, very clearly Dr. Plante, who
> is a physician, in his document says that he is using heat as the
> agent that determines the threshold of damage. In my own report, I had
> a table where I indicate a large number of landmarks and limits and at
> the bottom is Code 6 Canada IEEE C95.1, 10 million microwatts per
> square meter at the frequency actually that is a little bit higher
> than the smart meter but this is the thermal limit at the very bottom.
> The people who acknowledge that the fields can have effects all have
> limits that are substantially lower. In other words, they believe that
> humans are a lot less tolerant to electromagnetic radiation when you
> acknowledge the fields themselves can impact biological system. And I
> never get questions on this regrettably but my expertise is the
> interaction between very small fields and critical enzymes in the
> human body that can affect practically all biological processes. So
> the
> difference between Plante and myself is that he only recognizes the
> effect that you had in a microwave oven. Everything else in his view
> is impossible. What I believe is that after these effects were
> documented, science solved the problem very quickly. In the Soviet
> Union, in North Carolina, scientists sought interactions at non
> terminal levels with metabolism, mitochondria of cells. In a human
> egg, you have a third of a million of these mitochondria that are
> affected by the fields. In a heart cell you have 50,000 of these
> mitochondria. They are all affected by the levels of fields. In my
> experiments I showed that this was at least occurring at 20 nanotesla,
> which is .025 microtesla, which is very, very, very low. This
> indicates that we have been for a long time influenced by this
> radiation unknowingly and that science now informs us that we should
> evolve to take precautionary measures.
> As well, when you look at the results of the NTP, those tests were
> designed to test whether what Dr. Plante is saying is true or not. In
> other words, the man who designed the study of the NTP wrote an
> article to confirm that the only reason why this $28 million was spent
> is to determine whether heat is the only agent. And the NTP’s answer,
> as is the agency for research of cancer’s answer, is that the thermal
> hypothesis is wrong. And that is what science says. It doesn’t mean
> that larger institutions like the Canadian government have caught up
> with this reality, because as you know, society moves slowly and
> society has a lot of vested interest in maintaining the status quo.
> But science has been clear, even for a while, I would say that the NTP
> simply follows a succession of tests on animals by (inaudible) who all
> large animal studies who confirmed that this radiation cannot be seen
> as only a heating agent.
> MS. DESMOND: Okay. Thank you for clarifying the distinctions between
> your work and Dr. Plante. Those are our questions. Thank you.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Ms. Desmond. Mr. Ervin?
> BY THE BOARD:
> MR. ERVIN: Dr. Heroux, I just want to clarify on a technical basis.
> You make several references to the effects of electromagnetic
> radiation and if I am understanding correctly, and based on my high
> school physics, it is a magnetic field that surrounds a wire which is
> conducting electricity. Is that your interpretation?
> A. Yes.
> MR. ERVIN: We heard from Dr. Plante a few days ago, that the domain of
> electromagnetic radiation and radiofrequency radiation occupy two
> entirely different 3 domains. Could you comment on that?
> A. Yes. Essentially industry, when it wants to promote the idea that
> these fields are not a substantial -- have no impact on health, they
> use certain ideas that are I would say easy to put forward in front of
> the public. And the first idea is that it is non-ionizing radiation.
> In other words, they say if it cannot ionize molecules, it can’t do
> anything. This is extremely bad science. And the reason for this is
> that in your body lots of molecules are already ionized so the
> question is not whether this radiation can ionize your body, it is
> whether it can interact with the free charges that are already present
> in your body. This is a very important distinction. And this means, to
> reassure the public was used because historically it followed
> Hiroshima and Nagasaki, a time when we dealt with ionizing radiation
> as a very important agent in our environment. So it was easy to grab
> onto this idea and promote the notion that electromagnetic radiation
> could not do it. But our science shows that there are free charges in
> the body, electrons and protons, the same protons that you have in pH,
> that can be affected in their movement, in their jump from one
> molecule to the other by very, very, very small fields.
> The second argument that Plante uses is that the fields are too small.
> If you can believe that as a final argument in science, I have another
> one for you. Viruses can’t harm you because they are too small. In
> other words, the fact that the fields of the radiation from the smart
> meters are not large does not mean that they cannot affect the
> probability that protons or electrons move within the body. They do so
> very, very well in wires, in other words, if I look at a piece of
> copper, a very small field can affect the motion of electrons because
> in a copper wire, electrons behave as a degenerate fermi gas. That is
> what we say in physics. But there are charges within the body, in
> particular in oxidative -- that are free just waiting to be affected
> by electromagnetic radiation of very low values. And in fact in
> engineering devices based on this principle are used to detect
> magnetic fields to levels of .2 nanotesla, that are miniscule. So we
> have devices that are sold that are based on the same principle that I
> 22 promote and other scientists promote, that confirm that this
> exists. So the argument of the fact that it is small or nonionizing is
> simply truncating a whole area of science that is very well accepted.
> MR. ERVIN: I am not sure if I understand whether you have answered my
> question or not, Dr. Heroux. The difference between electromagnetic
> and radiofrequency radiation, and I think you speak about the impacts
> of electromagnetic radiation. But my understanding of the radiation
> that is emitted by smart meters and cell phones and such is more in
> the field of radiofrequency radiation.
> A. Those are the same things in a sense, electromagnetic radiation
> encompasses the whole spectrum. When you talk about your
> radiofrequency radiation, you are talking about a piece of that
> electromagnetic radiation as distinguished from extra low frequency
> radiation. So it is simply a different name to focus on the part of
> the spectrum.
> MR. ERVIN: The evidence of Dr. Plante also notes the differences in
> frequencies. You know, one spectrum or frequency is all the light we
> can see, for example, that is a form of electromagnet -- electro or
> radiofrequency radiation?
> A. Yes.
> MR. ERVIN: You mentioned I think that the energy -- at least the
> visible energy emitted by the sun can do us no harm. Well I am her to
> tell you that I have many many sun burns, but at the ultraviolet
> level, I understand that that is a major cause of skin cancer, for
> example.
> A. Yes. You are right. The properties of electromagnetic radiation,
> the interaction with biological systems changes with frequency.
> However, it is true that you can get sun burn but if you had not been
> civilized in the last 100 years living frequently indoors, maybe sun
> burning would be less of a problem. And if we even have the lifespan
> that we have right now, of 70 plus years, perhaps getting skin cancer
> would be less of a problem. My point is that natural radiation from
> the sun is an agent that we inevitable become resistant to. In other
> words, life evolves to eliminate the subjects or the processes that
> are very vulnerable to our environment. The problem comes when we
> introduce new types of radiation that no living system has ever had
> the chance to see before. So in this situation you have to be
> cautious, examine things very carefully and the examination of science
> has pointed out that in spite of the incredible success of
> electrification, the incredible success of telecommunications, we
> should apply precautions to the level at which we expose ourselves.
> Otherwise, we will pay a price in cancers and in chronic diseases. And
> my point is that we can avoid this problem if only we are willing to
> move in that direction. And you will not have to forego your cell
> phone. We will just redesign it, we will change the standards and we
> will have something that works perfectly well and is perfectly safe.
> In the question that occupies you, in my opinion, technically we can
> avoid the radiation while providing New Brunswick Power with the data
> that they want. So I think technically this problem is solvable. But
> health-wise it is a durable impact if we deploy a system like this
> that is because of the internet of things, I guess you have heard of
> that, is destined to grow and grow substantially. So I think that a
> strong optical fibre network, in fact there are many people in the
> United States who believe that utilities should be providing data
> because they go into every home, why don’t they go into every home
> with optical fibre as well. This solves the problem of radiation.
> Wireless should be used for mobility, but for data transfer, there is
> nothing better than optical fibre. It is a million times faster than
> 5G optical fibre. This is something that is technically immensely
> valuable. We can do it now, why not.
> MR. ERVIN: Thank you. Those are all my questions.
> DR. HEROUX: Thank you for these questions. I don’t get to answer
> questions like that very often. It is very satisfying to me.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Dr. Heroux, I have one question. What is more dangerous
> between a cell phone and an AMI?
