Both the Liberals and the NDP want to know if the Churchill Falls MOU is dead and whether the outcome of the review panel was pre-ordained.
The current MOU expires at the end of the month, yet the review panel examining its details isn’t expected to deliver its assessment of the deal until April 30th.
John Hogan (left) and Premier Tony Wakeham (right)
Opposition Leader John Hogan could not get a response to questions about whether or not government will extend the MOU before it expires and dies on the vine.
While Tony Wakeham says he’s spoken with new Quebec Premier Christine Frechette who respects the review process currently underway, claims from former premier Danny Williams that he helped kill the deal has led to questions about whether or not it can be salvaged.
“The former premier has claimed victory. Danny Williams said that the MOU is dead, and not only that, it’s his greatest political accomplishment. the current premier continues to spend millions of dollars on this biased review panel. Will the premier tell Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who we should believe? Is the deal dead, or not?” Hogan asked.
Premier Tony Wakeham says government promised to an independent review of the MOU, and that’s what they’ve done.
Jim Dinn (left) and Premier Tony Wakeham (right)
NDP Leader Jim Dinn asked Premier Wakeham whether the results of the review panel were pre-ordained.
“Will the Premier admit, that his government never had any intention of negotiating a new deal, that the conclusions of his independent panel are preordained, and that on this issue at least, he’s not the premier driving the bus?”
Tony Wakeham says his government committed to an “independent review process that was truly independent.”
