Free Press editorial way off base

For those of you who had the pleasure of reading the Winnipeg Free Press today, there was another editorial about the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.  I'm fully aware that the Free Press has been one of the CMHR biggest cheerleader, but this editorial is way over the top.  Despite a recent Free Press poll showing that the vast majority  (75%) of Winnipeggers want the museum to be impartial, and include one exhibit which includes all genocides on an equal footing, the editorial goes to great lengths to state the Jewish Holocaust was "unique" and should be the main focus of the museum.

The editorial has to be one of the most condescending articles I have read in quite some time.  It not only attacks the Ukrainian community of Winnipeg, but dismisses the poll stating that "It was one question in a series of unrelated queries that could have asked about favorite breakfast cereals, pizza preferences, and travel plans."  What is even more perplexing is it concludes by saying " Why does the Holocaust get a place in the front seat?  Only the uninformed ask questions like that."  

I have no issues with the Holocaust being included in the CMHR.  The persecution of the Jews in World War II was one of the great human tragedies of all time.  However, how does that make it more important than say..the Rwandan, Bosnian, Armenian, and Cambodian genocides just to name a few off the top of my head.  This is Canada, and no ethnic group should have a monopoly on human suffering.  It's a shame that the Winnipeg Free Press editorial division does not share this view.

Bipole III nearly doubles in price.

It has been reported that the Bipole 3 project, the new Manitoba Hydro line the government plans to construct along the West side of Lake Winnipeg will cost over $4.1 billion, nearly twice as much as the projected $2.2 billion that Manitoba Hydro and the provincial NDP had told the public.  When pressed for answers, Hydro president and CEO Bob Brennan was more concerned about why someone in his company would leak out this document, than to justify the enormous cost of running Bipole 3 on the West side of Lake Winnipeg.

One of the first blogs to question Hydro's decision nearly a year ago, is the much respected author of  "Anyone Want a Peanut".  If you click on the link, he has an excellent write up on why running the Hydro line on the West Side is a horrible idea, and reeks of political maneuvering, rather than common sense.  Apparently,  the west route is technically inferior to the east route, including the need for additional (expensive) converters, lower line capacity, and greater line losses.

Here is a projected map of Bipole 3:

http://www.hydro.mb.ca/projects/bipoleIII/route_map_full.pdf

What's interesting to note is reliable sources have told me that if the line was built on the East side of Lake Winnipeg, it would only have a width of 66 metres, run parallel (for the most part), to an existing gravel road, and would arguably have less of an environmental impact than if it were to be built on the West Side of the lakes. Finally, let's not forget about the open letter that 19 mainly retired senior professional engineers composed for the Winnipeg Free Press back in December 2010. 

Here are some of the main points the engineers brought up in regards to Bipole 3 in the article:

• Of the 10 criteria for designation of the East side of lake Winnipeg as a World Heritage site, nothing precludes carefully positioned roads and transmission lines (many World Heritage sites in Canada, for example in Banff and Jasper, are crossed by transmission lines and main highways)
• Land owners who will be critically affected by the western route  have raised objections to the government's directive the western route must be followed
• The directive was apparently made with little or no public input and no reasoned comparison of costs and benefits
• Environmental studies show a common corridor that includes the road and the Bipole III, is favourable for wildlife. It will also allow access for periodic inspection and maintenance of the line.
• A 66-metre-wide right-of-way will occupy less than 0.03 per cent (three ten-thousandths) of the projected heritage area
• With a length of 1,365 kilometres, the West side route is 480 kilometres longer than the East side route, and this is the primary reason for the increase in costs
• Selection of an east-side route would save a Manitoba family of five around $4,200 compared with the west side
• The longer line will cause electricity worth about $300 million to be lost in transit, the equivalent of all wind energy generated annually in Manitoba, and equivalent to the annual energy consumption of 40,000 cars.
• The two routes traverse the same length of boreal forest (about 400 kilometres). In addition, however, the western route also traverses several hundred kilometres of the best agricultural soils in the most favourable agro-climatic zone in the province
• There are 16 First Nations communities that would be affected by the eastern route and 15 by the western route, essentially the same number (neither route will traverse any aboriginal reserve land)
• There are technical issues that show a route on the east side of the province provides much higher reliability and protection against risk from wind and ice storms
• If Bipoles I and II are damaged, the eastern route for Bipole III is twice as effective as the western route for supplying southern Manitoba and the contracted power to the United States

The engineers go on to say that the current NDP government decided Bipole III must run west of the Manitoba lakes and directed the technical staff of Manitoba Hydro to make it happen.  One wonders if the provincial NDP government thinks money grows on trees.

Goldwater Institute to Hulsizer: No Dice!

