Leader of the Official Opposition John Hogan, KC, and Official Opposition Critic for Energy and Mines Fred Hutton are pleased that a benefits agreement with Equinor for the Bay du Nord offshore oil project has been reached, while also pointing to another broken Conservative promise.
This milestone builds on years of work by the former Liberal government, which fought vigorously with the federal government to complete the environmental assessment and ensure the project met rigorous environmental standards while advancing economic opportunity.
“This is an important milestone for our province,” says Hogan. “Bay du Nord represents thousands of jobs, significant economic activity, and long-term revenue for our province. This represents another step towards possible project sanction, which would provide opportunities for workers, businesses, and communities.”
However, Hogan and Hutton say today’s announcement also highlights yet another broken promise from the Conservative government. Despite previously insisting that all topsides work must all be completed in Newfoundland and Labrador, the Conservatives have delivered no topsides work. This is a clear departure from what was promised. They are instead trying to sell other features of the development, which should have been included anyway, as substitutes for the major work they campaigned on.
“The Conservatives made a clear commitment to the people of this province that all topside work would be completed here at home,” says Hutton. “Newfoundlanders and Labradorians expected those jobs to be created in our yards, employing our skilled tradespeople.”
Instead, the Premier has signed away the rights of our province’s assets in exchange for the opportunity to bid on the topsides work – a chance that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians should have always had.
The Premier, who at the time was a PC leadership candidate, is on record saying that a full debate on Bay du Nord must happen before decisions are made that would lock the Province into a deal that would sell the Province short. Today, a deal was announced, without a debate that he himself demanded. This is not the transparency the Premier campaigned on.
“While we welcome progress on Bay du Nord, we cannot ignore the fact that the government failed to deliver on a key promise,” adds Hogan. “Newfoundland and Labrador workers deserve honesty and transparency. Premier Tony Wakeham and Energy Minister Lloyd Parrot owe the public a clear explanation as to why they broke their promise.”
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