Former Premier Brian Peckford is throwing cold water on the re-negotiated Churchill Falls hydro deal with Quebec.

In a news release today, Peckford says the province is putting “the cart before the horse” with the memorandum of understanding announced with much fanfare in mid-December.

Peckford, who was premier when the original Atlantic Accord resources agreement was signed in the 1980s, claims the new deal bypasses the most fundamental procedure of undergoing an expert panel review before it’s debated in the House of Assembly.

“The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is insisting the MOU go directly to the Legislature and there is no commitment, if ever, that the deal will be reviewed by an expert panel,” he said. “The tragedy of the Churchill Project continues unabated.”

“Surely the government of the province — having endured seeing Churchill power being sold to Quebec for decades at $1.80 per barrel oil equivalent while losing billions of dollars in economic rent, and later in the Muskrat deal with power going to Nova Scotians for less than Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are paying — would go out of its way to ensure every possible independent expert assessment was performed on this present deal first, before being debated and considered by the legislature,” said Peckford.

“Neither of these disasters, the Upper Churchill contract or the Muskrat Falls deal, had the benefit of this scrutiny.”

Peckford says residents of the province are paying 13 cents per kilowatt hour for electricity while Quebec, under the new deal, pays less than six cents for power from NL.

“(Former Premier J.R.) Smallwood ego and theatre in the first, and (former Premier Danny) Williams’ ego and theatre in second, have not served the province well,” he said.