Well it looks like Hulsizers feeble attempt at saving his bid to purchase the Phoenix Coytoes was more "smoke and mirrors."  The Goldwater Institute saw right through it, and put the ball back in Hulsizer and the City of Glendale's court.  It probably did not help matters much that Hulsizer was quoted to imply that the GWI were  "brain dead."

According to the Arizona Republic newspaper,  the bonds offered by the city of Glendale for Mr. Hulsizer will ultimately cost taxpayers $250-340 million. That figure includes the initial bond offering of $100 million the city plans to issue to help Mr. Hulsizer buy the team, as well as projected interest on that bond. Additionally the city is obligated to pay Mr. Hulsizer $97 million for arena management over 5 years.

Hang on to your hats, Winnipeg hockey fans.  This roller-coaster ride is far from over.

Sale of Coyotes getting more bizarre with each passing day

Breaking News!

It looks as if Phoenix Coyotes prospective owner Matt Hulsizer has buckled under the pressure from the Goldwater Institute.  The Winnipeg Free Press has claimed that Hulsizer sent a letter to the Goldwater Institute, the taxpayer-watchdog group that has opposed his deal with the City of Glendale from the outset, informing them he’s going to guarantee $75 million of the bond proceeds that the city is fronting him.

I can just assume that if Hulsizer is planning on backing the bonds that need to be sold to keep the NHL club in Arizona, rather than the city itself, it will be easier to sell them on the market.  However, I am no legal expert, so I can just speculate on this.  Needless to say, this sale is seemingly becoming more bizarre each time there is a significant update to the Coyotes situation.

I'm sure we haven't heard the last of this seemingly never ending saga...

Gordon Sinclair Jr. and the Winnipeg Police Service

I do not think I need to elaborate on this too much.  Gordon, we all know how much you despise the WPS. However, for the love of God, can you please write your Free Press column for two weeks without trashing the Police?  Is that too much to ask?  

Parking Authority Clueless

I apologize if this blog will sound purely negative, but sometimes it baffles the mind the way the city operates.  For decades, they have pumped hundreds of millions of dollars, in order to attract people to the downtown core.  We built Portage Place Mall, the MTS Centre, the Manitoba Hydro building, and much much more.  All in an effort to lure people back to downtown.

Then the Winnipeg Parking Authority decides that the people who have returned to the City Centre need to pay more to park downtown.  This is counter-productive to what the city has been trying to do for decades.  Of course mayor Sam Katz, and most of City Council think it's a great idea (no surprise there).  It almost boggles the mind.  Just take a look at what Downtown Biz head Stefano Grande had to say in today's edition of the Winnipeg Free Press about the fee increase.

If the City of Winnipeg really wanted to increase parking revenue, why not install metres along the Osborne Village, Corydon Avenue and Little Italy?  I'm sure it would not deter people from packing the area, especially in summer.  Of course, that is where the people in Winnipeg with money like to spend their time.  Of course, Katz would not dare try and make the citizens of Winnipeg that are the most well off financially, spend a few extra dollars while they dine in their favorite Italian restaurant. And as we all know, Katz would never step on the toes of those who got him elected in the first place.

So leave it to the bureaucracy of Winnipeg to ruin any momentum downtown Winnipeg has, just to milk a few thousand dollars from the people they have been trying to entice to return to shop, visit, and live in the core area.   Then again, with the mayor's handling of the Bus Rapid Transit corridor, should I really be all that surprised?

NHL: Goldwater Institute officially suing the City of Glendale over Coyotes Sale

It's official.

The Goldwater Institute, the independent Arizona government watchdog, has filed a lawsuit against the City of Glendale over the sale of the Phoenix Coyotes to Chicago businessman Matthew Hulsizer.  The Goldwater Institute claims the agreement violates two prohibitions of the Arizona Constitution, which requires that no Arizona government “shall ever give or loan its credit in aid of, or make any donation or grant, by subsidy or otherwise, to any individual, association, or corporation. . .” To read more about the Goldwater lawsuit, click here.

Among other things, the Goldwater Institute claims that the Phoenix Coyotes are "perennial money losers", and pose an enormous risk to the taxpayers of the Arizona city.  This could very well be the beginning of the end for NHL hockey in Arizona.

In other news, Dave Wheeler, columnist for the Winnipeg Sun claims that if the NHL returns to Winnipeg, the Jets name will not be used.  He claims to have "inside information" that a name, jersey, and logo have already been designed and are ready to go for when the NHL returns to Winnipeg.  I cannot say that I am the biggest fan of the name change, but I guess beggars can't be choosers.

Exclusive video of Gary Bettman reacting  to the news of the lawsuit.