Premier Tony Wakeham has spoken with Quebec Premier Christine Frechette ahead of the potential resumption of negotiations between the provinces on the Churchill Falls MOU.
The long-awaited report from the MOU review panel was released yesterday, with the definitive conclusion that the deal, as it stands, is not in the best interests of Newfoundland and Labrador.
That means this province wants to head back to the bargaining table on some key points, with the members of their three-person negotiating team also being announced yesterday.
Wakeham says he spoke with Frechette on Monday about the “opportunities” that exist on both sides, and he appears confident that Quebec will come back to the negotiating table.
He says Frechette has expressed a willingness to do that, and he expects to speak with her again in the coming days.
Wakeham has also spoken with Prime Minister Mark Carney about the MOU, and he believes there are opportunities that exist at the federal level in terms of the document too, noting that the feds have talked a lot about building capacity throughout the province.
As an example, he says Ottawa is “deeply interested” in critical mineral opportunities in the Labrador trough. Wakeham says Churchill Falls is one of the best projects in all of Canada, which is why he believes there is an opportunity for a partnership with Quebec and Ottawa to work together to get a deal done.
Premier Accuses Former Liberal Government of Interfering with MOU Negotiations While in Power
Liberal Leader John Hogan and Premier Tony Wakeham
Premier Tony Wakeham is accusing the former Liberal government of interfering in the negotiation process involving the Churchill Falls MOU.
Wakeham made the comments during Question Period in response to Opposition Leader John Hogan.
The panel found that the previous government insisted on including a 2 per cent escalator clause in the MOU, against the advice of negotiators and without “the full financial and economic implications” of those requirements being “comprehensively evaluated.”
The concern was how the 2 per cent escalating revenue model would affect financing of Churchill Falls upgrades and expansion projects, and that it could end up costing money.
Wakeham says the former premier and his cabinet interfered and “put items in the MOU that would have cost the taxpayers of Newfoundland and Labrador $30-billion.”
