Quebe's Shameful Power Play - National Post

From the National Post
The Bloc Quebecois are the W.C. Fields of politics -- they never vote for anything, they always vote against. Paule Bruelle, a Bloc MP from Trois Rivieres, provided the latest example of her party's ability to drain any room of positive energy by calling on the federal government to turn down Newfoundland and Labrador's application for $375-million in federal infrastructure funding -- not on the grounds that it may be a bad investment but because it would provide competition for Hydro-Quebec.

Newfoundland and Labrador, through its energy subsidiary Nalcor, and Nova Scotia's energy giant, Emera, have sought $375-milion in federal funding from the government's Private-Public Partnerships Canada infrastructure fund to help build a transmission link between a new generating plant at Lower Churchill in Labrador and Nova Scotia. The logical route would be through Quebec but Hydro-Quebec has already closed down that option by complaining it needs all its existing transmission capacity and the province's regulator has agreed.

Not only does the Bloc not want Newfoundland and Labrador's new green hydro power to go through Quebec, it wants to stop it going around Quebec too.

The worrying thing is that Jean Charest's Liberal government agrees with the separatists, claiming that federal funding would create an unfair trade advantage and result in a government subsidy for each kilowatt of electricity transported to Nova Scotia.

Only a Quebec government could make such a statement without feeling a sense of shame. The province likes to tout its green-energy credentials, but its environmental record is almost entirely dependent on the notoriously one-sided 72-year deal to buy Newfoundland and Labrador's hydro power, generated by the Upper Churchill Falls, for a fraction of its market price.

It seems hard to believe but the 1969 deal, which has seen Quebec make $20-billion to Newfoundland and Labrador's $1-billion, is about to get worse for residents of the Rock.

In round numbers, Quebec currently pays $2.50 per megawatt hour and then sells on the power at the market price of between $40-60 mw/h. Bad enough you might think, but that amount is set to fall to $2 per megawatt hour from 2016 for the remaining 23 years of the deal's duration. Wars have started over less.

This is the background to the screaming match that is brewing between Mr. Charest and Newfoundland and Labrador's Danny Williams. Mr. Williams is appealing the Upper Churchill deal on the grounds that there has been such a fundamental change in market conditions because of open access to the United States that there has been a breach of good faith.

The case is likely to be mired in the Quebec court system for years.

Undeterred, Nalcor has struck a deal with Emera that will see a new $2.9-billion generating plant at Muskrat Falls, linked by a new $2.1-billion transmission line to the Rock and then connected to Nova Scotia by the $1.2-billion subsea link. Newfoundland will keep 40% of the power generated, Nova Scotia will take 20%, leaving the remainder for sale to markets in the northern United States, a market where Hydro-Quebec is already strong. Muskrat Falls will leave Newfoundland and Labrador 100% emission free.

Ed Martin, Nalcor's chief executive, was in Ottawa Tuesday, trying to drum up support from the federal government. He said the deal will remove two to three megatonnes of carbon from Canada's total emissions and create about 6,500 jobs a year during the seven-year construction period. "It's a great investment opportunity for Canada and I don't want to leave them out," he said in an interview.

Whether or not the numbers add up is for the federal Finance department to decide. Ottawa's 8% stake in the Hibernia project that Nalcor has already bid upon adds the possibility of a side deal being added into the equation.

But what is clear is that the federal government should ignore bleating from the Bloc and the Quebec government about unfair trade practices, experts though they both may be on the subject.

The decision should be made on what is in the national interest -- something over which Mr. Charest, far less the Bloc, loses any sleep. If this federation is to flourish, Ottawa needs to speak for Canada.

By John Ivison

A Christmas Miracle Comes Early

It may not be Christmas quite yet but it seems a seasonal miracle has happened none the less thanks to a recent article in the National Post.

Who would have thought a national paper would actually side with Newfoundland and Labrador on any issue, let alone in its struggles with Quebec.

Enjoy the Post article, but don't expect to read too many like this one in the national papers. Remember, as far as most Canadians are concerned the Country's border ends at Halifax.

John Ivison: Quebec should be embarrassed by powerline protectionism

My office phone rang the other day and the conversation went something like this: “Hello, it’s Danny Williams here,” said a familiar voice.

“Er…hello, Premier.”

“I’m not very happy about today’s column, where you compared me to Robert Mugabe….”

“Er…no, Premier.”

I’d written about allegations of intimidation during the last election in the Newfoundland riding of Avalon, where it was suggested Mr. Williams’ Anyone But Conservative campaign had led to tactics more familiar to political campaigns in Zimbabwe than Canada .

According to Mr. Williams, the allegations are untrue “on my father’s grave”. I tried to substantiate the rumours during the campaign, with no success. So until someone comes forward with some proof, we must take the Premier at his word.