> A. Well the cell phone is demonstrated by tests that are very
> contemporary to generate cancers of the nervous system in rats and in
> mice. Repeatedly over the years, since 1992, we have big studies of
> that. The difference between a cell phone and an AMI is that first the
> cell phone you can decide whether you are going to use it or not. You
> can use it on the table and you can -- I don’t advise that -- against
> your head. You can use it with an ear tube. You can use it very
> little. You can use it in emergencies. And AMI is around you all the
> time whether you want it or not. So it is a situation in which you are
> contrived to be exposed to radiation. I mentioned that some people are
> very, very susceptible to this radiation. I think it is highly unjust
> to impose this on them. But if I had to choose between the two sources
> of radiation, I would think that the AMI has less impact than the cell
> phone but not my cell phone because my cell phone is out of battery
> most of the time. I carry it around and if I need it, even I charge
> it. So there is a way to use a cell phone that is very, very low
> exposure. But if somebody puts an AMI in your house, you no longer
> have a choice. It is an intervention by an external agent that leaves
> you no alternative.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Thank you. Dr. Richard, Docteur Richard vous avez
> l’opportunité de poser des questions à la suite des questions qui ont
> été posées par les parties, donc est-ce que vous avez des questions
> que vous aimeriez poser à Docteur Héroux faisant suite aux questions
> qui ont été posé?
> DR. RICHARD: Pas vraiment. Je pense que Docteur Héroux a été très clair.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Ok. Parfait. Merci. Docteur Héroux j’aimerais vous
> remercié pour votre participation dans l’audience. Vous êtes excusé.
> WITNESS: Merci beaucoup.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Merci beaucoup. Docteur Richard je crois 19 que ça
> complète tous vos témoins?
> MR. RICHARD: Oui, c’est ca.
> VICE-CHAIRMAN: Merci. I guess we are now with your 22 witnesses, Ms. Black.
> 2
> MS. BLACK: Thank you,
>
NEW BRUNSWICK ENERGY and UTILITIES BOARD
Matter 458
IN THE MATTER OF an application by New Brunswick Power Corporation for
approval of the schedules of rates for the fiscal year commencing
April 1st 2020.
Held at the Delta Hotel, Saint John, N.B. on February 5th 2020.
Henneberry Reporting Service 24 34
Mr. Darren Murphy, Mr. Keith Cronkhite
Direct by Mr. Furey - page 70
Cross by Mr. Stewart - page 73
Cross by Mr. Viel - page 90
Cross by Dr. Richard – page 109
Cross by Mr. Stoll - page 125
Cross by Ms. Black - page 150
Cross by Ms. Desmond - page 184
Page 108
VICE-CHAIRMAN: Thank you, Mr. Viel. So we are going to take a 15
minute recess and we will resume with Dr. Richard.
(Recess)
VICE-CHAIRMAN: Vice-Chair: Êtes-vous prêtes Docteur Richard?
DR. RICHARD: Richard: Oui. Je m'excuse.
VICE-CHAIRMAN: Ok Merci.
CROSS-EXAMINATION BY DR. RICHARD:
DR. RICHARD: Yes. Ms. Mitchell, if you can put document ID 65081.
I'll read it to you. This is to give you some context.
It comes from Sylvie Gallant.
Hello, this is a complaint about the % increase of 2%. I don't agree
with that at all. We already have a hard time making ends meet, we
have to stop it. We no longer live there, we survive. There are of us
already on edge to pay the bills. I am single mother. So put yourself
in my place, wear my shoes and you will see that its no pace. I am
alone to take care of my 2 children, pay for my house, my car and
everything. I already do feet and hands to be able to eat properly and
to make ends meet. I don’t even earn $ 30,000 per year and I’m not
alone in this situation, it’s the reality today. We make payment
arrangements that we can barely keep up with and you happen to be with
yet another hike. You are going to destroy lives to continue like
this. We are a lot of families living pay by pay and we will end up
losing everything because of company like you who abuse people like
us. Wake up. End of quote.
What do you think social pay or welfare is
MR. MURPHY: Unfortunately, Dr. Richard, I would like to answer you in
French, but I'm nervous that it will take me too long to formulate my
answers, so I'm going to do it in English.
We are particularly sensitive to the fact that there are not rate
increases that are welcome from our customers. As a result of that, we
are making every effort to ensure that when we come before the Board
with a request for a rate increase, that we have done everything that
we can do to avoid that. Having said that, we recognize we provide an
essential service and that essential service, you know, has to be
safe, it has to be reliable, it needs to ensure that it balances the
importance of low and stable rates with, you know, the requirement to
ensure we have, you know, a financially healthy organization that can
continue to provide sustainable electricity for the residents and
businesses of New Brunswick into the long term.
So certainly we are very sensitive to letters like this and we have
programs that we offer, where we can, to help support and help people
with managing their bills. However, we do recognize that after all
efforts are made, there continues to be a requirement to have rates go
up for - to cover increasing costs that kind of underlie the business.
