Power and the Sound of Spin

Thursday, February 12, 2009

The Times Colonist

Energy Minister Blair Lekstrom, or the government employees who write letters to the editor on his behalf, took exception to a recent opinion column that said a B.C. energy "gold rush" has been underway as companies applied for river and wind rights.

Untrue, said the minister.

"Despite the claims of a 'gold rush' in new independent power projects, only 46 such projects are in operation; almost half were started under the previous NDP government," Lekstrom complained.

But a few days later, his government sent out a news release on a ceremony to recognize exceptional work by government employees. Among those honoured were "the independent power project transition team."

"The team was brought together in response to a phenomenal increase over five years of 1,140 per cent in independent power project applications," the release said. "Without a corresponding increase in resources, agency staff looked for new ways to do business. They came up with an integrated and co-ordinated inter-agency approach to application management."

Which raises questions. What is the difference between a "gold rush" and a "phenomenal increase?" And more fundamentally, when does political spin end and outright misinformation begin?

http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/comment/story.html?id…

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