About NFAT

Manitoba Hydro Needs For and Alternatives To Review (NFAT) of Manitoba Hydro's Preferred Development Plan

About the NFAT

 

Order in Council

472/2013 2013/12/18 Order assigning Dr. Hugh Grant and Mr. Richard Bel as members of the Public Utilities Board for the purpose of participating in the NFAT
128/13 2013/4/17 Order assigning The Manitoba Public Utilities Board with the task of completing The Needs For and Alternatives To (NFAT) review of Manitoba Hydro's proposed preferred development plan.  Mr. Mel Lazareck and Mr. Arthur Mauro as member of the Public Utilities Board for the purpose of participating in the NFAT review.
 

Terms of Reference

The following represents the Terms of Reference of the Needs For and Alternatives To Review of Manitoba Hydro's proposed preferred development plan as provided by The Province of Manitoba to the Manitoba Public Utilities Board on April 25, 2013.

  • Terms of Reference

The Process

Role of Board Staff and Professional Advisors
  • ensure relevant regulatory matters and information are brought to the Board's attention
  • help all parties in a public hearing on matters of procedure
  • communication board decisions and plans to the public
  • consult with the public on matters involving the board

Board sttaff and advisors will not:

  • take a position on any application before the Board
  • recommend any application for approval, denial or variance
  • advocate for the position of any party involved in a proceeding
Role of the Public 
Manitobans can express concerns and positions about utilities and areas of publicinterest regulated by the Board. They may participate either as presenters or interveners. 
The Hearing Process
Hearing process steps usually include:
 

  • an application for a hearing, usually by a regulated utility

  • public notice of hearing, which may be either a public hearing or a paper-based process

  • a pre-hearing conference attended by people interested in intervening

  • the public hearing or paper-based process

  • the board's decision, which comes in the form of an order

The board may also hold a hearing at its discretion or on referral from the Government of Manitoba, into other matters. Such hearings are usually called in response to an application. The board may temporarily deal with an application. Their temporary decisions are subject to review and finalization or variance at a later date. The board also deals with matters (such as individual consumer complaints that don't really affect the general public) without holding a public hearing. All board decisions are available to the public and posted on the board's website.
The Application
The hearing process generally begins when someone applies to the board,for a decision on a matter of interest.
An applicant may be:
 
  • a regulated body
  • a consumer or company consumer or company
  • representative of & a consumer or special interest
Applicants for rate changes must demonstrate to the board that change is appropriate. The board must protect the public interest and its decisions are not only based on financial criteria. Applicants must provide information to support their requests, and respond to pre-hearing questions from the board and interveners. Information provided before and at the hearing is examined during the hearing and is usually made available to the public through the board office.
 
Notice of Public Hearing
The board must inform the public about issues to be reviewed at a public hearing. Notices of public hearings are usually published in daily and weekly newspapers throughout Manitoba, or posted within a company. Notices may also be mailed or electronically transmitted to individuals, groups or associations who have expressed an interest in the issues.
Notice usually provides:
  • a brief explanation of the issues
  • an indication of the potential impact on ratepayers
  • the time, date and place of a pre-hearing conference
  • the procedures and process to be followed
  • an indication that the board may accept, deny or vary the application
The Pre-Hearing Conference
Before a public hearing on a rate change application from a major provincial utility, the board may hold a pre-hearing conference to:
 
  • outline the issues to be addressed
  • identify the parties interested in the hearing (interveners and presenters)
  • set a timetable for the exchange of information between the applicants, the board and other interested people
  • address any opening motions that may be made by the applicant or any other person or group
 
The Hearing
At the beginning of a public hearing, the applicant and interveners are asked to summarize their positions. The application is examined by the board, its advisors and interveners. The applicant and interveners are then given an opportunity to make a final statement. When the hearing is over, the board considers the evidence and makes its decision. For major hearings, the proceedings are usually recorded by a court reporter, with transcripts available on the board's website.
 
 
Board Orders
Orders state the board's decision, recommendations and reasons for them. Orders are in writing and available to all Manitobans. They are legal, binding documents, subject to appeal. All orders are posted on the board's website. The board will reconsider an order:
  • at the timely request of the applicant
  • at the timely request of interested parties
  • on its own initiative
 

Board orders may be appealed to the provincial court on questions of law or jurisdiction.

Rules of Practice and Procedure
The board has adopted formal Rules of Practice and Procedure which, among other things, outline the conduct of public hearings.
 

Panel Members

List of Panel Members that will hear The Needs For And Alternatives To (NFAT) of Manitoba Hydro’s preferred proposed development plan.
 

Richard Bel, B.A., M.A. , M.Sc.
Appointed December 2013

Co-owner and managing partner of the Fort Garry Hotel since 1994, this member is also the current Chair of the Forks North Portage Partnership. In addition to being a former owner of various Winnipeg restaurants, he was an Assistant Professor of Economics at Kobe University (Kobe, Japan) and the University of Manitoba. He has been appointed a member to examine Manitoba Hydro's preferred development plan.

Régis Gosselin, B ès Arts, MBA, CGA, Chair
Appointed April 2012

Former Director of Corporate Services for the Canadian Grain Commission, this member has worked for the Fédération des Caisses Populaires and also Entreprise Saint-Boniface, a community economic development organization. He is a past Chair of the Société d'assurances dépôts des caisses populaires du Manitoba, Caisse populaire de Saint-Boniface and Centre Youville.

Hugh Grant, Ph.D. (Economics)
Appointed December 2013


Professor of Economics at the University of Winnipeg, he teaches on indigenous economic development in the University's Masters of Development Practice program. He also currently serves as the President of the University of Winnipeg Faculty Association. He obtained his Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Toronto. In addition to his academic research on labour economics, health economics and Canadian economic development, he has engaged in policy work with a range of organizations including Industry Canada, the Law Commission of Canada, Manitoba Family Services and Consumer Affairs, the Public Interest Law Centre and the Canadian Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. He also has previous experience as a consultant to aboriginal associations on comprehensive land claims. He was appointed a member to review Manitoba Hydro's Preferred Development Plan.

Marilyn Kapitany, BSc. Honours, MSc.
Appointed July 2012

A former senior Federal Government executive responsible for Western Economic Diversification Canada. Former Regional Director General of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (Manitoba) as well as Director of Industry Services at the Canadian Grain Commission.
 
Past Chair of the National Board of YM-YWCA of Canada and appointed as Canada's International Representative in 2014. Marilyn is a member of the Riverview Health Centre Board. Former Chair of the YM-YWCA of Winnipeg Board, and past member of Assiniboine Park Conservancy Board and Association of Professional Executives.
Larry Soldier
Appointed July 2012

Former Chief of Swan Lake First Nation.
 
Serves on the Board of Directors for Youville Centre. Former Vice-Chairman of the Dakota Ojibway Tribal Council and Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services. Served on numerous committees which includes former Chairperson of the Small Business Management and Dev. Committee of Keewatin Community College and past member of Chiefs Committee on Treaties and Self-Determination. Former Chairman of the Regional Advisory Board, Alcoholism Foundation of Manitoba. Served as City Councillor for the City of Thompson. Proprietor since 2006.