In any event, it proved an interesting, if tangential, aside to the real issue I’d been writing about – namely, Newfoundland and Labrador’s attempted purchase of the federal government’s stake in the Hibernia oil field and Ottawa’s potential investment in a sub-sea electricity transmission line from a putative Lower Churchill hydro-electric project to markets in the south and west.

The province’s electricity corporation, Nalcor, has applied for $375-million in federal funding to help pay for the multi-billion underwater transmission line.

The main lesson that readers should take away from this story is what a sorry admission of failure in Canadian federalism it represents. The obvious route to markets in Ontario and the U.S. for Lower Churchill’s power is overland through Quebec .

Hydro-Québec claims that upgrades of up to $3-billion would be required to transport power through the province. Quebec’s energy board, the Régie de l’énergie, has sided with its own power corporation against Nalcor, even though it was prepared to pay for “reasonable upgrades” and up to $200-million in annual tariffs. Needless to say, Mr. Williams unleashed a broadside when the decision was announced in May, protesting Quebec ’s “arrogance and discriminatory business practises”.

You won’t read this in this column very often, but Danny Williams has a point. The Régie decision is an insult to add to the considerable injury of the existing, long-term Churchill Falls contract, under which Newfoundland and Labrador is forced to sell power for a quarter of a cent per kilowatt hour and then watch Hydro-Québec resell it for up to 36 times that price.

Both situations are a disgrace but only one is within the federal government’s purview to change.

The National Energy Board, an independent regulatory body created by Ottawa , has jurisdiction over designated inter-provincial power lines by determination of the federal cabinet. No such lines have been designated, leaving the field to provincial regulators. But a government that genuinely believed in making the federation work more effectively, not to mention saving Canadian taxpayers billions of dollars, would demand that Quebec open up its transmission lines.

Contrast this mess to the situation in Europe where the much-maligned European Union has stepped in to remove barriers to cross-border exchanges in electricity. New regulations mean transmission system operators are obliged to take new generation and compensation is paid by the operators of the national transmission systems from which cross-border flows originate.

If 27 sovereign states can reach agreement on a system that forgoes protectionism and monopolistic market dominance, in exchange for more competition and lower consumer prices, why can’t Canada ? Quebecers should be embarrassed.

John Ivason - National Post

National Post: Williams slams Quebec hydro 'robbery'

Once again it's time to revisit the robbery Newfoundland and Labrador continues to suffer from at the hands of the Quebec government, Hydro-Quebec and, yes even the federal government (which played no small part in allowing the upper churchill fiasco to happen and continue to stand in the way of power export development in Labrador.)

The following appeared in the latest edition of the National Post and should be of interest to Web Talk readers:

Hypocritical, a bad neighbour, and guilty of "highway robbery": Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams called Jean Charest's Quebec government a few names in a St. John's speech, escalating a feud over hydroelectric power rights that has simmered between the two provinces for decades.

In a luncheon address to the St. John's Board of Trade on Wednesday, Mr. Williams denounced Quebec's opposition to Newfoundland's bid for federal funding to build a power transmission line from Labrador to Nova Scotia to potentially sell Labrador-generated power in the Maritimes and New England.

Calling Quebec's opposition to funding the project "shameful" and "abhorrent," Mr. Williams said Quebec "shafted us once" on the existing, 1960s-built hydro plant on the Churchill River and suggested it was trying to do so again with the proposed Lower Churchill project.

"[Quebec] wants it all, and that just doesn't go down well with me ... It needs to get out of the way of the progress of its neighbours," he said.

"The rest of the country and even Quebec itself is finally admitting that it has been getting away with highway robbery in Canada for decades."

The Quebec government has avoided the same kind of tough language so far. In a statement issued yesterday, Quebec Deputy Premier Nathalie Normandeau said the province does not oppose the construction of any undersea power transmission lines. What it opposes are federal subsidies for these on the grounds that they could distort the price and market for electricity. In a letter last month, Quebec asked Ottawa not to fund a joint Newfoundland-Nova Scotia hydro project on those grounds.

Mr. Williams characterized that move as "disgusting." His elaboration on that position on Wednesday was in keeping with his tendency to take aggresive stances against other Canadian politicians.

"Newfoundland and Quebec have been at loggerheads for a few decades now. The difference is, Danny Williams brings a very strong personal component to it. He has demonstrated
in relations with Ottawa and with other premiers that he [isn't] hesitant to butt in," said Nelson Wiseman, a University of Toronto political science professor, who noted public disagreements between premiers is rare.

That combative style plays well in Mr. Williams's home province, where his popularity ratings tend to stay above 80%.

"I guess his feeling is playing nice hasn't gotten them anywhere," said James Feehan, a professor of economics at Memorial University Newfoundland and the co-author, with Melvin Baker, of an article in the September issue of Policy Options magazine titled "The Churchill Falls contract and why Newfoundlanders can't get over it."

