A coalition of groups opposed to the power pact is looking to throw a legal hurdle in the government's path and stop the deal by filing an action in the Court of Queen's Bench.

The group will also ask for an injunction barring the province from following through on finalizing the deal until after its legality has been ruled upon.

The Coalition of New Brunswickers: NB Power Not for Sale said the Liberal government doesn't have the legal right to sell the utility.

(Shawn Berry - The Daily Gleaner)
Posted February 10 2010
Business Manager attends town hall meeting in Sussex

SUSSEX - More than 80 people gathered at the Sussex Legion Monday night to hear the Tories' take on the proposed deal to sell NB Power.

Of the people there from across the Sussex region, it was obvious the majority doesn't like the idea of selling assets they believe belong to them. Many voiced it could take a miracle for the Shawn Graham government to get re-elected, and some wanted to know from former Conservative energy ministers Bruce Fitch and Jeannot Volpe just what the future holds if the deal doesn't go through.

Jennifer Dysart of Sussex, who's an employee of Enterprise Fundy, said she is concerned by the lack of time and energy being put into finding an alternative to the status quo, which is keeping NB Power and allowing it to continue to be smothered by its debt.

Volpe said the status quo has not been an option for years. "I know we can't afford (the status quo) because no one would ever do it," he said.

He added natural gas, wind energy, improved structures for administering NB Power and important investments have been made to create an impressive energy system that New Brunswickers are proud to own.

If NB Power is sold, future New Brunswickers will have no options, he said. Fitch told people they should continue to lobby their MLAs, especially in light of last week's resignation of former tourism minister Stuart Jamieson, who stated he feels a referendum on this deal is necessary. "Ask them to follow the steps of Stuart Jamieson who said 'I am not going to support this if it doesn't go to referendum'."

IBEW business manager Ross Galbraith, who spoke at the Sussex meeting as a representative of the union representing 2,200 NB Power workers, says both the first and second deal the province inked with Quebec are bad. He said NB Power has modern, state-of-the-art generating stations, one of the most reliable transmission and distribution systems in North America and have been pioneers in green energy with more projects in the works.

The public meeting was sponsored by the Sussex and District Chamber of Commerce, Enterprise Fundy and the Sussex Downtown Business Association.

Tammy Scott-Wallace/Telegraph-Journal
Posted January 23 2010
Local 37 Business Manager Ross Galbraith responds to Telegraph-Journal guest editorial

On December 5th, the Telegraph-Journal published a guest editorial written by Tom Adams and Brian Lee Crowley. In it, the long time critics of NB Power suggested that union members were opposing the proposed sale of NB Power because of concerns their productivity would not stand up to comparisons.

Business Manager Ross Galbraith wrote to the paper to set the record straight.

Click on the title above to read his letter to the Editor...
Posted December 08 2009
NB Power union gives proposed sale thumbs down - Electricity workers demand more clarity on pensions, job security

Greg Weston, Moncton Times Transcript, Published Saturday November 14, 2009

FREDERICTON - The union representing NB Power's 2,200 electrical workers does not support the proposed deal to sell the company to Hydro-Quebec, since their leader says it is vaguely worded and raises more questions than it answers.

"After careful review and examination of the details that have been made available, we feel the government should not proceed with this deal," said Ross Galbraith, business manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) 37, at a news conference in Fredericton yesterday.

"I'm especially concerned for employees at Dalhousie and the other thermal generating stations, whose future has been thrown into doubt. Employees who work there have had their world turned upside down."

Click on the title above to read the full article...
Posted November 14 2009
NB Power union wants proposed deal scrapped

Chris Morris, Telegraph-Journal, Published Saturday November 14th, 2009

FREDERICTON - The union representing more than 2,200 NB Power employees wants the provincial government to scrap the proposed deal to have Hydro-Quebec acquire the utility.

Ross Galbraith, business manager for local 37 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, said Friday there are too many uncertainties associated with the tentative agreement to sell most of NB Power's assets to the Quebec utility.

"Our folks have worked in this province for a long time," Galbraith said at a news conference in Fredericton. "We have supplied probably the best electrical service on the East Coast and our members shouldn't have to be anxious and worried about their futures."

Click on title above to read the full article...
Posted November 14 2009
Power pact not in his constituents' interests, NDP MP says
(Benjamin Shingler, Telegraph-Journal, Published Wednesday November 11, 2009)

New Brunswick's only New Democrat member of Parliament is weighing in on the proposed sale of NB Power.

Yvon Godin, the MP for Acadie-Bathurst, says the energy agreement with Hydro-Quebec isn't in his constituents' long-term interests.

Godin is concerned the sale would mean the province wouldn't have control over its future energy policy, and would put into doubt hopes to create more wind farms in northern New Brunswick.

Click on the title above to read the full article...
Posted November 11 2009
Auditor wants sell-off detailed - NBers need more specifics to decide about power pact, watchdog says

Benjamin Shingler Telegraph-Journal - Published Saturday November 7th, 2009

FREDERICTON - The Liberal government needs to be more specific about the proposed energy deal with Hydro-Quebec, Auditor General Mike Ferguson said Friday.

"There's really not enough information to draw a conclusion," Mike Ferguson said in an interview.
Posted November 08 2009
CBC Info Am Saint John Interviews with Business Manager

UPDATED Friday October 30: Links to two CBC Saint John radio interviews that Business Manager Ross Galbraith gave regarding the proposed sale of NB Power to Hydro Quebec

Click on the title of this entry to go to the page with interview links.
Posted October 26 2009
Opposition asks if NB Power for sale
(CBC) New Brunswick Opposition Leader David Alward is calling on Premier Shawn Graham to clear the air about the future of NB Power and say whether it is for sale.

Alward said he's been hearing speculation that Hydro-Quebec, the provincial energy utility, wants to buy NB Power, a provincial Crown corporation.

Click on the link above to read more...
Posted October 23 2009
Union says Ottawa should cut a deal on Lepreau costs
OTTAWA - The federal government should be willing to negotiate compensation to NB Power for the extra costs it is facing for replacement power from the delays at Point Lepreau, says the head of the union representing 800 workers at the nuclear plant. (Rob Linke, Telegraph-Journal)
Posted October 07 2009
Ottawa must come to the table
Energy Minister Jack Keir says he's asked the federal government to defray the cost of purchasing replacement power while the Point Lepreau Nuclear Generating Station is shut down due to delays on the part of Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd.

Click on the link above to read more...
Posted October 05 2009
NB Power pulls plug on Grand Lake station
CBC.Ca

The coal-fired Grand Lake Generating Station will be closed next year when its operating licence expires, NB Power announced Tuesday.

David Hay, the Crown corporation's president and chief executive officer, said running the 78-year-old power plant was no longer economical and it will cease operating in June 2010.

The corporation also announced that its NB Coal division - also located in the small community of Minto - will be shuttered in December since its only customer is being shut down.

Click on link above for more...
Posted September 30 2009
Labour Day is more than just a day off
Moncton Times & Transcript article featuring interviews with Minister of Post-Secondary Training, Education and Labour Minister Donald Arsenault and President of the NB Federation of Labour, Michel Boudreau
Posted September 07 2009
Utility on the block
On Tuesday, Premier Shawn Graham said the province will hold talks this summer with the Quebec government, which will also include officials from Hydro-Quebec and NB Power, the province's often-maligned electric utility.

The Premier says Quebec meetings may include discussions on privatizing NB Power.
Posted June 24 2009
New Brunswick and Quebec agree to increase cooperation on energy.
Quebec Premier Jean Charest and New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham today announced their desire to step up their discussions with a view to developing partnerships in the energy sector.