This week marks one year since Newfoundland and Labrador signed a historic MOU with Quebec on the Churchill River, an agreement with the potential to be truly transformative, helping to correct a decades-long, lopsided deal.
Riding on this MOU is the ability to get out of a bad deal seventeen years early, secure $225 billion in revenue over the lifetime of the agreement, quadruple our access to power, and create thousands of local jobs.
Yesterday, Mr. Wakeham directed his ministers in a generic mandate letter to be “honest, open and accountable,” and yet on the biggest opportunity our Province has ever had, Mr. Wakeham and his Conservative government remain silent. They cancelled the Fall sitting of the House of Assembly, and refuse to answer basic questions being asked by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
John Hogan, KC, Leader of the Official Opposition has written to both Mr. Wakeham and Mr. Parrott with questions about their position on the MOU and their plans going forward, but has yet to receive a response.
With the appointment of a supposedly “independent” review panel promised before the holidays, the people of this province deserve to know how Mr. Wakeham intends to make sure this historic opportunity is not lost.
The Official Opposition will continue to press for answers on behalf of all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and if the House of Assembly hadn’t been closed by the Conservatives, here are five questions that the Leader of the Official Opposition, John Hogan, and Energy and Mines critic Fred Hutton would ask:
- Is Mr. Wakeham choosing the “independent” review panel himself?
- What is the status of negotiations with Hydro Québec, or have they paused?
- Has Mr. Wakeham had discussions with other potential partners?
- When does Mr. Wakeham propose to have a referendum, and who will draft the ballot question?
- If Mr. Wakeham cancels the MOU, what is his plan to develop Gull Island to replace the billions of dollars in revenue?
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