As reports indicate the Conservative government’s plan for the Churchill River is essentially the same as the December 2024 MOU signed by our former Liberal government, the Official Opposition is questioning the government’s lack of transparency and responsible decision-making.
Once again, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians first learned about developments on the Churchill Falls MOU from Québec media outlet La Presse, rather than their own government. According to sources, “the core of the agreement remains similar to the MOU.” This confirms the independent experts and years of negotiating efforts that went into crafting the 2024 MOU had, indeed, reached the best deal for our province.
While the Premier continues to fail to update Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, the Conservatives are trying to rebrand the 2024 MOU and highlight the potential addition of transmission access to American markets. Facts are important: the 2024 MOU contained market-based pricing, ensuring that the prices attracted by the American markets were reflected in the price received by our province.
Newfoundlanders and Labradorians deserve to know: What has the new Conservative government given up? What is the plan if there is a change of Government in Québec? And will they finally keep their commitments to transparency and accountability?
If the reports are accurate, the Conservative government put our province’s future, billions of dollars of revenue, and tens of thousands of jobs, in jeopardy by delaying its updated MOU until the last minute. With Québec heading into an election in just a couple weeks, there is a very real risk that a new Parti Québécois government could be elected, a party that has been crystal clear it will not negotiate with Newfoundland and Labrador or change the unfair 1969 agreement as outlined in the 2024 MOU.
Our main priority continues to be ensuring the best possible deal for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. If the current deal is, as reported, as close to the 2024 MOU as it appears, we call on the new government to be honest with the public and finalize the deal.
We welcome the involvement of Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has long recognized the importance of this generational project moving forward. Our former Liberal government successfully advocated to have Churchill Falls placed on the list of potential National Major Projects and pushed for federal investment tax credits. We continued raising those measures with Prime Minister Carney, and we’re pleased to see him follow through.
If the Conservative government has indeed updated the MOU, they must bring it to the House of Assembly for open debate and allow the individuals who advised the government to be questioned, just as our former Liberal government did. The government also needs to clarify whether they still intend to honour their promise to hold a referendum on any final deal with Québec, a promise made on the very first day of their election campaign. Otherwise, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will be unable to trust his word on any other aspect of this major file.
“We want the best deal for Newfoundland and Labrador. If this is essentially the same deal we negotiated in 2024, we’re glad to see it moving forward. Now, Premier Wakeham and the Conservative government need to be transparent about what they agreed to, and what they gave up,” says Opposition Leader John Hogan.
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