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Briefly: November 20, 2009
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Catalyst appeals
Catalyst Paper Corporation has appealed a BC Supreme Court decision involving taxes levied by the District of North Cowichan.
The ruling rejected Catalyst's argument that tax bylaws were unreasonable and therefore illegal and should be struck down by the courts. Justice Peter Voith ruled that if the company thinks its tax bills are unfair it should make its case to other levels of government.
Lyn Brown, Catalyst's vice-president of corporate relations and social responsibility, said the company filed its intention to appeal on Friday, November 13, in order to maintain a legal avenue. "Even though we are hopeful that we can find solutions outside of the court, we wanted to ensure that the legal avenue timeframes were met," she said. Catalyst sued four municipalities, arguing its taxes were out of proportion to the services it uses. Decisions on the cases involving Powell River, Campbell River and Port Alberni have yet to be released by the court.
Brown said the company is waiting for the three additional decisions and doesn't have any sense yet when those decisions might be tabled. "Of course, we will make further decisions once that happens," she said. "In the meantime, we are hopeful and open to working with any interested parties who would like to combine efforts to find a solution, not only interim relief for municipalities that are involved in this situation, but also would work towards a long-term solution that addresses the affordability and sustainability of the taxation of Class 4 industry."
Plutonic on list
Two projects submitted by Plutonic Power Corporation into BC Hydro's call for clean power are still in the running.
BC Hydro received a total of 68 proposals through the clean call, which began in June 2008. Of the 68 proposals, 21 have been eliminated, 13 have been selected to negotiate electricity purchase agreements and a further 34 will remain under consideration.
Plutonic's Bute Inlet and Upper Toba projects, proposed jointly with GE Energy Financial Services, are in the group of 34.
Donald McInnes, Plutonic's vice-chair and CEO, said the remaining 47 proposals are all going to advance into a discussion stage with BC Hydro to see if they can get to yes on acceptable pricing and other terms. "We're excited and glad that we've been given an opportunity to try to work with BC Hydro to see if these projects will end up making sense," he said.
The first group of 13 are projects that are all generally smaller and reasonably straightforward, McInnes also said, and at the lower end of the cost structure. "The other ones are probably more difficult, larger and not straightforward, which is why BC Hydro set up the kind of call process that it did, to allow for a negotiation," he said. "That's where we are."
Another company that had submitted a proposal for the Powell River area was eliminated from the list.
Hawkeye Energy Corporation submitted phase one of its multi-billion dollar run-of-river hydroelectric project. The project involved 12 run-or-river hydroelectric projects totalling 180-megawatts and a 159-kilometre transmission line. The 12 projects were located in the Toba Valley, Eldred River and Jervis Inlet areas.
The Peak could not reach Greg Neeld, the president and CEO of Hawkeye, for a comment.
Catalyst Paper Corporation has appealed a BC Supreme Court decision involving taxes levied by the District of North Cowichan.
The ruling rejected Catalyst's argument that tax bylaws were unreasonable and therefore illegal and should be struck down by the courts. Justice Peter Voith ruled that if the company thinks its tax bills are unfair it should make its case to other levels of government.
Lyn Brown, Catalyst's vice-president of corporate relations and social responsibility, said the company filed its intention to appeal on Friday, November 13, in order to maintain a legal avenue. "Even though we are hopeful that we can find solutions outside of the court, we wanted to ensure that the legal avenue timeframes were met," she said. Catalyst sued four municipalities, arguing its taxes were out of proportion to the services it uses. Decisions on the cases involving Powell River, Campbell River and Port Alberni have yet to be released by the court.
Brown said the company is waiting for the three additional decisions and doesn't have any sense yet when those decisions might be tabled. "Of course, we will make further decisions once that happens," she said. "In the meantime, we are hopeful and open to working with any interested parties who would like to combine efforts to find a solution, not only interim relief for municipalities that are involved in this situation, but also would work towards a long-term solution that addresses the affordability and sustainability of the taxation of Class 4 industry."
Plutonic on list
Two projects submitted by Plutonic Power Corporation into BC Hydro's call for clean power are still in the running.
BC Hydro received a total of 68 proposals through the clean call, which began in June 2008. Of the 68 proposals, 21 have been eliminated, 13 have been selected to negotiate electricity purchase agreements and a further 34 will remain under consideration.
Plutonic's Bute Inlet and Upper Toba projects, proposed jointly with GE Energy Financial Services, are in the group of 34.
Donald McInnes, Plutonic's vice-chair and CEO, said the remaining 47 proposals are all going to advance into a discussion stage with BC Hydro to see if they can get to yes on acceptable pricing and other terms. "We're excited and glad that we've been given an opportunity to try to work with BC Hydro to see if these projects will end up making sense," he said.
The first group of 13 are projects that are all generally smaller and reasonably straightforward, McInnes also said, and at the lower end of the cost structure. "The other ones are probably more difficult, larger and not straightforward, which is why BC Hydro set up the kind of call process that it did, to allow for a negotiation," he said. "That's where we are."
Another company that had submitted a proposal for the Powell River area was eliminated from the list.
Hawkeye Energy Corporation submitted phase one of its multi-billion dollar run-of-river hydroelectric project. The project involved 12 run-or-river hydroelectric projects totalling 180-megawatts and a 159-kilometre transmission line. The 12 projects were located in the Toba Valley, Eldred River and Jervis Inlet areas.
The Peak could not reach Greg Neeld, the president and CEO of Hawkeye, for a comment.
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| Council Briefs: November 25, 2009 |
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overtaxed wrote on Nov 14, 2009 8:53 PM:
• To amend the purchasing policy by deleting the stipulation that all expenditure or purchase commitments over $100,000 require the prior approval of council and substituting it with a requirement that all expenditure or purchase commitments over $150,000 will be reported to council on a quarterly basis. "