Manitoba Hydro board resigns prompting accusations from premier, talk of lawsuit
WINNIPEG — The board of directors at Manitoba Hydro resigned en masse Wednesday, leading to counter-accusations from Premier Brian Pallister and the spectre of a lawsuit from the Manitoba Metis Federation.
Nine of 10 board members at the provincial Crown corporation issued a written statement in which they cited an inability to work with Pallister and his Progressive Conservative government. The only remaining board member is Tory backbencher Cliff Graydon.
“For over a year we have attempted to meet with the premier to resolve a number of critical issues related to the finances and governance of Manitoba Hydro, including matters related to Hydro’s efforts to further develop its relationship with Indigenous peoples,” the statement read.
“Despite repeated attempts, we have not been able to have a meaningful dialogue with the government and we have reached an impasse. We have been informed the government intends to remove the chair and has therefore lost confidence in the board. Accordingly we have determined that it is necessary to resign.”