The long-awaited review of the Churchill Falls MOU will be released today at 12:30 p.m.
On December 12, 2024 then-Liberal premier Andrew Furey ripped the existing 1969 Upper Churchill deal in half, declaring that “today, everything changes for Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Furey famously rips apart a copy of the original Churchill Falls agreement with Quebec. (VOCM News)
The document was championed by the former Liberal administration as the answer to the province’s money woes, with $225-billion projected to be pumped into the province over the life of the deal.
The Liberals brought the MOU to the House of Assembly for a special debate and defended it as a good deal, insisting that it had been properly reviewed and they were ready to negotiate final agreements.
The brakes were put on all that, however, when the PCs won the fall election. Premier Tony Wakeham had insisted that an independent review of the document be done, making it a cornerstone promise of his election campaign.
Premier Tony Wakeham (VOCM News)
“We’re talking about the review of an MOU, to make sure this indeed represents the best opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador,” Wakeham said while speaking with reporters on May 4.
The details of the three-person review panel were announced in December and they were given until April 30th – the same day the MOU expired – to deliver their report to government.
The report was delivered on time, and with Wakeham insisting that the premier of Quebec respects the review process, the MOU expiry date came and went.
Today, Premier Tony Wakeham will release the report publicly at a news conference scheduled for 12:30 at Confederation Building. VOCM News will carry it live.
Hydro Quebec Looking at Other Options if NL Backs Out: Quebec Media
(VOCM News)
Meanwhile, Hydro Quebec reportedly has plans in place should Newfoundland and Labrador not want to move ahead.
The Quebec periodical, L’actualité is reporting that Hydro Quebec is looking at its options to meet growing power demand with, or without, Newfoundland and Labrador.
Among those options are the development of an additional 10,000 MW of wind power by 2035, with the potential for 12,500 MW. That compares to the 7,200 MW anticipated through the expansion of Churchill Falls.
The governing Coalition Avenir has already indicated that alternative plans are being developed should the NL government not want to go ahead with the MOU, however Quebec Energy Minister Bernard Drainville would not elaborate in parliamentary committee hearings last week.