Driving Mr. Williams's anger is a desire to capitalize on Labrador's hydroelectric potential for the first time by piping power to the Maritimes, perhaps even finding a market for Labradorian electricty in New England.

The proposed Lower Churchill project could accomplish what the existing Churchill Falls project has failed to do for residents of Newfoundland and Labrador: namely, get hydro royalties flowing in the direction of St. John's.

For Newfoundlanders, Quebec's apparent blocking of attempts to develop the Lower Churchill project smacks of the Churchill Falls hydro deal signed in 1969, which has obliged their provincial power utility to sell electricity to Quebec for absurdly low prices. The deal angers Newfoundlanders still.

"There were events that took place that I think do not look all that clean in terms of business ethics. There were issues of conflict of interest, where Hydro-Quebec had an interest in [the Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation] at the same time," Mr. Feehan said.

Nalcor Energy, parent company of the Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation, launched a lawsuit against Hydro-Quebec in January. Several past attempts by St. John's to have the Churchill Falls deal changed or renegotiated have failed.

In the meantime, Mr. Williams reckons Newfoundland is selling Quebec more than $2-billion worth of electricity each year for around $50-million. The contract expires in 2041.

Williams to Charest: Butt out (again)!

UPDATE:

New numbers today. It appears that the "ask" by NL and NS for a federal contribution to the cost of the undersea cable between the two provinces is $375 million (the entire effort is expected to cost between $800 million and $1.2 billion). Both provinces have requested the funding from Canada's green innovation fund through the public/private partnership program.

This is not a lot when you consider taht the cable would rest in federal jurisdiction (under the ocean), would supply clean power to Atlantic Canada and beyond and the amount is only, as one individual noted today, about 1 third of the cost of security at the G8/G20 conference held in T.O. recently.

Continuing with the topic of Quebec Premier Jean Charest's latest attempt to gain a stranglehold on all electricity generated, transmitted and sold in Eastern Canada here is an opinion piece from the Times and Transcript out of New Brunswick. It speaks volumes about the predatory tactics that are the norm with our neighbour to the west.

Quebec's meddling in the affairs of its neighbours may profoundly annoy Atlantic Canadians, but it's hardly surprising. La belle province sports a long history of promoting its interests, at others' expense, through back channels.

The latest example is a letter Premier Jean Charest recently sent to the Prime Minister's Office objecting to Newfoundland and Labrador's and Nova Scotia's joint application for federal funding to construct an undersea power cable between their two provinces. Apparently, granting such a request would constitute an unfair subsidy to the two Atlantic provinces.

If that's a joke, it's a good one.

Over the years, successive federal governments have poured countless billions of dollars into Quebec's aerospace and defence industries. They have propped up its dairy and pork producers, and extended preferential treatment (read: extra-equalization formula) to many of its state-supported social programs.

Less amusing, perhaps, is Quebec's peculiar definition of equity in the delicate balance of provincial interests that proscribe Confederation. It has built its energy behemoth - arguably, the most successful in the nation - on the bones of a patently unfair, 65-year-old deal that permits it to resell power from Labrador's Upper Churchill facility and reap the profits with no consideration for Newfoundland. And, despite repeated injunctions, it refuses to renegotiate the arrangement.

It also refuses to entertain the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's recent request to wheel hydro-electric power from the Lower Churchill River through its transmission lines, a move, it surmises correctly, that would introduce competition to its currently hegemonic lock on U.S. and Ontario energy markets.

No province is ever expected to act against its own interests. But Quebec's heavy-handed approach to inter-provincial relations leaves a bad taste in the mouths of even its most ardent admirers, one of whom, it's entirely correct to say, is not Newfoundland and Labrador's easily angered, eminently quotable premier.

After learning about Charest's attempted fiat, Williams was practically beside himself last week, spouting a string of trade mark "Dannyisms."

What gives Quebec the right, he thundered, to interfere? Specifically: "What gives Quebec, or the Government of Quebec, or the premier of Quebec, the right under any circumstances to object to an application for funding by other provinces that have nothing to do with Quebec?

They don't want us to go through Quebec, and now they don't want us to go anywhere. I think these are really very predatory practices and I don't like it, and I'm not going to put up with it."

Nova Scotia Energy Minister Bill Estabrooks echoed these sentiments in a CBC interview: "In my opinion, the premier of Quebec should mind his own business. He's dismissing a very valid idea which comes from two provinces that have worked very carefully in terms of giving a reliable energy service to our provinces."

And not just "their" provinces. An undersea power cable would be the first step towards a true Atlantic energy grid - supplied with clean, renewable hydro-electricity - that could reduce costs for all classes of consumers in all parts of the region. It would also vastly improve the East Coast's position as an international energy exporter, stimulating robust economic development in all partner provinces.

