WinnipegFIRST

• Posted: Oct 1st 2007, 16:10 / Written by: Aaron Zeghers
• Tagged as: conservation, boreal forest, Manitoba Hydro, environment, forest, power lines
• 1 Comment

Manitoba Hydro and the provincial government are touting plans for a new hydroelectric transmission line as a step forward in conservation.

But the project has raised criticism from some who say it’s irresponsible use of taxpayers' money and others who say Gary Doer's NDP haven’t done enough to protect Manitoba’s wilderness.

The planned route along the west side of Lake Winnipegosis will be almost 500 kilometers longer, and $400 million more expensive than an eastern route, but it will bypass Manitoba’s boreal forest and multiple provincial parks.

The boreal forest covers a large swath of central and northern Manitoba, and extends south near the Ontario border. Boreal forests are primarily made up of coniferous trees, such as black pine or jack spruce, and are usually found in colder climates in the Northern Hemisphere.

Colin Lemoine, a press secretary for the provincial government, said the western side of the province was chosen for practical and conservational reasons.

“There’s already roads and infrastructure on the west side, so it’s more fitting than going through an untouched boreal forest on the east side that has the chance of being an UNESCO site,” he said.

The United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (UNESCO) is considering the forest as a world heritage site, a designation held for major attractions around the world, including the Tower of London, Great Barrier Reef and Grand Canyon.

Bob Brennan, president and CEO of Manitoba Hydro, disagrees with the planned western route, but says his company is going forward with it because they need approval from the provincial government.

“How good of a business decision would it be to go down the east side, knowing what the province thinks?” asked Brennan. “The management of Manitoba Hydro believes that the east side is a better, more efficient route.”

Eric Reder is the director of the Manitoban branch of the Wilderness Committee, an environmental lobby organization. He said that if the government truly wants to protect Manitoba’s boreal forest it should stop permitting timber companies to clear cut inside provincial parks.

“We have the largest intact boreal forest in the Northern Hemisphere. It mitigates our climate and affects our weather. We have a global responsibility to protect this area,” said Reder.

Reder also said that more of Manitoba’s wilderness should be protected from industry, especially since Gary Doer, as leader of the official opposition in 1993, called for 12 per cent of Manitoba to be protected.

Just less than nine per cent of the province is now protected.

Cine1ola Al Simmons takes a musical adventure through Canada's boreal forest.