Issues & Experts >  Issues & Experts Archive > Week of October 7-14, 2002

Week of October 7-14, 2002

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Oct 07, 2002
B.C. Hydro debate: private vs. public…An energy expert from south of the border was recently in Victoria predicting doom and gloom for consumers if the provincial government ever privatizes B.C. Hydro. David Freeman, chair of the California Power Authority, cited examples of why de-regulation was the worst thing California ever did when it comes to energy. SFU energy expert Mark Jaccard is cautious about supporting Freeman’s claim. The professor of resource and environmental management says, "there will be no privatization of BC Hydro. The government is looking at allowing some private competition in generation, but in a better, safer way than California." Jaccard can expand why he believes hydro generation has to be competitive. Jaccard is also chair of an international energy conference being held in Vancouver this week (at the Sheraton Wall Centre). Experts will focus on future energy demand and highlighting such issues as North American energy policy and natural gas trade, potential offshore oil and gas exploration and the role of new technologies as well as fossil fuels.
Survival of the fittest in the liquor business…Now that the provincial government has confirmed plans to entirely privatize liquor stores within five years, a simmering debate over what that means is coming to a boil. Unionized liquor store workers who stand to lose their jobs are particularly concerned. Aidan Vining, a SFU expert on the contracting out of government services, says before we start worrying about the societal and economic implications of liquor privatization, we have to ask ourselves: Is it good public policy for government to own liquor stores? Vining notes, "The primary purpose of high liquor taxes should not be to raise money for healthcare and education. The purpose should be to dampen demand for an addictive product that harms users and generates considerable externalities. " Vining has a lot to say about why liquor privatization makes sense.
Putting farmed salmon first…The provincial government’s lifting of its ban on the development of new fish farms off the coast of B.C. has paved the way for salmon farmers to start casting their nets over prospective new sites. They are wasting no time doing just that. Claiming that existing land zoning bylaws outlaw their business in too many areas, salmon farmers want the Right to Farm Act amended to include land reserves for fish farms. Craig Orr, associate director of SFU’s centre for coastal studies (CCS), is listening to the debate with mounting interest. The CCS has hosted three workshops on salmon farming where stakeholders from a variety of sectors were brought together to discuss the co-existence of dwindling wild salmon stocks and potentially intrusive farmed salmon. Orr finds it troubling that fish farmers are pushing for more developments in their industry when questions raised at the CCS workshops and others are still unanswered. "We should not be talking at all about expanding fish farming until we address environmental and health issues," says Orr.