Quebec's purpose, of course, is to savagely curtail these opportunities any way it can. Its aborted bid last year to buy the major assets of NB Power has left it in a bitter, petulant mood. If Charest can't secure access to the U.S. northeast through New Brunswick, then nobody can - certainly not dear, old King Danny for whom he holds no special regard.

In all of this, the federal government appears to be playing its cards exactly as it should.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper reportedly told Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter that Quebec has no "veto" on matters that quite properly fall within the framework of national decision-making. Which may be another way of saying the feds will consider the joint funding application on its own merits.

If so, then Charest's meddling is moot, if no less annoying for the squalling, squawking selfishness it represents.

By: Alec Bruce, a Moncton-based journalist. He can be reached via www.thebrucereport.com

The Israel and Palestine of the North

An opinion piece by L. Ian Macdonald in the June 13th edtion of the Montreal Gazette caught my eye today, as I'm sure it did every other Newfoundlander or Labradorian who read the headline, "Let it go Newfoundland".

The article, at least for me, was quite perplexing and, if it weren’t so clearly oxymoronic, might even have spurred some anger on my part.

In his column Macdonald offered up some less than sage advice to Newfoundland and Labrador about moving forward, not looking back, when it comes to dealing with Hydro Quebec and the Quebec government on the Lower Churchill development.

Apparently Mr. Macdonald has taken offense with Premier Williams’ latest words of war against, what Williams referred to as Quebec’s “…sense of greed, arrogance and entitlement…” and decided to use the pages of the Montreal Gazette to air his feelings.

After reading (and re-reading) the article I decided to remain calm, I mean how can anyone be angry with a writer who somehow managed, in a mere 800 words, to prove Newfoundland and Labrador’s case while supposedly claiming that the province (and its leader Danny Williams) are wrong?

In the article Macdonald essentially told Newfoundland to forget the past and move on with a deal on the Lower Churchill project. He claimed that the anger surrounding past transgressions by Quebec is what’s standing in the way of a deal.

Let’s look at his arguments then shall we.

Macdonald began by noting that the Upper Churchill contract, which sees Quebec reap outrageous profits from Newfoundland and Labrador’s resources, happened in the 1960’s and that the lopsided contract was really Joey Smallwood’s fault, not Quebec’s, because as Ian put it, “…the deal on the Upper Churchill was approved by Joey Smallwood, the first premier of Newfoundland” and “Newfoundland did get screwed on the Upper Churchill -screwed by its own premier.”

Well at least he admitted that Newfoundland and Labrador got screwed, that’s something.

Indeed a contract was signed and I agree that Joey Smallwood signed it, but when you put it into context, something Macdonald seems determined not to do, a far different story appears.

In reality Hydro Quebec and the Quebec government refused to allow Newfoundland and Labrador the ability to wheel power across their province to markets elsewhere, leaving Newfoundland and Labrador no option but to negotiate a contract with Quebec on their terms. As anyone knows, when you have nowhere else to turn, it’s usually a pretty one sided negotiation.

As for Joey signing the contract, indeed he did, and many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians still despise him for doing it. In reality however it was Hydro Quebec that stretched out the negotiations for years, nearly forcing the project’s development company into bankruptcy, before using inside information on the company’s impending insolvency as the catalyst to present a final “take it or leave it” contract.

The options at that point were limited. Sign the contract and live with the consequences for the next 60 years, period.

There are still decades left on that contract so as much as Mr. Macdonald may see it as a thing of the past to be put aside, in Newfoundland and Labrador it is not. It isn’t a thing of the past in Quebec either where billions in revenue continue to roll in as a result of it.

In his next attempt to convince Newfoundland and Labrador to “move on” Macdonald noted that Premier Williams even mentioned the border between Labrador and Quebec in a recent speech, saying, “…he is so bitter and twisted about the past that he can't get on with the future. Not content to rant about the injustice of the Upper Churchill, he even thought to mention the British Privy Council decision of 1927, awarding Labrador to Newfoundland, and ripping Quebec for still including Labrador on its map on the government web-site. Get over it.”

Once again the point was missed completely.

Get over it, really?

Yes, the border between the two provinces was decided in 1927 but the act of trying to encroach on that border is continuing to happen every day in Quebec.

Maps are drawn up all the time by Quebec government agencies, including Hydro Quebec, the Tourism Departments, even by Quebec agencies that regulate mineral and oil exploration, depicting portions of Labrador as being inside Quebec or noting that the 1927 border is not officially accepted by Quebec.

How is the ongoing act of border modification a thing of the past to “get over” when that border is directly tied to the head waters and rivers from which Upper Churchill power is, and hopefully Lower Churchill power will, flow?

In his efforts to put Premier Williams (and the province of Newfoundland and Labrador) in its place, Macdonald claims Newfoundlanders are like “Palestinians” because we will never reach a deal due to past grievances. Premier Williams he claimed is over the top in referring to Quebec’s “greed, arrogance and sense of entitlement.

In the next breath, and throughout the article he then goes on to say that Williams is right when he says that Newfoundland and Labrador is getting screwed on the Upper Churchill, that Quebec uses revenues from the Upper Churchill and from buying cheap off peak power from Ontario, then selling it back to them during peak periods, to fund better day care than anyone else in Canada, to offer the lowest university tuitions in the Country and to artificially freeze Quebec power rates, instead of capturing those revenues and lowering the level of equalization payments Quebec receives (more than any other province in the Country).

Call me crazy but whose point is Macdonald actually proving here? The examples presented sound about as close to a strong sense of “greed, arrogance and entitlement” as you can get.

For some reason Ian Macdonald seems to feel that Premier Williams was out of line when, he denounced, “Quebec's "agenda to deny competitive power to the rest of North America," and when he called the decision of the Quebec energy regulator "the most biased decision that I have ever seen in 40 years as a lawyer ...”. Saying “The decision was so absurd and wrong as to be embarrassing to Quebec."

Clearly Mr. Macdonald has been spending far too much time listening to his inner voices rather than doing some valuable research.

It’s clear from examining the Regie (Quebec regulator) decision on transmitting power from the Lower Churchill through Quebec, and on the appeal documents now filed by Newfoundland and Labrador, that the board and its findings are, or should be, a complete and utter embarrassment to Quebec, ripe with incorrect assertions and outright falsehoods.

Among many, many other “mistakes”, the Regie somehow came to the conclusion that the existing Upper Churchill power plant, built in Labrador and run by a division of Newfoundland Hydro, falls under the jurisdiction and control of Quebec, also claiming that the power lines on the Labrador side of the border (remember the border) are regulated and controlled by Quebec.

In the most insulting and idiotic statement of all the Regie noted that the Quebec transmission wing of Hydro Quebec was not aware of the 1969 Churchill Falls agreement. I ask you, if that ludicrous assertion isn’t an embarrassment to the Quebec regulator what in heaven’s name would be?

So, it seems that Danny Williams is no longer Canada’s Hugo Chavez, a name that was born and quickly died out after his dispute with the oil elite finally garnered the province a respectable energy agreement and proved that his tactics wouldn’t drive companies away from the region.

Williams is now, according to Macdonald at least, Canada’s answer to the leader of the PLO with Newfoundlanders the Palestinians. I guess that makes Quebec the much maligned and altruistic Israel of Canada, at least in Macdonald’s twisted and oxymoronic mind.

Quebec, a place where everyone simply wants to live in peace and harmony but where they must forever be vigilant to defend themselves against their neighbors in foreign lands like Ontario and the Canadian Palestine of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Ian must feel so bad for Quebec. If only Newfoundland and Labrador would stop picking on God’s chosen people.

NL Appeals Lower Churchill Transmission Ruling

This week NALCOR, Newfoundland and Labrador's energy corporation, on behalf of the Province, filed an appeal with the Regie in Quebec. Earlier this year the Regie, which regulates the power industry in Quebec, ruled that Quebec did not have to permit Newfoundland and Labrador to wheel Lower Churchill power across its grid to markets in Canada and the U.S.

The filing, which can be viewed here (or in our Links section under NL Development Links)clearly outlines the Province's position and details a number of factual problems with the earlier ruling. Everything from the board's conclusion that the Churchill Falls generating plant in Labrador is a fully controlled part of the Quebec authority and going so far as to boldly claim that Quebec Hydro's Transmission company was not aware of the 1969 existance of Churchill Falls power contract.

Reading the detailed issues and misrepresentations found in the original ruling, which are identified by NALCOR in its appeal document, it should be bewildering to anyone with even half a brain how the Quebec regulatators can function, let alone make sound decisions.

In this writer's opinion, and based on the content of the appeal document, either the decision making body of the Quebec Regie is totally ignorant of reality or they are even more blatently corrupt than anyone could possibly be without self destructing as a result of wallowing in their own crapulance.

Will Old Harry Put Ottawa - Quebec - Newfoundland & Labrador at Odds Once Again?

With excerpts from the Vancouver Sun

Que. seeks deal on petroleum exploration in Gulf of St. Lawrence

QUEBEC — The Quebec government on Tuesday called on Ottawa to come to an agreement that would allow oil and gas exploration in Quebec's sector of a multi-billion dollar prospect in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The Old Harry formation is one of the largest undrilled prospects in Eastern Canada with an estimated potential for up to two billion barrels of recoverable oil or up to five trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas, making it almost twice the size of the Hibernia oil project.

Old Harry has remained undrilled because Quebec and Ottawa have not struck a deal yet on oil and gas management and revenue sharing. The most likely reason for the delay in striking a deal is the location of Old Harry which straddles a disputed marine border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador.

"This represents a good opportunity and lot of money for Quebec...", said Natural Resources Minister Nathalie Normandeau. "We want to settle this issue for good. Quebec has been very patient and we're taking a firmer line today. We've been waiting for 12 years and now we want to reach a deal."

The minister noted the main two points of contention are the ownership of the sea bed and the boundary between Quebec and Newfoundland in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.

The Old Harry prospect is located in the Laurentian Channel and straddles the Quebec-Newfoundland boundary, agreed to by Quebec in 1964 but still disputed by Newfoundland and Labrador.

Normandeau wants Quebec to come to a deal similar to the ones reached separately by Newfoundland and Nova Scotia with the federal government in the 1980s.

In a statement sent to Canwest News Service, federal Natural Resources Minister Christian Paradis said his government is "willing to work with Quebec and all provinces to ensure a responsible and lasting development of our natural resources."

Corridor Resources, which has the drilling rights to 60% of the Old Harry site announced last month that it will conduct a site survey on the Newfoundland side of the Old Harry structure in preparation for drilling an exploration well.

The PQ fears the company will siphon Quebec's resources through Newfoundland and end up leaving the province short of billions of dollars in royalties.

"We don't want Old Harry to become payback for Churchill Falls," said PQ critic Alexandre Cloutier.

The CEO of Corridor Resources said Quebec's sector of Old Harry remains the most desirable location for an exploration well, but stressed the company has to go where there are no impediments.

"If a well on the Newfoundland side is indicative of a potential, there may not be a followup on the Quebec side," said Norman Miller.

Let’s Be Honest for Once

George Washington is remembered to have said, “I cannot tell a lie.” Since then no politician has been able to make the same claim without being guilty of telling one.

These days truth itself should be placed on an endangered species list.

It’s gotten to the point where the truth is coming under a constant attack from all sides.

Today its truth, not lies, that have become something to be avoided at all costs and it’s no longer just politicians who have a monopoly on the practice, we’ve all gotten into the act.

With that in mind Web Talk is proud, well at least mildly pleased, to present a hastily compiled:

Top 10 list of (politically incorrect) Comments You Won’t Find in the National Papers

Or

10 Rants For the Price of One

10 – I feel for Ontarians who are losing their jobs. Being from Newfoundland and Labrador I can sympathize with their plight and wish them the best. Having said that, I wouldn’t be human if some small part of me, deep in the back of my mind, didn’t feel like shouting the following from the roof tops:

“If Ontarians are really suffering from rising unemployment why don’t they stop their incessant whining about wanting more EI and do what they’ve been telling Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to do for decades, suck it up and move someplace where they can find a job. The rest of us can’t be expected to keep Ontarians living in a place where there’s no work so pack up and move on. By the way Ontario, your unemployment rate is still only about half of what it is in Newfoundland and Labrador so slag off.”

But I won’t say it. I really do care about the individuals being hurt in this recession, including in Ontario and I hope they work their way through this.

9 – North Atlantic Harp seals are not endangered. North Atlantic Harp seals are highly efficient and effective carnivores with big sharp ugly teeth. They are not cuddly little “ice bunnies”.

Activists say seals are not hunted for food so they shouldn’t be hunted at all. In reality it was anti-sealing activists who lobbied to destroy a once profitable market for seal meat and are now using the lack of one as an excuse to ban the hunt.

The seal herd is thriving, the meat tastes great (yes it’s still eaten across Newfoundland and Labrador) and the furs are warmer, softer and more beautiful than anything else you’ll ever wear.

Thanks to their screwed up view of the world animal rights activists will cause far more damage to the seals, the fish stocks those seals depend upon and the entire ecosystem in the region than the annual seal hunt ever did.

By the way, for anyone interested I’ve got a great seal flipper pie recipe I can send you, just let me know and I’ll get it right out to you.

8 – Yes the Alberta oil sands are without any shadow of a doubt a messy and destructive environmental catastrophe.

They are destroying the air, land and water, but droning on and on in a vain attempt to force oil companies into cutting emissions in an effort to meet Kyoto targets is the environmental equivalent of the misguided anti-sealing movement.

Those companies cannot and will not meet those targets without running themselves out of business and that isn’t going to happen. It would take a shutdown or at least a major scale down of most oil sands activity in order to meet those targets and simply put, neither Canada nor the U.S. can afford to do that no matter what it might mean for the environment.

Enough is enough. It’s time to tell the Kyoto zealots to go to hell (as should have been done with the seal protestors), find a sensible way to manage the problem, cut the grandstanding on all sides of the political arena and reach a compromise on this issue that will do the least harm to everyone and everything involved. If not then forget about it and move on.

7 – The future of Canada means absolutely nothing to Stephen Harper who is a right wing, egomaniacal, hillbilly, educated beyond his intelligence level. He is a man who would gladly sell his soul and those of his children, if he hasn’t done so already, for the one thing he craves above all else, absolute power and control.

Canada’s future also means nothing to Michael Ignatieff, who is a thinly veiled American decked out in Canadian clothing. A man who wants nothing more than to add the title “Canadian Prime Minister” to his scholarly C.V. so he can demand more for his book sales in the future.

Jack Layton, well, enough said about Jack. No point in kicking a dead horse, especially with so many animal rights activists around these days. It’s getting so you can’t swing a dead cat (or a live one) without hitting one of them.

6 – Stephen Harper claims to be defending Canada’s territory, as well as Newfoundland and Labrador interests, by not accepting a French claim for extended offshore territory. His position is pure and unadulterated crap.

All St. Pierre – Miquelon is looking for is a means to survive its economic challenges by extending its existing 200 mile corridor (away from Canada) to the edge of the Continental Shelf. This is no more or less than Canada itself plans to do under the U.N. Law of the Sea.

The small French islands should have a right to an extension of that little strip of territory and France is correct to demand it. Otherwise the islands will effectively be trapped inside Canadian waters with no free access to the open ocean once Canada makes its claim to an extended economic zone.

No matter what the Prime Minister says, this has nothing to do with protecting Canadian sovereignty or NL’s interests. It has everything to do with lucrative oil potential in the region.

5 – The Quebecois culture is no more distinct than that of Newfoundlanders & Labradorians. Period.

4 – Contrary to popular belief, Quebec is not benefiting from a one sided contract to purchase Churchill Falls power.

Neither Quebec nor Newfoundland and Labrador ever actually signed a legal contract.

Quebec committed fraud by using insider information and blackmail to get the signatures it wanted. Quebec has committed a criminal act and has been stealing billions of dollars from the people of Newfoundland and Labrador for decades. What’s more they’ve been doing it with the tacit acceptance of successive Federal and Newfoundland & Labrador governments, both of which refuse to take any decisive or clear action.

Personally I’d love to see the Province throw the damn switch at the generating station and turn off the lights right across the so called “Quebec Nation”.

3 – Canada is not a Country. It’s a group of individual provinces financially controlled, oppressed and blackmailed into subservience by a corrupt central regime.

Thanks to the lopsided political power wielded by Ontario and Quebec, Canada is nothing more than an excuse for ensuring the advancement of those two jurisdictions (upper and lower Canada) regardless of what that might mean for the rest of the population.

Calling Canada a real Country is an insult to honesty and intelligence on an epic scale.

2 – Brian Mulroney is corrupt and he is without a doubt guilty of all sorts of immoral if not illegal acts. Everybody knows it but nobody really gives a crap so let’s enjoy the death of his legacy, not to mention his squirming on the hot seat, and then move on.

1 - We are told that we have freedom of speech but that’s one of the most widely accepted lies out there.

Show me someone who has expressed their frustration at the political system by simply “saying” they would “like to see” something blown up and I’ll show you a person either under federal surveillance or actually in custody.

In fact, even this article has been self edited. Just try making a public statement about Brian Mulroney, as I did in the previous section, without qualifying it with a phrase like “if not illegal acts” and see how quickly you end up being sued.

Even if you forget the legal or civil methods of stifling our freedom of speech, the docile acceptance of so called political correctness we all subscribe to has done more to quiet the masses than any law ever could. Everyone is so afraid of being ostracized by their friends, neighbors and co-workers for being politically incorrect that nobody really says what’s on their mind anymore.

This top-ten list may not be as funny as some others but the truth seldom is.

In an effort to help fight censorship and political correctness Web Talk will, on occasion, tackle this subject just as it has today. Feel free to add your two cents but please remember, as much as it sucks, for our own protection even Web Talk must adhere to the same anti-free speech edicts as everyone else, so act accordingly (but don’t hesitate to push the envelope).

Ottawa To Address Forestry Woes - Only Quebec Need Apply

When the auto sector ran into financial trouble Ottawa was there, Johnny on the spot, to lend a helping taxpayer funded hand.

When the manufacturing sector stumbled Ottawa was there to offer taxpayer funded bridge funding.

When the banking sector hit a brick wall Ottawa dug deep into taxpayer’s pockets faster than a Younge Street pickpocket.

When the forestry slipped under water, while mills closed in places like Newfoundland and Labrador, and while laid off workers were being denied their severance pay, all that could be heard in Ottawa was the sound of crickets chirping outside 24 Sussex Drive.

There are two things the federal government never turns a blind eye toward. In no particular order those are: Ontario and Quebec (actually those both equate to large numbers of federal votes and as such are really same thing).

Large scale manufacturers, auto makers and major banks all have one thing in common. They are, by and large, headquartered in the only important part of Canada, from the federal governments perspective.

