A Supreme Court action that threatens to delay or even derail the rate mitigation deal between the federal and provincial governments was back before a judge this morning.
The Innu Nation is seeking an injunction that would prevent the agreement from being signed on September 30th as scheduled.
That deal is critical to prevent electricity rates from doubling when first commercial power starts flowing in late November.
The Innu argue they were wrongfully excluded from the negotiations on rate mitigation, saying it will affect the benefits promised in exchange for allowing construction of Muskrat Falls on its land in the first place.
If granted, the injunction would delay the signing indefinitely pending a trial on the matter.
In Supreme Court this morning, a judge granted a request to seal commercially sensitive information from the public. But he also again asked lawyers for the province and Ottawa how firm that September 30th deadline is.
A lawyer for the province said while there could be “some slippage” by a few days, ultimately it is a hard deadline that was set with the fallout of first power — and doubling of electricity rates — being the key consideration.
That aligns with the government’s contention that the deal must be signed before first power in order to avoid the spike in rates.
The matter returns to court next week as all sides present their arguments as to why the injunction should or shouldn’t be granted.