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Keeping BiPole 3 Away from East Side of Lake Winnipeg is a Good Deal

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September 20, 2011

For Immediate Release

September 20, 2011 – If the government of Manitoba reversed its decision to disallow constructing BiPole III down the east side of Lake Winnipeg, the claimed savings in construction and line costs would likely be eaten up very quickly.

Community benefits agreements, costing the government of Manitoba and Manitoba Hydro untold amounts of taxpayer’s dollars, would have to be negotiated first with each and every First Nations community on the east side of Lake Winnipeg due to legislation[1] that is specific to this region.

Both the provincial and federal environmental review process and the First Nations community consultation process, required by law, for such a project would be a hugely expensive, time consuming process if a BiPole III was constructed down the east side of Lake Winnipeg. Hundreds of flights to visit these remote communities would be necessary for proper consultations and planning.

In addition, government consultations indicated that a number of First Nations communities on the east side did not support a BiPole III running through the area. If the Bipole 3 decision was reversed, environmental and justice groups, and possibly opposed First Nations, would work to delay the process resulting in missed deadlines and increasingly higher construction costs.

For more information:

Ron Thiessen – 453 6346 or 794 4971

[1] THE EAST SIDE TRADITIONAL LANDS PLANNING AND SPECIAL PROTECTED AREAS ACT

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