The lead negotiator for the Churchill Falls deal says he was in the room when the premier told his caucus they would not be going ahead with the promised referendum, and that Premier Tony Wakeham was incredibly emotional.

A four-day special debate on the deal took place this week.

During a line of questioning from Liberal Paul Pike on Wednesday evening about the axed referendum, Barry Perry revealed that he was attending a caucus meeting to give an update on negotiations when Wakeham broke the news to his party.

Perry says, “I never saw a more emotional man,” and that it was “an amazing moment” to see how Wakeham informed his party of the decision. Perry believes the decision “weighed on him (Wakeham) a lot.”