L'esprit de l'entreprise

The Minister of Business — whatever that is — is in full Polyanna denial mode today:

Business Minister Disputes Claims
March 5, 2007

The Minister of Business says there is no reason why businesses should be afraid to invest in the province or work with the Williams government. Kevin O'Brien told VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms, statements by a Toronto Professor claiming the provincial government is difficult to deal with are unfounded and he says his department has more than two dozen active files from business looking for development.

Moving right along, Radio-Canada reports today that Montreal-area company Geilectric is looking to develop a wind-energy project on the North Shore near Forestville, a lovely, if economically disadvantaged spot well-known to those who take the 138-389-500 axis on a regular basis.

The project is subject to the outcome negotiations with the regional municipality and the Pessimit Innu first nation, who will each receive a share of the wind-farm revenues. The whole enterprise is valued at at least $400-million — for Kevin O'Brien's benefit, $400-million has eight zeros in it, like this: $400,000,000 — a figure which could double, depending on the final configuration. The construction phase would generate between 150 and 250 jobs, while operations, again depending on the scale of the final design, would permanently employ 15 to 25 people.

Kevin O'Brien's department should immediately launch an inquiry into why it is that a project of this type and scale is going ahead in volatile Quebec, instead of in Newfoundland. And Labrador, an investment-friendly jurisdiction where, after it blows through those capitalist decadent bourgeoisie private energy properties in Quebec, we get to enjoy the same wind for free.

Let them have their wind farms, and jobs, and revenues, and no-carb energy.

We own the wind.