DR. RICHARD: Thank you. Ms. Mitchell, if you can put document ID
65085. Again, it's context for my question.
This letter comes from Sylvain Cyr. I quote.
Hello. This message is to demonstrate against NB Power's 6% increase.
I think it is exaggerating to ask for another significant increase….
VICE-CHAIRMAN: I'm going to stop you, Doctor Richard. You said 6%, but
I think it says 2%.
DR. RICHARD: Yes, you're right. I apologize. In addition to… another
significant increase in less than a year before the previous one,
which alone already exceeded cost of living inflation. I was told to
reduce consumption. I heated with wood, changed the appliances,
changed for LED lighting, I renovated my house and I added insulation,
changed doors and windows, but despite all that, the Electricity
increases always exceed a citizen's ability to save. My electricity
bill catches up with my mortgage. Breaks or natural disasters or other
incidents cannot justify the increases. Citizens are not a
"insurance". I am in transport and I cannot increase my costs related
to my services due to damage. Thanks for the interest.
Sylvain Cyr.
End of quote.
Now, Ms. Mitchell, if you want to go back to NBP 1.04, dash two. Page
170. This is on page 170 of the document itself. OK perfect.
Mactaquac. Yes, there it is. The Mactaquac power plant is a major
stress for the population. When will we be able to talk about this?
Like we did for the smart 10 meters.
MR. CRONKHITE: As we have discussed at previous hearings, obviously
Mactaquac is greater than 50 million so we would anticipate that to be
under a separate proceeding. We would anticipate that to start the
first phase in the spring/summer of this year from which we will
commence the process which we would anticipate that would conclude
over the next 12 to 18 months.
DR. RICHARD: What trial are you talking about? Is that to start
repairing the dam or to start talking to the Commission?
MR. CRONKHITE: That would be associated with appearing before the
Board and Panel.
DR. RICHARD: Do you know the trail effect, I think it's a expression
in economics. It’s about when we…. That we entered a path that - the
more we sink into the path, the more difficult it is to return to take
another direction. As for example, if we remember with the smart
meters, you have already spent, I believe, 10 million, and without the
Commission having already approved the project. This gives an
additional difficulty in making our decision. Is it in the case of
Mactaquac that you are spending money already on this project and then
that ... that the Commission failed to talk about?
MR. CRONKHITE: As we would indicate and have included in our evidence,
we do have monies budgeted and forecasted related to Mactaquac over
the coming years. As with projects of this nature, it is important
that the appropriate amount of analysis, engineering, cost estimation,
et cetera, and the time associated with obtaining those, is done
appropriately to ensure that we have the best and most informed
information available when we come before the Board. Mactaquac
certainly is a very large project and is no different,
I would also say that there is not a do nothing. It is either
Mactaquac or something else. Our analysis to date shows that Mactaquac
is the most viable option given the technologies and given the need
for renewable energy and continuing the life of that asset out to its
original life is certainly important for us to do but I would suggest
that making sure that we take the time and obtain the right
information with the right engineering inputs and cost estimate is
valuable in order to make a better informed decision.
DR. RICHARD: Thank you. Ms. Mitchell, please put document ID 65086.
This letter is from Melissa Beaulieu. And I quote.
OMG. I have a small family 11 here and if it goes up we will have to
have 2 jobs it is to make ends meet! It's already so stressful.
Now Ms. Mitchell, if you want to go back to NBP 1.04 indent two. Page
76. Line 30. And then you can go a little on the next page. OKAY. The.
So at line 30 - The increase in labor load is partly explained by the
increase in additions related to fixed assets for planned projects
like Mactaquac and the IMA. Does the IMA cause an increase in staff?
MR. MURPHY: I believe during the hearing for AMI, there was some
discussions on additional positions that would be required for the --
I will call it the care and 1 feeding of the system, people that would
manage and operate, collect data, and I don’t have all those details
in front of me, but certainly new roles that would present themselves
as a result of the introduction of AMI, in particularly managing kind
of back office functions that come with the collection of all that
data, keeping the data secure and ensuring that, you know, the systems
are operating efficiently.
DR. RICHARD: Have you not removed 10 meter collector positions?
MR. MURPHY: Correct. So as part of that application as well, the
business case would have talked about with the introduction of this
technology, no longer having to go out to every home and business to
read meters and the elimination of -- elimination of some of those
positions over time. So this wouldn’t be reflecting a net increase per
se but it would be speaking more specifically about some of the new
positions that were identified as part of the application and what
those new roles or positions would be for.
DR. RICHARD: Mrs. Mitchell, if you want to go to page 81, lines 15 to
21. This increase is mainly due to the Smart Communities projects that
were not budgeted for in 2019-2020 due to the uncertainty surrounding
funding requests from the federal government; and increased customer
engagement, software, and license fees to support the IMA. New
Brunswick Power has received federal funding of $ 4.5 million to
offset the costs associated with Smart Communities projects. I wonder,
is that probably for Shediac? I'm sorry - this $ 4.5 million federal
funding.
MR. CRONKHITE: Federal funding associated with in particular Shediac
certainly there is a component associated with meters, there is dollar
values associated with other components. I would suggest to get into
the specific details related to the Shediac project is best served
with Panel C but certainly there are Federal funds being contributed
toward Shediac.
DR. RICHARD: Will this federal funding last for a long time?
MR. CRONKHITE: The arrangements with the Federal support is over a
four year period. As indicated, it will support various initiatives as
part of the Shediac project and Halls Creek, for example, as well as
First Nations. The duration is over the four year period for which the
project is intended to operate.
DR. RICHARD: What will happen when Richibucto has to be a 3 smart
city? Who will pay?
MR. CRONKHITE: The intent of these types of initiatives, in particular
if we look at Shediac for an example, is really to help us better
understand how solar, how other smart grid technologies operate and
can be optimized within a New Brunswick context. It is important for
us to gain this information and also around rate structures, et
cetera, in what I will call a demonstration initiative so that we are
better informed for other communities should they choose to move in
this direction, we have the right, I will say model or our
understanding on how these technologies and models work. What we are
seeing from the Federal Government certainly, and across Canada, is
there are Federal monies to support various initiatives around
decarbonization and a greener climate. We would expect that the
Federal Government would continue to provide these offerings in
various forms to other applicants, other communities as they continue
to progress and as such with the information we gain through these
demonstration initiatives, we will be able to better inform and work
with communities as to how they may 1 advance their particular
agendas.
DR. RICHARD: Line 18 indicates that there has been an increase in
customer engagement fees. What does that mean?
MR. CRONKHITE: In this particular variance analysis there are
additional funds associated with customer engagement. The one, I’ll
say, focusing on that it is important that we have a very deliberate
and focused effort on working with our customers to understand some of
the complexities about moving towards this new environment and the
ways in which they are able to optimize their activities and to result
in a reduction in energy consumption or greener consumption. So the
focus here associated with these funds are related to customer
engagement, which we recognize as an important aspect.
DR. RICHARD: So if I understand correctly, you say that it costs more
than expected to be intelligent?
MR. CRONKHITE: As in the previous proceeding on the AMI business case,
they took a very wholesome and fulsome review of the necessary
requirements for that deployment of AMI meters and specifically
associated with that program and recognizing that the level of
customer engagement is key to moving that forward which was
incorporated within the evidence and the business case that was
reviewed previously by the Board.
DR. RICHARD: So, normally, these costs are paid by the New Brunswick
Power customers. If there are no federal grants.
MR. CRONKHITE: Certainly in the absence of any federal funding,
obviously our model is such that customers would cover that. As
indicated and particularly with the Shediac project, for example, we
have worked to maximize any federal contributions towards those type
of projects as well as others in order to reduce any cost associated
with what the customers would be required. And I think that model has
-- you know, we have used that in the past, and we continue to use
that and have the support of the Federal government to move these
types of initiatives forward.
DR. RICHARD: Thank you. That brings me to the next letter. Mrs.
Mitchell, ID 65087. This letter comes from Joelle Turcotte. And I
quote. Hello, I find an increase in the rate of electricity
unacceptable. Already we pay a big sum for that and there you want to
increase? Everything increases except wages, how do you think we're
going to live? I would like to have a second child but what slows me
down is money because everything increases except our wages. You want
to increase the population but I’m sure it takes away a lot of people
from having big families because we know that we will not be able to
pay our bills. More children equals more expensive electricity it
doesn't make sense. End of the quotation.
Ms. Mitchell, if you want to come to document NBP 1.28. The. Here we
see - we go down, 2018 - there are 2354 unionized employees, yes
that's it. And 244 non-unionized workers.
