The driver picks the route

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/08/2023 (785 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If one were to compile a list of things not worth getting excited about, one of the items near the top might be long-term visionary plans from faltering governments with little time left before an election.

And yet, late last week, amid its frenzied series of budget-busting announcements aimed at convincing disenchanted voters another term in office is warranted, Manitoba’s Progressive Conservative government unveiled a far-reaching “energy road map” it claims will position this province as a surefire winner in the necessary global shift toward cleaner energy sources.

“With this vision our PC government has put forward, we are fighting to make Manitoba a ‘have’ province and power the economy of tomorrow,” Premier Heather Stefanson declared at a media event outside Manitoba Hydro’s downtown headquarters.

Central to the ambitious “road map” initiative is Manitoba’s abundance of hydroelectric energy and its potential to execute a massive expansion of power generation, conservation and storage that would, by 2050, at least double, and possibly triple, the province’s capacity for generating electricity. The cost of that colossal build-out would, according to the province, be borne by the green industries seeking to capitalize on the enhanced capacity.

“The challenge is to meet growing demand for electricity that will grow in magnitude over that time,” Ms. Stefanson explained. “To meet the coming demand for power, we’ll need to attract billions of dollars in investment — and the road map will support it.”

When one thinks of increasing Manitoba’s power-generation capabilities, the natural tendency is to imagine the construction of one or more new mega-projects to harness the power of the province’s northern rivers. The addition of such expensive endeavours (comparable to the $8.7-billion Keeyask generating station, whose final price tag was $2.2 billion over budget) is not considered in the PCs’ road-map ambition; instead, the sources of new energy would be renewables such as wind power, and an added emphasis will be placed on storage of electricity.

As are most government announcements involving projects whose timelines stretch far into the future, last week’s was long on ambition and decidedly short on detail, prompting an advocacy group called the Consumers Coalition — whose members include the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, Consumers Association of Canada (Manitoba) and Harvest Manitoba — to demand a thorough review of the province’s energy needs before any commitments to expanding capacity are considered.

Rather than a road map, the group described the new initiative as a “high-level aspirational document that needs to be supported and tested through evidence.”

And so it should be, as should all projects involving a major outlay of taxpayer dollars. But there’s very little likelihood last week’s road-map revelation will be subjected to intense scrutiny; instead, it will almost certainly be lost in the wash of almost-daily Tory announcements and promises that have been unleashed since early June and whose projected cost to date, according to the Opposition NDP, exceeds $2.5 billion.

The provincial election is expected to take place on Oct. 3. While recent polls indicate the Tories have, of late, narrowed the gap and are sitting in a virtual dead heat with the NDP in provincewide popularity, the numbers remain daunting for the PCs in Winnipeg, where Manitoba elections are won and lost.

Therefore, there’s a better-than-even chance the Tories’ time in power is nearing its end, leaving discussions of distant-future-focused initiatives as just that: words, whose chances of being translated into action are negligible.

Despite the premier’s expressed enthusiasm for this energetic plan, there’s really no need for a road map when the sign directly ahead says “dead end.”