Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA)

The federal government recently approved the pending sale of an Alberta utility provider to an American company. Berkshire Hathaway Energy's application to buy AltaLink in a deal worth $3.2 billion was confirmed by Industry Canada along with several conditions, among them, a commitment to keep the electricity transmission company locally managed with its headquarters in Alberta and to keep a majority of its board of directors Canadians. Critics say the deal is not fair to Albertans as the province's transmission system should not be an internationally traded commodity when electricity is an essential service. They further argue it ought to be owned and operated by Albertans (who have paid for much of the AltaLink infrastructure through delivery charges) not a massive for profit foreign company. With the proposed sale still under review by the Alberta Utilities Commission, many are calling for meaningful public hearings on the deal which is expected to close December 31, 2014. The speaker will weigh in on th