Premier Tony Wakeham has announced a process that he admits will take longer than the April deadline imposed to finalize the MOU on Churchill Falls with Quebec.
The Independent Review Committee has been appointed, led by former Emera President and CEO Chris Huskilson, and includes two members of the former Independent Review Panel – Dr. Guy Holburn and Michael Wilson.
Wilson famously resigned from the former panel citing concerns over its mandate.
Wakeham says the committee will have four months to report back to government at which time its report will be tabled in the House of Assembly and shared publicly. Wakeham says he’ll then take the committee’s findings to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador in a possible referendum.
Many believe that time is of the essence in finalizing the multi-billion dollar deal, citing Quebec Premier Francois Legault’s likely defeat in a provincial election next fall, but Wakeham says he won’t be rushed into doing a deal until he’s certain it’s in the best interest of this province.
“I’m focused on making sure that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador, that our future and the future generations after us , will have an opportunity to perhaps sit back and say that we got it right, we took our time, we did it right and we can show that.”
‘Clock is ticking’ says energy critic
Opposition energy critic Fred Hutton says whether the premier likes it or not, the “clock is ticking” and he’s fearful hundreds of billions of dollars are at risk through potential delays in finalizing the MOU with Quebec.
“It looks like the party that says this is a bad deal for Quebec is going to be in power and we won’t get this deal” says Hutton of recent political polls in Quebec which is due for a provincial election in the fall.
“And this will be a missed opportunity of a billion dollars a year between now and 2041, and a total of $225 billion over the life of this contract, the 50 years.”
No consultation says NDP
NDP Leader Jim Dinn says he’s no more confident today in the process surrounding oversight of the Churchill Falls MOU than he was before.
Dinn says Premier Tony Wakeham did not consult with the party for input on the process.
“He certainly didn’t consult with us, despite numerous efforts to have that input. I think his argument or his rationale was that we had supported the MOU. We support the process, we’ve always supported an open, transparent process.”
