Mario Levesque at his book launch last week in the lobby at Convocation Hall. Photo: Sarah McCracken

Mount Allison Politics Professor Mario Levesque says research on his latest book taught him a number of important lessons that could be applied to the proposed 500 MW gas/diesel plant that NB Power wants built on the Chignecto Isthmus.

Levesque wrote the 389-page book, Environmental Governance in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with co-author Peter Clancy, political science professor at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish. It was officially launched last week in Mount Allison’s Convocation Hall.

The book contains eight case studies including one on the building of the Confederation Bridge to Prince Edward Island as a public-private partnership (P3) between the federal department, Public Works Canada, and the private company Strait Crossing International. The process began with an intense preparatory period from 1986 to 1993 followed by several years of construction. The bridge opened to traffic on May 31, 1997.

In an interview with Warktimes this week, Levesque said one similarity with the gas plant is that the heavily debt-laden NB Power wants to minimize its financial risks by having the private U.S. company PROENERGY build the generating plant.

“So, NB Power is saying let’s let this private contractor take the risk for cost overruns or anything else,” Levesque says, adding that in return, NB Power will help steer the project through the approval stages.

“So like with the Confederation Bridge, the federal body, Public Works Canada, which was in charge of building it, made sure to clear all the approval processes, to get everything out of the way to get the bridge built, to get ‘er done, as they say.”

Levesque adds that in the process, Public Works Canada marginalized environmental concerns about the potential effects on the lobster fishery for example, or on migratory birds, while releasing limited information just before public consultations and not really answering people’s questions.

“We see the same thing here with the gas plant, right? The only reason they’re doing the public consultations is that they need to check the box that says ‘we must consult’. Hastily called meetings with the release of limited information. It was the same situation with the building of the Confederation Bridge, and it’s the same thing that’s playing out here.”

‘Ramming it through’

“So with the gas plant, when I saw it start to take shape and the way the consultations were going, I knew right away, it’s a done deal. They’re ramming it through. And, it’s unfortunate because it’s an erosion of our democracy.”

At the same time, Levesque says he’s encouraged by “the phenomenal job” opponents of the gas plant are doing in raising environmental awareness about the project as they push back against it.

He points to the big protest they held last month at the legislature in Fredericton when Premier Holt addressed them, but says she must have known then that her government had already ruled out a comprehensive environmental assessment.

“It’s good that she’s willing to listen, but it shows that when their mind’s made up and this project is going ahead, nothing’s going to deter it,” he says.

‘Triple bottom line’

Mario Levesque & co-author Peter Clancy (L) with the book it took them 10 years to write. Photo: Sarah McCracken

“So for me, there’s always a triple bottom line when I look at projects. I look at public health, environmental health and economic health,” Levesque says, adding that governments put a priority on economic interests first as does the corporate sector.

“And, that’s the case with the gas plant here, they want to push it through. The fact that we’re finding out quite late in the process that they want to couple it with a plant on PEI and that’s not done at the last second. They’ve known this for years. This is carefully orchestrated and they’re playing it out like a fine violin.”

Levesque points out that creating as many jobs as possible was the priority when the Conservative government led by Brian Mulroney was pushing the “fixed link” to PEI.

He says a tunnel would have been cheaper and more environmentally friendly, but would have employed fewer workers. So, the government did not tell Islanders that a tunnel had already been ruled out when 60%, who voted in a plebiscite, favoured the “fixed link” many believing it would be a tunnel.

‘Follow the money’

In the case of the gas plant, Levesque asks who could benefit financially.

“When you’re doing policy analysis, follow the money,” he says. “Who are the financial interests involved here.”

Levesque points to the lobby work that has been done by former Liberal Premier Brian Gallant on behalf of a company that may be involved.

New Brunswick’s lobbyist registry shows that earlier this year, the former premier met with both the infrastructure minister and the CEO of NB Power on behalf of Aecon Group Inc., a big Ontario-based company that handles the construction of energy projects including natural gas plants.

(Gallant did not respond to a request for comment from Warktimes in September.)

Future fracking?

“There’s no social license to build diesel plants anymore, so they’re framing it as using natural gas from the U.S. But there’s a little clause in there that if need be, they can use diesel fuel. Well, who’s going to supply the diesel fuel?” Levesque asks.

“There’s only one supplier in New Brunswick, that’s in Saint John, that’s the Irvings. So, I mean, they stand to make a fair bit of money by supplying things, I would think,” he says.

“This is a roundabout way to get a diesel plant built, basically, is what it is. Because we don’t have a local supply of gas here. The only supply we have is in the ground, shale gas.

“So this could also be seen as a way of getting the infrastructure put in, and then in a few years afterwards, five or seven years, they say, ‘well, we’ve got a plant here that needs gas. We need to develop the gas industry.’

“So I would say in a few years, let’s look. I would not be surprised if the moratorium on shale gas is lifted and we see aggressive shale gas development, fracking here throughout southeastern New Brunswick, all over the place for sure.” Levesque concludes.