The newly announced west side Bipole III expenses make the Liberal’s Lake Winnipeg route the best choice for Manitoba:  Gerrard

 Winnipeg – Jon Gerrard, Leader of the Manitoba Liberal party and MLA for River Heights announced today that the NDP’s final route for Bipole III will cost Manitobans millions more than originally forecasted.  The Manitoba Liberals estimate that an underwater Bipole III would cost $1.1 billion and protect valuable agricultural land while the NDP’s west side route is estimated to cost $2.2 billion and take hundreds of acres of prime farmland out of use.

 “The additional cost of funding a $50 million Community Development Initiative as well as the loss of valuable agricultural land will make the Westside route far more expensive than this NDP government originally forecasted,” said Gerrard.  “These additional costs now make it very clear that the best option for Manitoba financially and environmentally, was to route this line down the centre of the province and under Lake Winnipeg.”

 Gerrard refuted the NDP’s claim that Bipole III could not be run under the lake due to lack of research and the harsh climate.  “These lines are being used all over the world very successfully and in climates and conditions that are much harsher than Lake Winnipeg.  The NDP had an opportunity to build Bipole III more affordably while preserving our forests and agricultural land but they opted not to. In fact the NDP are seriously considering an underwater application for Bipole IV.” 

 “Manitobans should be outraged at the negligence this government has shown over the management of the Bipole III project. Many generations of Manitobans are going to be paying for this latest and possible most expensive example of NDP incompetence.”

 The Manitoba Liberal Party has continued to raise the issue of Bipole III as part of their commitment to creating a fiscally responsible government for Manitoba.

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For more information please contact Michelle Nyhof, Communications Officer for Manitoba Liberal Caucus at Room 169 – 450 Broadway, Legislative Building, Winnipeg, MB  R3C 0V8 or Tel: (204) 771-2513 or Fax: (204) 948-3220 or michelle.nyhof@leg.gov.mb.ca .