PC Leader Tony Wakeham launched his campaign last night, opting to throw barbs at Liberal Leader John Hogan for choosing to go forward with an MOU with Hydro Quebec on the development of the Churchill River.
He said, if elected, his party would order an immediate referendum on the deal and put the terms before the public to have their say.
Tony Wakeham’s PC campaign launch (VOCM News)
“My question back to the Premier would be, what are you trying to hide? Why are you hiding things? What’s wrong with an independent review process? Why are we rushing to sign a deal with Quebec?” Wakeham stated.
“The Premier seems to be in a hurry to sign a deal with Quebec. Well, personally, I’m tired of selling Quebec our low electricity so they can build industries in their province.”
John Hogan (VOCM News)
Hogan says Wakeham should make his opinions on the Churchill Falls MOU clear before talking about holding a referendum on the issue.
At the Tory campaign launch last night, Wakeham committed to submitting the final deal to a public referendum, challenging Hogan to do the same.
Hogan did not commit to that, instead saying everyone knows where the Liberal Party stands, but people don’t know where the PCs stand.
He states that the Tories walked out of the House of Assembly when it was time to vote on the MOU, they have called for a pause on negotiations, and Wakeham hasn’t stated his opinion. Hogan says Wakeham needs to say whether he is for the deal or against it before talking about a referendum.
