Unsurprisingly, with a government automobile insurance monopoly, MPI’s history is marked by politics
Graham Lane
In Our Backyard, Recall Hydro’s Bill 36
Manitobans interested in politics, economics, indigenous and/or environment issues should read a new book, “In Our Backyard, Keeyask and the Legacy of Hydro Development”. After digesting the information and messages provided by this worthy work, you might find...
Manitoba’s PC Government Half Billion Annual Hydro Heist
Before a NDP government and it’s politically appointed Manitoba Hydro board faded out after the Pallister Conservatives won in 2016, it was generally accepted by all political parties, and the media, that Hydro’s then ultra-low electricity rates were “Manitoba’s...
The Case for Selling Crown Corporations
This is far from the best time for most Manitobans. Covid-19 has poisoned the prairie province’s economy, the finances of the government, education, healthcare, small businesses and more. The reining party is on the ropes in a difficult environment that favours an...
Featured News
There’s Nothing Fair About Canadian Health Care
For the past 14 years, Vancouver surgeon Dr. Brian Day has led the charge for health-care reform, pushing for the right of patients to pay for private care if their health and well-being are threatened as a result of waiting in a stagnant and overburdened public...
Transformers: More than Meets the Eye
The path to net zero, based on the much disputed belief that carbon dioxide is a pollution, is more steep and impractical than most people realize. Replacing fossil fuels with clean electricity will require much more power generation and a greatly upgraded grid to...
Mistakes Enough to go Around
Former Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall’s report on Hydro’s Keeyask dam and Bipole III transmission line expansion is a damning verdict on Manitoba Hydro’s past boards and executives and Manitoba’s NDP and PC governments. While Wall’s public criticism concentrates on...
Brokers Conquer Again
Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) is in the process of updating its computer programs and associated practices. Through an estimated multi-million dollar effort, MPI plans to provide its customers with online services. With MPI’s long-needed revamped technology,...
Questioning Pension Fund Changes
For a public sector workforce expecting to retire with a good pension, the “health” of their defined contribution pension plans are dependent on both the market and the actions of the provincial government. Recently, Pallister’s government seems to be stalling on...
Time for Real Change at Manitoba Hydro (Part 3 of 3)
Governments continue to mismanage publicly owned utilities, from East to the West. Newfoundland and Labrador’s government, still reeling from a 1969 agreement providing Churchill Falls’ electricity to Quebec at meagre prices (to 2041), built another utility...
Manitoba Hydro, a Wounded Utility (Part 2 of 3)
Hydro was once heralded as “Manitoba’s oil”. The Limestone Dam was finished in 1990, twice the size of Keeyask (still under construction) – at one-sixth its cost. With Limestone running, residential and industry customers could look forward to having cheap and...
Careful About Dismantling Manitoba Hydro’s Opportunities (Part 1 of 3)
Months late, Manitoba Hydro has finally reported its poor financial results for 2019-20 and the first quarter of the current year. It also has disclosed that it has sold its long-standing 40% stake in electrical engineering consultancy Teshmont (to global engineering...
Graham Lane, retired Chair of the Manitoba Public Utilities Board and expert advisory panel member of the Frontier Centre discusses the mass resignation of the Board of Directors of Manitoba Hydro. He is the author of the 2013 Frontier Centre paper Dam Nation –...
Financial Reorganization of Manitoba Hydro
The Frontier Centre for Public Policy has just released the concept paper Financial Reorganization of Manitoba Hydro. This paper is authored by Graham Lane, a retired Chartered Accountant and former Chair of Manitoba’s Public Utilities Board. He has had a multifaceted...
Graham Lane, former Chair of PUB, Chair of Manitoba Forward and member of Frontier's Expert Advisory Panel, discusses the rate hikes facing Manitobans through Manitoba Hydro. Interviewed by Hal Anderson on 680 CJOB Winnipeg.