CBC Maritimes

The MOU between Hydro Québec and NB Power outlines changes that could radically alter the energy picture in the region - from electrical generation to renewables and exports

As announcements go, it was a whopper. After months of secret negotiations and a week of intense speculation, Premiers Shawn Graham and Jean Charest announced the plan to sell certain assets of NB Power to Hydro Quebec. It was outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding.
Hydro-Québec will pay an estimated $5 billion to purchase NB Power's nuclear and hydro generating stations, the transmission system and other assets in the massive deal.  The arrangements has far reaching implications for the rest of the Maritimes, and for Newfoundland.
CBC National reporter Stephen Puddicombe attended the technical briefing before the announcement and told us details.


On our Oct. 26th phone-in, retired general and former Chief of the Defence Staff Rick Hillier was our guest. His book  "A Soldier First : Bullets, Bureaucrats & the Politics of War" chronicles the obstacles he found to the armed forces doing their job, from the conflicting agendas of international bodies like the UN and NATO, to the way civil servants inserted themselves into decision-making, and to a lack of money for military training, equipment & operations.
General Hillier spent much of his time on the phone-in explaining Canada's military role in Afghanistan. We played your responses from the answering machine.


On the phone-in : "Friction" is such a commonly understood scientific concept that we use it as a metaphor - as in, "there's considerable friction between Shawn Graham & Danny Williams these days". But how well do we understand it ?
Mary Anne White & Richard Wassersug helped us get a grip on friction and explained why it's "a real drag".
Dr White is University Research Professor of Chemistry & Physics at Dalhousie University & Dr Wassersug is Professor of biology, anatomy & neurobiology at Dal. They also tackled your questions about The Science of Everyday Life