Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online
Crown Investments Corp and SaskPower Minister Jeremy Harrison. Photo by Brian Zinchuk
On Aug. 11, Pipeline Online published the Saskatchewan NDP’s response to the Saskatchewan Party government’s move to rejuvenate its coal-fired power generation fleet. That story, Coal Revival: Would the NDP reverse the coal decision? And why are they now big on nuclear power?, was an in-depth interview with NDP Jobs and Economy Shadow Minister Aleana Young, and touched on what the NDP would do with regards to coal if it were to form the next government, and how they intend on developing nuclear power generation.
Also on Aug. 11, Young appeared as the guest on the Pipeline Online Podcast to further elaborate the NDP’s position on coal and nuclear power.
In response to that story, Minister of Crown Investments Corporation (and SaskPower) Jeremy Harrison sent the following statement by email to Pipeline Online. Here it is, verbatim:
The NDP have now made clear that they will shut down our coal power plants immediately if they were to form government, putting thousands of people out of work while devastating two communities.
The Government’s position has been crystal clear and directly communicated with all SaskPower employees in a letter explaining our plan, not a press release as the NDP have wrongly and dismissively asserted. In fact, SaskPower has prepared capital expenditures in its five-year capital spending plans directly as a result of the government’s decision to life extend coal assets.
These include planned capital expenditures of over $900 million between now and 2029-30 including more than $30 million in business planning capital expenditures in 2025-26.
These are capital expenditures reflecting the new Energy Security policy of the Government and are in addition to the forecasted Operating, Maintenance and Administration coal expense of just over $1 billion that will occur between now and 2030.
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Our plan will ensure our energy security into the future by utilizing natural resources owned by the people of Saskatchewan while providing reliable and secure power for decades to come as we bridge to nuclear.
The hypocrisy of the NDP when it comes to uranium and nuclear is breathtaking. This is a party that when in government chased any uranium value-added operations out of the province. They didn’t want uranium processing here and those jobs and capital investment, which they now celebrate, went to Ontario.
And while the NDP now claim they support the development of nuclear power in Saskatchewan, the words and actions of their MLAs tell a different story. Erika Ritchie, Crown Corporations critic no less, is a member of the Saskatchewan Environmental Society which has taken the position that “both traditional, large nuclear reactors and potential small modular reactors” are “inappropriate choices for this province.” Athabasca NDP MLA Leroy Laliberte has shared posts on social media that read “Nuclear is being proposed for Saskatchewan. We say No!”
The Saskatchewan people know that the NDP are a dedicated anti-nuclear party no matter what the NDP say out of political expediency today.
We also know what the NDP would do on power generation – because the short-lived NDP government in Alberta already test drove the plan. An ideologically driven shutdown of baseload, fossil fuel power generation to be replaced by unreliable and expensive intermittent wind and solar power. The reality is that this is a recipe for catastrophe as jurisdictions around the world are finding out. Renewables have a supporting role but they can never reliably replace baseload.
The NDP plan will add billions of dollars of capital costs while destroying the stability of our grid. Their plan will lead to a doubling of power rates as they abandon Saskatchewan’s power generation sovereignty to the Liberal government. They’d surrender Saskatchewan’s autonomy to the unrealistic and unconstitutional Clean Electricity Regulations. In short – the lost and reckless NDP plan would be a disaster that would compromise our economy and ability to keep the lights on when needed most.
Our Government’s all of the above plan for the future is realistic, affordable, and will provide energy security for Saskatchewan people and businesses for decades into the future.
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- 0100 Turnbull Project Manager0100 Turnbull Project Manager
- 0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p0099 Mryglod Steel 1080p
- 0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD0097 Eagle Sky Ventures LTD
- 0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it0095 Fast Trucking nearly 70 years good at it
- 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click Before You Dig0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda Click Before You Dig
- 0092 Turnbull projects big and small0092 Turnbull projects big and small
- 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan Teaser
- 0087 Lori Carr Coal Expansion0087 Lori Carr Coal Expansion
- 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
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BREAKING: Saskatchewan to rebuild its coal fleet, despite federal regulations calling for its demise