Selinger calls Tories secret privatizers

By: Mary Agnes Welch Posted: 11:31 AM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 20, 2011

It was billed as a speech about the future of Manitoba Hydro but instead NDP Leader Greg Selinger rehashed his attacks on the Tories, calling them secret privatizers.

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It was billed as a speech about the future of Manitoba Hydro but instead NDP Leader Greg Selinger rehashed his attacks on the Tories, calling them secret privatizers.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 20/09/2011 (5113 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It was billed as a speech about the future of Manitoba Hydro but instead NDP Leader Greg Selinger rehashed his attacks on the Tories, calling them secret privatizers.

“The best way to fight to keep (Manitoba Hydro) public is in this election right now,” Selinger told a crowd of NDP candidates, union members and staffers. “You can’t undo in 15 days what you’ve been committed to for 15 years.”

Selinger repeated what’s become his campaign’s mantra: Tory Leader Hugh McFadyen would sell Hydro or at the very least abandon the province’s commitment to low rates and bring power rates more in line with the market.

Premier Greg Selinger is scheduled to make an announcement Friday morning with Winnipeg Jets owner Mark Chipman.

There is virtually no one in the province who has publicly advocated for the privatization of Hydro. McFadyen has repeatedly said he would keep the company public, and recently disavowed three-year-old musings about market rates.

Selinger released data suggesting Manitoba families would pay $381 more a year for power if rates matched Alberta’s or $654 more if they matched Minneapolis’.

Selinger did not outline a vision for Hydro beyond noting the province was committed to building new Northern dams and adding more wind and geothermal energy onto the grid.

The premier made his speech to head off criticism expected later today when opponents of the west side Bipole route rally at the legislature.