Ms. Mitchell, if you want to go down to the bottom of the document.
March, May…. I'm sorry. I think we have August 2019. There. We have
2,502 unionized employees and then 246 non-unionized. Within of eight
months, has there been an increase of 150 employees? 160? Why this
increase?
MR. MURPHY: I believe it would be more effective for these questions
to be directed to Panel B. They are very prepared to talk about the
details of some of the increases or decreases and unfortunately, we
just don’t have that level of detail with this panel, but Panel B
would be happy to answer those.
DR. RICHARD: But, with the Smart Grid which - more computers. It
equals no less than employees?
MR. MURPHY: I think as a general statement, the fact that the
introduction of technology can lead to more efficient processes I
think is true. Having said that, we haven’t introduced much of the
technology that we’ve talked about over the last year or so, AMI as an
example. So we certainly haven’t been able to take advantage of that
to date, however, in addition to that, the utility continues to have
requirements that are placed upon it to meet all of its obligations
that can lead to, you know, increases or decreases in staffing levels.
I think, as I said, Panel B will certainly be able to get into some of
the drivers over this specific period of time, however, if you looked
at -- I will just give a couple of examples in terms of approaches to
delivering on our capital program, right. Decisions can be made in
that to use internal resources versus external. I think there is, you
know, some discussion on that in some of the expert’s reports. Some of
this comes from new requirements in that, you know, in the
introduction of technology is also the introduction of risk, like
cyber risk and those kinds of things. So certainly we need to ensure
our facilities are well protected. That can lead to resource types
that are required to kind of ensure that that is so.
And in succession, the last one I will comment on just in terms of --
you know, as we have an aging demographic, not uncommon or not unlike
many of our peers, there is a period of time in which we need to staff
up for those in anticipation of people retiring particularly in cases
where we have advanced skill sets that require multiple years of
training and development before they are ready to assume roles on
their own, and there needs to be overlap from a succession point of
view to cover some of those. So those would just be a couple of little
examples, but as I said, I know Panel B is more than happy to get into
more detail in terms of specifically those two reference points and
what may be driving those.
DR. RICHARD: If we go back to the union position of 2502 and then the
non-union positions at 246 as of August 31, 2019. Who are these - does
that include administrative workers? Are they other union members?
Like you guys? Are you unionized? So you are among the non-unionized?
MR. MURPHY: So the way NB Power is organized, generally speaking
anything below organizationally, kind of think of, you know, kind of
organizational structure wise from supervisor to manager and
leadership positions above that would be non-unionized. Everything
else, for the
most part, would be unionized. So our professionals -- you know,
professional engineers and the majority of the other positions would
all be unionized.
So specifically to Dr. Richard’s question around administration, most
of our administration support would all be unionized. The only people
that fall into that non-union bucket are primarily leadership
positions, so supervisor and above.
DR. RICHARD: Thank you. And how many of these people make more than
100,000 pieces a year?
MR. MURPHY: I am sorry, I don’t have that number with me. We would
have to take an undertaking if there was some interest in
understanding specifically how many of those would meet that
threshold.
VICE-CHAIRMAN: Doctor Richard are you asking for this commitment?
DR. RICHARD: Yes, I would like to know unionized and non-unionized
employees, how many make over 100,000 pieces per year.
VICE-CHAIRMAN: For the category of unionized and non-unionized?
DR. RICHARD: Yes
VICE-CHAIRMAN: Is that something, Mr. Murphy, that you are able to
provide Dr. Richard?
MR. MURPHY: Yes, we can.
VICE-CHAIRMAN: Okay. Thank you. So that will become undertaking number one.
DR. RICHARD: Now Mrs. Mitchell if you want to go to document NBP
1.27. Page 4. Go a little bit at the bottom of the page. Ok. Are all
your unions due to negotiate their contracts in 2020?
MR. MURPHY: Yes, I believe as indicated here, we currently have our
distribution in customer service in transmission collective agreements
currently under negotiation and the generation and nuclear ones,
current collective agreements would terminate December of ’19. So
they, you know, in due course subsequently will be negotiated during
the 2020 year.
DR. RICHARD: Will it affect our financial plan?
MR. MURPHY: So recognizing these collective agreements were due, we
would make assumptions around the cost of renegotiating the collective
agreement, and we would build that into our forecast both in the test
year and in the 10-Year Plan. So there would be assumptions in there
in recognition of the fact that these were coming due and providing
some provision for their negotiation.
