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The details of the Memorandum of Agreement to sell NB Power to Quebec Hydro are now public, revealing a positive deal that will stand all New Brunswickers in good stead for years to come.

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The agreement reduces the provincial debt by about 40 per cent ($4.75 billion), money that every citizen and taxpayer, today and in future, would have had to eventually pay, plus considerable interest. It is the equivalent of more than $6,300 for every man, woman and child in the province. That alone makes it an attractive deal. It will also benefit the province via better credit ratings.

NB Power rates have soared over the past several years and citizens were looking at the prospect of increases of at least three per cent per year (and possibly more) for many years to come. This deal freezes residential power rates for five years, a saving of hundreds of dollars per household through to 2015. Industrial users of power will see rate declines to Quebec's low levels, something that is virtually certain to create jobs and new industry here -- it makes New Brunswick one of the most attractive places on the continent to invest since power rates are a large part of any industry's costs.

The agreement states Hydro Quebec will hire all NB Power employees and honour collective agreements. The public has long complained of the NB Power bureaucracy and its bonuses. This deal removes that drain on our public purse.

Premier Graham is promising a full public and Legislature debate, as he must, and there are undoubtedly some questions to which the answers are not immediately obvious. Yet Quebec is paying fair market value for NB Power's assets and it is agreeing to a regulatory framework to be put in place to ensure ratepayers are protected. The PUB will continue to have to approve any rate hikes in future, just as it does today. The deal does not remove energy policy from the government's hands.

We do urge Quebec Hydro to continue along the environmentally green path we've begun travelling with wind farms and further development of alternative sources. It only makes sense for the future. That said, we see no reason why it would not, given that it is already doing so in Quebec.

Premier Graham merits credit for reaching a forward-looking, positive deal and recognizing the opportunity when it arose. As he noted, former premier Frank McKenna set the ball rolling towards a NB Power sale, and former premier Bernard Lord laid the groundwork and sought buyers. There are benefits for Quebec Hydro as well, but that should not surprise anyone: if there were not fair benefits for both sides, no deal would be reached.