Notice of this appeal period arrived in our offices December 19. For others it may not arrive in the mail until after Christmas or New Years. The 30 day period should not include holidays.

The first round for responses from those who appealed the licence means work during the holidays. No resources are made available for those who appealed the licence. More serious, many of the appeals to this licence are from First Nations. Their offices close for two weeks or more starting the Friday before Christmas. Effectively they will not see their notice of the appeal period until after New Year's Day.

So far Justice Manitoba procedures are different from the Wuskwatim licences appeal to cabinet. Materials received to date do not: identify how many appeals, from who, were filed; advise of all steps and the timelines for those steps in the appeal; give reasons why this appeal was triggered.

So far it is unclear why the appeal documents ignore the Clean Environment Commission hearings, transcripts, evidence, recommendations in its report, and all the filings from Manitoba Hydro about Bipole III after the Environmental Statements were filed in 2011. The licence Minister Mackintosh issued took all of the above into consideration.

There has been no public announcement by government of this appeal. Media coverage has been nil. Perhaps Manitoba Justice would explain itself. Perhaps the hope is to have few if any responses from those who appealed the Bipole III licence.