It was one year ago this week that then-premier Andrew Furey announced the MOU with Quebec. However, with a new government now in power, the official opposition says there are many questions that the PCs have yet to answer.
Liberal leader John Hogan has written both Premier Tony Wakeham and energy minister Lloyd Parrott to ask for their position on the MOU and their plans moving forward, but has not received a reply.
Specifically, the Liberals want to know if Wakeham is choosing members of the independent review panel himself, if negotiations with Quebec have paused, if the premier has had discussions with other potential partners, when the proposed referendum will be held and who will draft the question, and what the plan is to develop Gull Island if the deal does not proceed.
Liberal Leader John Hogan (VOCM News)
Hogan acknowledges that the political situation in Quebec could affect the current deal if it is not signed by next fall – when an election is expected.
He says the original timeline of April was “aggressive” but “not impossible,” but government has “slipped…at least two months from that timeline.”
He also assumes that the independent review will need to happen before Wakeham proceeds with any more negotiations. “So I think you’re seeing the April 2026 timeline slip away,” says Hogan, who stresses that the province needs to keep an eye on what’s happening politically in Quebec.
