Federal Tory climate plan offers Manitoba benefits

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 18/06/2019 (1773 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — The federal Conservatives say they want to expand Manitoba’s Hydro transmission outside the province, but have not specified how.

Wednesday’s much-anticipated Tory climate plan commits to “the strategic interconnection of electricity grids” but doesn’t specify any targets, regions or projects.

For decades, Manitoba has tried to ramp up the sale of its hydroelectricity to Saskatchewan, Nunavut and the American Midwest, along with some parts of northwestern Ontario.

In recent years, Manitoba Hydro has inked three deals with SaskPower to send 340 megawatts of electricity to the neighbouring province by 2052.

Last December, Premier Brian Pallister pushed for more expansion through an east-west energy corridor to get more of Manitoba’s electricity into Saskatchewan, whose premier Scott Moe has been far less enthusiastic.

That’s likely because it would mean layoffs for coal and gas workers, whose industries produce three-quarters of Saskatchewan’s power.

The federal Liberals have sponsored feasibility studies for a Hydro line that would connect Churchill with western Nunavut hamlets, weaning them off diesel. The Tories’ platform notes the need to connect with off-grid communities that rely on fossil fuels.

Tory Leader Andrew Scheer says his party would, if elected, also have a Hydro line to Minnesota count towards Canada’s carbon-emission targets.

The recently approved Hydro line would offset an estimated one and a half megatonnes of carbon emissions from the American Midwest, and the Tories want that to be tabulated as part of Canada’s carbon footprint.

Earlier, the Saskatchewan government tried resisting the federal carbon tax by asking Ottawa to tabulate the fossil fuels that province exports, on the basis that it replaces even more carbon-intensive fuels in parts of Asia.

Manitoba’s Sustainable Development Minister Rochelle Squires struck a similar tone about the Minnesota line when Ottawa approved the project last Friday: “Carbon emissions don’t know borders,” she told reporters. “We are doing our part to mitigate climate change and reduce our global carbon footprint.”

Wednesday’s plan does not log Canada’s imports of carbon-intensive energy as part of the country’s emissions. The party told reporters they’d consider that idea after forming government.

Titled “A Real Plan,” the Tory platform does not carry many specifics, though neither did the Liberal party’s climate plan introduced in the 2015 election.

One part of the plan the Tories did detail is the return to Harper-era funding dedicated to wetland preservation, which the Liberals had folded into broader initiatives.

The Conservatives would restore a $4-million annual wetland fund, which is based on cost-matching with local groups. It would also reinstate a $10-million annual recreational fisheries program, in which Ottawa cost-shares conservation measures with fishing clubs.

The Liberals folded both projects into its broader Lake Winnipeg basin program, prompting concerns from conservation groups.

The Tories would also commit to completing the Canadian Wetland Inventory, which Ducks Unlimited has been trying to complete since 2002. This would cost $15 million over the course of three years.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca