Giving it All Away

Our province’s position on the Lower Churchill has me baffled, befuddled and bewildered.

I’m right there with Danny when it comes to big oil and the federal government but I can’t help wondering if those battles are a skillful misdirection. A magician’s ploy meant to shift attention from other issues such as the Lower Churchill project.

Ever since Williams swore we'd develop that project ourselves he's touted the dream of an east/west power grid as one way to ensure Ottawa's support. He's spoken of the hunger for clean power in Ontario and the U.S. and he's proudly said he wants to export the electricity through Quebec or, if necessary, via the so called Anglo Saxon route.

Some have gleefully patted Danny on the back for threatening to bypass Quebec. Not me. Not that I'd mind doing so, just on principle. What bothers me is why, through all the rhetoric, he hasn’t once talked about using that power to diversify the economy here at home.

I'm not naive enough to believe we can use all of that power ourselves, not right away anyway. I know we’ll need to sell some to finance the project and ensure a solid return, but why the hell does Newfoundland and Labrador have to plan for near total export?

What’s wrong with using OUR resources to attract industry to OUR province and why has every government we've ever elected told us our only way forward is to walk backward?

It began when we gave away our sovereignty. Since then it’s been one giveaway after another.

The Upper Churchill sees billions of dollars flow to Quebec while Newfoundland and Labrador barely makes enough to keep the turbines spinning.

INCO signed a deal for a processing facility in the province and replacement of ALL the ore shipped out. Where’s the processing facility or smelter and who among us actually believes we'll actually recover any of the minerals already exported?

Oil and Gas – Do you see any of it refined in the province? Do we have any petrochemical industries worth speaking of?

A few months ago I made contact with Natural Resources Minister, Kathy Dunderdale. As a concerned citizen I wanted to know if the province had been courting any major industrial players like Alcoa or Alcan in an effort to have them set up shop in Labrador, once an abundant supply of power was available of course.

Ms. Dunderdale politely informed me that she had already reviewed a study into that option and it was not feasible because it would cost the taxpayers, you and me, $1 billion dollars.

That's a Billion with a very big 'B'.

Since this wasn't what I expected to hear I followed up with the obvious question, "why"?

I mean who the hell lets a number like $1 billion dollars hang out there and quotes from some unnamed study without providing any details?

I thought she’d give me a hint. She didn’t.

First I was given the impression it was a joint study between government and industry. After I pushed a little harder I was told it was an issue of confidentiality because the study had been undertaken by a publicly traded company, not the government itself, and it had only been “shown” to government. Go figure.

Can't these people do anything for themselves?

First Wade Locke has to tell our provincial government what the new equalization formula really means and now the Minister of Natural Resources is deciding our collective futures based on the results of a study supposedly "shown" to her by an unnamed industry player.

I'm sure what ever company it was had no vested interest in getting the Province to pony up a cool billion.

Will someone please stop the insanity!!!

I started my little waltz with Ms. Dunderdale in November of last year. More than six months later I’m still listening to the dance music but I'm no closer to an answer.

Are we really missing something in this province generally and Labrador specifically that would cause a power hungry company to just walk away from one of the last great power projects in North America?

What is it and why does it cost so much?

These are all questions nobody seems in a hurry to answer.

Companies like Alcoa are scouring the earth for clean, stable and inexpensive power. For some reason the Lower Churchill doesn’t fit their bill. That’s something all of us needs to worry about.

If something is truly necessary to attract industry here maybe it should be discussed openly instead of swept under the rug. It may be expensive but it could be money well spent and since you and I pay the taxes around here perhaps Ms. Dunderdale should be a little more open about the whole issue.

Our government has an opportunity before it to use our resources wisely. It has a chance to resolve a lot of the issues we face today and do things right this time around, maybe for the last time. The question is whether or not they’ll have the vision to do it right or if they'll simply follow the course of those who came before and give it all away.