A Supreme Court judge says the Innu Nation’s challenge of the rate mitigation deal between this province and Ottawa deserves to be heard before it’s signed on September 30.
Justice Alexander MacDonald noted time is of the essence when it comes to the Innu Nation’s application.
It was filed two weeks ago after the province and Ottawa announced they had reached an agreement in principle for a restructuring of Muskrat Falls financing. That’s crucial in order to keep electricity rates from doubling when first commercial power comes online later this fall.
In Supreme Court this morning, MacDonald said the arguments and his decision must be delivered before the deal is signed on September 30, otherwise the Innu application would be moot.
The Innu filed the application to prevent that signing from happening until their court challenge of the deal itself is decided.
They say they weren’t consulted as required, adding that it deliberately wipes out benefits promised in exchange for allowing the Muskrat Falls project to proceed.
If the injunction is granted, it could delay signing of the deal until after first power, exposing customers to doubled rates.
(Muskrat Falls file photo, August 2019, courtesy Nalcor.)
The Innu say while they support rate mitigation overall, and don’t want to see rates spike, they also want to ensure they have a seat at the table so that their rights are protected.
Arguments in the case are set to be heard in mid-September.
