There will be a special sitting in the House of Assembly to debate the new deal with Quebec on the Upper Churchill River.
Opposition parties called for such a debate in the legislature even before the agreement was announced yesterday.
And Premier Andrew Furey agreed, assuring reporters that MHAs will have an opportunity to debate and vote on the deal.
“I have said from day one, since becoming premier, when there was discussion around this historic and generational opportunity, that this M.O.U. would be debated in the House. And it will be, in a special sitting in early January,” he said.
“We want everyone to consider it. It is win, win, win for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.”
(File/VOCM News)
Neither PC Leader Tony Wakeham nor NDP Leader Jim Dinn were briefed on the specifics of the deal ahead of yesterday’s announcement. But they’ll spend the next several weeks digging into the details ahead of the debate.
Wakeham says he looks forward to it. But, he says he wants independent experts brought in to the House to inform the debate, noting Furey indicated he would be open to that earlier this year.
Dinn says a debate in the House is a positive, but does take issue with comments made by Furey during Thursday’s news conference, in which he was asked if he would be open to opposition ideas.
He says Furey “downplayed” the question, citing four years of negotiations over the contract.
Dinn hopes the debate will consider all sides, and that it will be “genuine.”