DR. RICHARD: That must explain why the union letter is the only
letter from the public that is for the increase in electricity prices.
Thank you for your time.
VICE-CHAIRMAN: Merci, Dr. Richard. So we are going to take an hour for
lunch, and we will resume back in one hour. Thank you.
---------- Original message ----------
From: David Amos <motomaniac333@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, 31 May 2019 17:11:24 -0400
Subject: Premier Blaine Higgs today announced important changes to the
senior ranks of government.28 February 2019
To: David Amos <david.raymond.amos333@gmail.
28 February 2019
FREDERICTON (GNB) – Premier Blaine Higgs today announced important
changes to the senior ranks of government.
“We have been very clear that our government is focused on
strengthening our economy and improving our fiscal situation,” said
Higgs. “We are a government of action and are focused on results and
quality service, which is one of the reasons we have added the role of
chief operating officer to the head of the public service.”
Jean-Marc Dupuis has been appointed chief operating officer, clerk of
the Executive Council and head of the public service. Within his new
role as chief operating officer, he will be tasked with focusing on
fiscal responsibility and real results to help provide more efficient
program and service delivery within the public service. Dupuis was
formerly deputy minister of Post-Secondary Education, Training and
Labour.
“Changing how we lead will help create new opportunities in the
province, improve social programs and ensure every New Brunswicker can
live their dream here at home,” said Higgs. “I am confident that the
experience and talent this leadership team offers will enable our
government to deliver on our goals.”
Additional appointments and new assignments include:
Hélène Bouchard will become acting president of the Regional
Development Corporation in addition to her current role as acting
deputy minister of Intergovernmental Affairs;
Paul Greene will join the public service from the RCMP as deputy
minister responsible for Communications within the Executive Council
Office;
Cheryl Hansen, will become deputy minister of Finance and Treasury Board;
Thomas MacFarlane, currently assistant deputy minister of Social
Development, will become deputy minister of Energy and Resource
Development;
Sadie Perron, currently assistant deputy minister of Agriculture,
Aquaculture and Fisheries, will become deputy minister of
Post-Secondary Education, Training and Labour; and
Judy Wagner, currently Clerk to Executive Council, will become
deputy minister of Policy and Legislative Affairs in addition to
secretary to cabinet. She has also been appointed deputy minister of
Aboriginal Affairs.
Higgs thanked the departing deputy ministers for their years of
service and dedication to New Brunswickers.
EDITOR’S NOTE: The following is a complete list of deputy ministers,
deputy heads and presidents of Part 1 Crown corporations. Except where
noted, the changes take effect on March 4 (* denotes a change or
addition):
Jean-Marc Dupuis*, chief operating officer, clerk of the Executive
Council and head of the public service;
Judy Wagner*, deputy minister of Aboriginal Affairs, deputy
minister of Policy and Legislative Affairs, Secretary to Cabinet and
deputy minister responsible for the Women’s Equality Branch;
Louis Léger, deputy minister and chief of staff of the Office of
the Premier;
Cathy LaRochelle, deputy minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and
Fisheries (acting);
John McLaughlin, deputy minister of Education and Early Childhood
Development (anglophone sector);
Gérald Richard, deputy minister of Education and Early Childhood
Development (francophone sector);
Thomas MacFarlane*, deputy minister of Energy and Resource Development;
Kelli Simmonds, deputy minister of Environment and Local Government;
Cheryl Hansen*, deputy minister of Finance and Treasury Board;
Tom Maston, deputy minister of Health;
Hélène Bouchard*, deputy minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
(acting) and president of the Regional Development Corporation
(acting);
John Logan, deputy minister of Justice and Office of the Attorney General;
Sadie Perron*, deputy minister of Post-Secondary Education,
Training and Labour;
Michael Comeau, deputy minister of Public Safety;
Eric Beaulieu, deputy minister of Social Development and president
of the Economic and Social Inclusion Corporation;
Françoise Roy, deputy minister of Tourism, Heritage and Culture;
Kelly Cain, deputy minister of Transportation and Infrastructure;
Alan Roy, CEO of Service New Brunswick;
Stephen Lund, CEO of Opportunities NB/Economic Development and
Small Business; and
Paul Greene*, deputy minister responsible for communications,
Executive Council Office (effective March 18).
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