A year-round operation of double-hull tankers is not a problem for 12-month shipping via a west Hudson-Atlantic route. A Nunavik mining company shipping in that region of the Hudson Straight presently ships 12 months a year, 1,100 kilometers from the proposed western Hudson Bay port. Importantly, the shipping route would take western Canadian select and LNG, on tidal water to anywhere in the world. In addition LNG — as Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre has pointed out more than once — can be compressed with 25% less energy in the cold northern environment Hudson Bay offers. A west Hudson Route would be a similar distance as a Port of Montreal route to western Europe and would avoid the much higher cost and maintenance of pipeline shipping overland across half a continent..In addition, no one has ever accused Saskatchewan and Manitoba of being mountainous..An energy corridor has a great advantage of building and moving product across flat land as opposed to through a range of mountains..This leads to the other net benefit to Manitobans and all westerners — hydroelectricity. Under the previous NDP government, multi-billion-dollar blunders like the Bipole III transmission line project placed Manitoba Hydro in a state of virtual bankruptcy, by building the expensive Bipole III starting from Gillam (near Hudson Bay) to the western side of Manitoba, and down the Saskatchewan border to southern Manitoba. Can the Manitoba Stefanson PC government ask Manitoba Hydro to re designate Bipole III as the conduit of DC power to move further west into Saskatchewan and Alberta via an interprovincial energy corridor somewhere north of The Pas Manitoba? They have already signed two successful agreements to export power into Saskatchewan..If the premiers of Alberta and Saskatchewan were to cooperate with a western energy program exporting LNG and crude oil, as well as a hydro electric grid, Manitobans would benefit from a project with a price tag of over $60 billion dollars, not including spin off construction, with the majority of that spent inside Manitoba’s borders. Manitoba Hydro presently generates about 5,600 megawatts of power. And it has identified at a minimum, another 4,000 megawatts of undeveloped generating capacity..The efficiencies of attaching to grids outside of our time zones has enormous benefits vis-à-vis peak power needs happening at different times. Also, the efficiencies of being attached to the western grid will allow us greater ability to generate and trade power with Alberta with a steady flow of water, rather than have the welfare state drain levels of the Sellinger NDP, which caused chaos and environmental havoc in northern communities in past years..A Manitoba government could also put Bipole III into use by utilizing the east/west portion to transmit DC hydro power into an extended western grid and transportation corridor. In addition to all these positive outcomes, First Peoples and northerners would benefit as they negotiate as owners of the port and in full knowledge of some of the disparities of the past government negotiations with the previous NDP socialist party of Manitoba. All Manitobans would benefit from the payroll taxes, negotiated royalties and transit fees, and contractor work. Winnipeg, which has been gutted by the socialists of past reigns, could benefit with government joint-funding agreements for new and upgraded roads and freeways, which presently, to Manitoba’s shame, don’t exist, in this energy-rich province. Also, with a level of PPP investment, could they see a monorail or LRT system to replace many of the diesel buses currently plugging up city streets during rush hours?.Surely Manitoba Hydro’s Centra Gas and it’s consumers would benefit from plentiful natural gas transiting through Manitoba under such a plan,.This is Neestanan, all of us. Working together for a sustainable future for all Canadians..Capt. Wally Daudrich is a Churchill resident and businessman. He is also the candidate of record for the Conservative Party of Canada.
