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(Editor's Note: The following is a letter New Brunswick Progressive Conservative Leader David Alward sent to Quebec Premier Jean Charest and released to the media on Monday.)

Dear Premier Charest:

I am writing to express my concern regarding the sale of NB Power to Hydro-Québec. NB Power has been a valuable asset to the Province of New Brunswick for 90 years. It employs thousands of New Brunswickers, directly and indirectly, pays close to $55 million per year in provincial taxes and makes over 50 per cent of its purchases within New Brunswick. It has been estimated that NB Power accounts for between three and four per cent of total province-wide employment. More importantly, control over NB Power positions our province to be the master of its energy policy so that it can make decisions and implement policies that are in the long-term best interests of the citizens of New Brunswick.

I have carefully reviewed the Memorandum of Understanding signed on behalf of the Governments of Québec and New Brunswick on Oct. 29, 2009 and consulted with a broad range of New Brunswick residents and stakeholders. While I have great respect for you, your government, Hydro-Québec and the residents of your province, I am unable to support this deal. Simply stated, the deal is bad for the province of New Brunswick.

With no mandate from the citizens of New Brunswick, and without undertaking any meaningful due diligence to assess the value or implications of the deal, Premier Graham rushed headlong to sign the Memorandum of Understanding in an effort to secure short-term rate relief for large industrial users. Premier Graham did not take the time to consider that big business does not make investment decisions based on a five-year planning horizon. He appears unable to comprehend (as noted by the rating agencies which cover New Brunswick and our own Auditor General) that the deal does not improve the financial position of New Brunswick. He ignores the very significant liabilities that we retain under the deal in respect of Point Lepreau, the re-build of the Mactaquac Dam, the existing debts and liabilities of NB Power and its subsidiaries and the operation and/or decommissioning of the thermal facilities at Belledune, Coleson Cove, Dalhousie, Courtenay Bay and Grand Lake. Finally, and perhaps most telling, the deal offers no rate relief for New Brunswick residents or small business, who currently pay 60 to 70 per cent more for electricity than their counterparts in Québec.

In fact, according to Hydro-Québec's CEO, Mr. Thierry Vandal, Premier Graham did not even ask for rate relief for the ordinary citizens of his province during negotiations.

Under the deal, Premier Graham has (i) agreed to largely relinquish to your province the authority to regulate with respect to the maintenance of New Brunswick's energy infrastructure, (ii) agreed to a model that motivates existing New Brunswick business to oppose growth in New Brunswick, which would increase energy usage beyond a heritage pool, and has been established at a very low historical limit; (iii) committed to a deal under which Hydro-Québec is granted effective control over New Brunswick's electrical supply and transmission network, and New Brunswick residents are indefinitely locked into a formula-based pricing model that has no connection to actual costs or the rates of application in Québec; and (iv) eliminated any real possibility of future Energy Hub development in New Brunswick.

Mr. Premier, this is simply too high a price to pay for short-term relief for one sector of our economy. I believe this deal has the potential to negatively affect New Brunswickers for generations to come, and that is why the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick will do everything in our power to oppose this deal and ensure our province and its residents maintain control over our energy future. I have asked Premier Graham to hold off on concluding definitive agreements with Hydro-Québec until after the next provincial election and I make the same request of you. As noted, I do not believe Premier Graham (who prior to announcement of the deal consistently maintained that NB Power would remain a New Brunswick public entity) has a mandate from the people of New Brunswick to conclude this transaction, and I have invited Premier Graham to call an immediate election to seek a mandate to do so. Should an election not be called, and Premier Graham proceed to finalize the deal, I will do everything reasonably possible should I be elected Premier of New Brunswick in September, 2010 to reverse the deal and restore New Brunswick control over its energy policy and the assets of NB Power.

Once again, I want to reiterate my respect for you, your government, Hydro-Québec and the residents of your province. If I am elected Premier of New Brunswick, I commit to working with you in an open and cooperative manner to explore ways in which our two Provinces can partner together to mutual advantage. It is in the spirit of fostering this relationship that I felt it important to write to you and clearly outline my position and intended course of action with respect to this deal.

I would welcome the opportunity to meet with you and Mr. Vandal.

Yours very truly,

David Alward

* David Alward is the Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick and Leader of the Official Opposition