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Mair leads the charge on energy policy

Politics sometimes makes strange bedfellows, and it appears environmental activism does as well. At least for former Social Credit cabinet minister Rafe Mair, who found himself sharing the stage with provincial Green Party and NDP candidates at the Shatford Centre Saturday afternoon.
1104-Apr
Rafe Mair speaks to the crowd Saturday at the Shatford Centre on hand for his Town Hall Tour for Common Sense Canadians.

Politics sometimes makes strange bedfellows, and it appears environmental activism does as well. At least for former Social Credit cabinet minister Rafe Mair, who found himself sharing the stage with provincial Green Party and NDP candidates at the Shatford Centre Saturday afternoon.

It’s not about the politics of it, said the always outspoken columnist and talk show host. While Julius Bloomfield, deputy leader of the provincial Green Party, was also speaking at the event, Mair said they didn’t bring the Town Hall Tour to Penticton in order to support the Greens, either provincially or federally. Rather, he just wanted to get the message out about environmental and energy issues facing the people of B.C.

“I am not supporting the Greens, I am supporting our own organization, which is called The Common Sense Canadian,” said Mair. “We have no political affiliations at all, but we do support candidates that have the same views on the environment and energy as we do.”

Mair partnered with award-winning filmmaker Damien Gillis to create the organization, which he explains focuses on two related, major issues: B.C.’s energy policy and the environmental impact of developments like run-of-the-river power projects and the proposed Enbridge Pipeline.

Even if these things aren’t happening locally, Mair said that all B.C. residents have a stake in what is going on, in every corner of the province, and need to hold governments to task.

“The energy policy that was brought in by the Campbell government is absolutely preposterous,” said Mair. “We got private companies buggering up our rivers, making power that Hydro can’t use — they can only make it during the spring runoff — and forcing Hydro to buy that power whether they want to or not.”

That leads to an “absurd” situation, Mair said, claiming that BC Hydro will have to buy the power at three times the price they can export it for, instead of making it themselves at a tenth of the cost that the independent power producers can.

“BC Hydro is bankrupt. It’s not bankrupt, because it always has the ratepayers to call on to bring in the money, but if they were in the private sector right now, it would be in Chapter 11 protection,” said Mair, adding that the environmental argument against independent power projects is just as strong.

“These rivers are buggered up, there is no doubt about it,” he said. “All the things that live in those rivers are at serious risk. This is what the Campbell government has done to your environment and your energy.”

Cameron Phillips, who ran locally for the provincial NDP in 2009, said he had a hard time making run-of-the-river projects an election issue during that election.

“This is a ballot box issue. What British Columbian wants to give up the right to their rivers, to pour millions of dollars into corporate pockets that would otherwise go into roads and schools and everything else?” said Phillip.

Mair’s powerful skills as an orator carried the crowd packed into the recital hall at the Shatford Centre, bringing them to their feet after a speech, that though short on substantiated facts, was filled with emotional impact, as was Gillis’ film, Oil in Eden, which was shown prior to the speeches from Mair, Bloomfield and Gillis himself.

Mair said he hopes voters will think about these issues as they question the candidates running for office.

“I hope they will take these thoughts to the various political parties in the federal race,” he said, adding his opinion that the current government isn’t doing enough.

“The minister of fisheries is an absolute deadhead, there is no use talking to her about anything,” said Mair. “It’s got to change, it really does.”

More information about The Common Sense Canadian is available at www.thecanadian.org.