Both the Official Opposition and the NDP are spelling out their concerns with next week’s debate in the House of Assembly over the Churchill Falls agreement.
The four-day 36-hour sitting will have experts from several groups, including NL Hydro and the federal government, starting on Monday.
Opposition house leader Lisa Dempster, who says there was more time in the January 2025 debate to discuss issues and ask questions, is calling on government to return to a similar format.
She says the session itself has turned from a debate to an information session.
“During the 2025 January setting, we had 36 hours, free flow, committee style. If I wanted to speak to an expert and ask questions, or if I wanted to speak to the Premier, that was there. That was my opportunity,” she told reporters. “We’ve gone from 36 hours in 2025 down to two. We’re not asking you to do something that we didn’t do. The benchmark was set. It was negotiated with the opposition at the time.”
NDP Leader Jim Dinn says the debate is designed for more “political theatre,” and he’s calling for a separate independent review.
“They need to consult someone such as whether it’s Manitoba Hydro, BC Hydro, KPMG or another top-tier consulting firm to look through this and see, do the numbers jive, do they make sense? Then we can have a final, clear vote on this. I guess what we’re going to see next week is political theatre in many ways, and we’re going to get some answers and be able to make a decision. That’s the only thing that counts here, really, from my point of view.”
