NB Power Sale to be blocked: Legal Challenge Being Planned

This story is a bit self-serving but you will see why that is part of the story after reading this article.

I had designed a basic T-shirt that was intended to raise money for a legal fund to fight the sale of NB Power to Hydro Quebec. I had grown frustrated and angrier that there had been no legal challenge brought forward to fight this act of Financial Terrorism by the New Brunswick LIEberal Party.

However it has come to my attention that I may in fact be breaking the law by doing this. So I can not promote this as an avenue to raise money for a legal fund to fight the government.

In my initial master plan I had intended for the administrators of Facebook Group “NO to Sale of NB Power” to distribute the money to the official legal team and that is where I ran into a road block.

After posting a link to this article on their “wall” it was completely removed in minutes. Soon after one of the administrators responded that to set up a legal fund is very complicated and that there was a lot of work going on behind the scenes to make it happen. Also I was informed that a team of up to 30 lawyers were working on this with a lot of them going to do it pro bono or paid by various entities through out New Brunswick.

From the NB Power Not For Sale website:

The Coalition has set up a system to allow everyday New Brunswickers to contribute to the campaign.  Many people offering a little bit will have a major impact. We hope this works for all of us.

To date (Jan 04/10) the Coalition effort has spent approximately $40,000.

Expenses include advertising (print, radio and web), the Summit in Moncton, website and merchandise (T-Shirts, posters, signs).

January and February are expected to be busy. Tentative plans for another Summit, the court challenge, and many rallies around the province are underway.

You can go to go to any financial institution (Credit Union, Caisse Populaire or bank) in New Brunswick to contribute.  Our account name is:

Coalition of New Brunswickers: NB Power Not For Sale

Coalition de Néo Brunswickois : Énergie NB pas a vendreTransit # 67224-849         Account # 724 82-10-0

If you make the donation at a Credit Union or Caisse, there will be no service charge. If you use another bank, there will be a nominal service charge.

There will be regular updates on donation volumes. The money will be spent in the areas already identified – ads, public education (Summits), website, merchandise, and potential court challenge.

Thank you.

Last Updated (Tuesday, 05 January 2010 23:28)

This went up on their site recently and although it says “potential” court challenge, it is safe to assume that there will be a court challenge.

From Al Harper, Admin of the Facebook Group:

Folks just so you are aware… I urge you please do not donate money to off the cuff funding attempts.
There are teams of lawyers (sources say 30ish)working on this by other concerned shareholders.
The Coalition is working on a method to accept donations however it is not as easy to setup as first thought but is within days of being operational, so I am told by reliable sources.
So please be patient (I know you have heard this before) so this is done right and Legally

To which I replied:

I started a fund so before I get going with it (I see you deleted my post) please explain why this is not a good idea.

Lawyers are not necessarily your best source for advice on this but I will respect your decision.

To which Al Replied:

Al Harper January 5 at 11:00am

Sorry for that Mike. There are great efforts underway to curb this deal and alot of that info is in the TOP SECRET catergory for obvious reasons.
One of the things the Coalition which is Organized labour, and all new Brunswick Citizens in conjunction with labour Unions have a huge mass of resources and have ample funding.
Our Coalition is as we speak setting up such arrangement that may be used for signage, transport to rallies as well as funding town hall meeting etc.
We all appreciate your support but please try to understand our organizing efforts are just now becoming obvious over a very short period of time.
On the discussion board you will find a page looking for folks to help list yourself there and as tasks come up we use that resource for Volunteer work to help our cause.
Feel fre to contact me anytime..however I am by no means 24/7 monitoring this site.

Regards
Al

To Which I replied:

Ok no problem I will wait. The reason I did this was because I am growing increasingly nervous and frustrated. We are less than 90 days to D-Day so speed is of the essence.

In the meantime I still like the t-shirt

I removed the funding article from my site

To Which Al replied:

Thanks Mike the last thing we need is duplication or triplication of effort here…It took awhile to get ourselves (the Province) organised but we are getting there rapidly.
Please encourage all you know to attend the Rally on 12 Jan and please join http://www.savenbpower.org/ and request a Petition on the upper right button that you and friends may circulate and return to the address on the sheet.
Yesterday at 11:06am

This deal is just plain bad for New Brunswickers and has to be shot down.

Meanwhile on the self-serving front. I still have this T-Shirt design and I will now sell it. The $5.50 profit from each sale will now be mine and who I chose to give it to will be my call. *wink* *wink* *nudge*  *nudge* *know what I mean?* *know what I mean?* The T-shirt makes a statement and shows your support for the cause.

The T-Shirt is made of Gildan Ultra Cotton – 100% Cotton T-Shirt. 2000 6.1-ounce, 100% cotton seamless double-needle top-stitched collar taped neck and shoulders Double-needle sleeve and bottom hem. It is of the highest quality.

Click on the image to order or use the link at the bottom of this article.

I left the remnants of the original article below. If it is crossed out then it no longer applies. I left it because it was part of the story.

For each T-shirt sold, $5.00 is guaranteed to be donated to a legal fund, should someone be willing to take on the task. If any money is left over or no legal fund established, then these funds will be donated to the United Way.

As a disclaimer, the T-Shirt will cost $24.25 in US Funds plus shipping, handling, taxes, and/or duty. From that, $5.50 is considered profit. I am donating $5.00 to the fund on behalf of the purchaser leaving $0.50 per shirt sale as a management fee. The rest of the money goes to the T-Shirt company.

I do not want to make any money off of this but decided to keep $0.50 per sale. I will use that money for any expenses I incur from this venture. Any money that is left over from that will be used to buy silver bullion for one lucky winner in a contest open to anyone who buys a T-Shirt. The amount of silver will be dependent on the current price at that time and the amount of T-Shirts sold.

To enter this part of the contest just buy the shirt, send me proof of purchase, and a digital photograph of you in it. The more people in on this, the more money is raised to fight this fight, as well as you get to win a prize of real money…silver bullion.

TO ORDER THIS T-SHIRT RIGHT NOW CLICK HERE

Related posts:

1. Is Premier Shawn Graham Selling out New Brunswick? I dunno. I’m Just Asking.
2. New Brunswick’s Credit Rating Downgraded – Spin Doctors Called To Action
3. The Copenhagen Rap – Al Gore vs Lord Monckton
4. NB MEDIA CO-OP Launches