Premier Tony Wakeham says he and outgoing Quebec Premier Francois Legault met in Ottawa yesterday to discuss what he calls “opportunities to collaborate on hydro electricity.”
A review panel is currently going over the MOU negotiated between Hydro Quebec and NL Hydro on the Upper Churchill and future hydro development in Labrador, and is expected to report to government in April with its recommendations.
Legault, who approached Newfoundland and Labrador to renegotiate the Upper Churchill contract, set to expire in 2041, is expected to step down in April once a new leader of his Coalition Avenir is chosen. The separatist Parti Quebecois is currently leading in the polls and is widely expected to win the provincial election in Quebec this fall.
Wakeham says demand for hydro development has increased, even since the MOU was reached.
Quebec Premier Francois Legault (CPAC)
He believes the Quebec premier understands his position in ensuring that this province achieves the best deal possible.
“The Quebec premier clearly realized and understands that we’re doing an independent review of that process, that whole MOU and that will end at the end of April” says Wakeham. “We’ll wait to see what those recommendations are, and they may or may not lead to changes in the MOU that need to be negotiated.”