Well it turns out that while the federal government was enjoying a collective snooze after patting itself on the back for all the tax money it’s doled out recently, and while 50,000 forestry related jobs were lost right across Canada (and I mean RIGHT ACROSS Canada, from BC all the way to NL, not just as far as NS) somebody forgot to tell the political elite that they should do something for that industry as well. It looks like somebody finally did.

Ottawa may have turned a blind eye to the problems in the forestry sector up to now but not any more.

I can almost hear the warnings now, “Come on, we’ve got to do something. Never mind that troublesome crowd who lost their jobs in places like Newfoundland and Labrador but come on, Quebec is also being hit. Quebec for God’s sake!!!”

Suddenly out of nowhere Ottawa has begun making a show of having an interest in the forestry sector.

A joint federal/Quebec panel (note, the involvement of only one province) has been setup to see what can be done to protect Canadian forestry jobs (in Quebec of course).

Ottawa has, according to one political figure, “…fostered an agreement with the government of Quebec…” to the tune of 100 million dollars in loan guarantees to be delivered by the Quebec government. No doubt this is just a small down payment with future installments to come in the near future. You can bet your last dollar (if you have any left after taxes) that it won’t just be Quebec taxpayers footing that bill either.

Calls are being made for Ottawa to offer tax credits to the forestry industry (similar to ones now being offered in the U.S.). Credits that will save companies like Abitibi millions of dollars a year.

Yes indeed. Quebec stands to lose nearly 10,000 jobs unless something is done quickly and, as Ottawa is wont to do, the squeaky wheels have begun turning as they get well greased once again.

Unfortunately Ottawa’s sudden interest in the forestry sector is too little, too late and certainly too Quebec focused to do anything for the 50,000 non-Quebecers who’ve already lost their jobs or the thousands more who will in the future (outside of Quebec that is).

NB Premier Demands Profit from NL Hydro Resources

On March 31, 2009 – the 60th anniversary of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Confederation within Canada – New Brunswick Premier, Shawn Graham, fired a shot across Newfoundland and Labrador’s bow by saying that his Province might well do to Newfoundland and Labrador’s Lower Churchill hydro project what Quebec did to with its Upper Churchill project decades earlier.

In 1969 - twenty years after entering Confederation, and while development of the Upper Churchill project was well under way, the Province of Quebec refused to allow Newfoundland and Labrador the ability to wheel power across their jurisdiction.

This situation led to the Newfoundland and Labrador government of the day to sign a contract that continues until 2016 (44 years), a contract that has already seen Quebec Hydro reap Billions upon Billions in revenues by purchasing power from Newfoundland and Labrador at bargain basement prices while reselling it at market values.

At the end of the initial 44 year contract, in 2016, an automatic renewal phase kicks in. That contract phase, which extends until 2041 (a further 25 years), will see Quebec Hydro, purchase power at even lower prices than under the initial contract, prices that were considered an unheard of bargain even in the 1960’s.

During the life of the contract Newfoundland and Labrador, the owner of the resources involved and producer of the power generated, has and will continue to receive just enough revenue to keep the turbines turning, the power flowing and the revenues rolling into the Province of Quebec.

Based on his comments this week, New Brunswick Premier, Shawn Graham, appears to be hoping history will repeat itself.

Because of the terrible contract Newfoundland and Labrador signed onto in 1969 and has lived with ever since, NALCOR, Newfoundland and Labrador’s energy corporation, is currently in negotiations with several utilities throughout the Maritimes, with an eye to circumventing Quebec by wheeling power from the new Lower Churchill project through Atlantic Canada.

Now, on the 60th anniversary of Newfoundland and Labrador’s entry into Confederation the Premier of New Brunswick, which sits on the U.S. border, is saying Provinces should not expect to build energy projects and then ship the electrical power to the United States through his Province.

“Not so fast”, Graham said this week.

"The marker that we're putting in the ground is: we're not just going to (permit) the erection of lines for electricity transmission in New Brunswick that benefit other regions, but not (us)."

"We don't begrudge our sister provinces in the region for having taken full advantage of their resources and their geographic location," the Premier said in his speech to the Economic Club of Canada. "But in New Brunswick, we are going to leverage every advantage we have to the absolute fullest and since our geography is so advantageous to us we are not going to give it up for another jurisdiction to simply run wires through our province.”

It seems that, just like the Quebec situation 40 years ago, after 60 years of a continually rocky relationship with Canada, nothing has changed for Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Province was geographically and politically isolated from the rest of the Country in 1949 when it joined, in 1969 when Quebec walked over the people there and in 2009 New Brunswick is looking for its opportunity take full advantage of Newfoundland and Labrador’s resources.

Today however there are three key differences between the current situation and the one that took place in 1969.

In 1969 the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador, by and large, were not as informed or educated as they are today.

In 1969 the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was not even heard of.
Today the U.S., as a potential consumer of Lower Churchill power would likely have a great deal to say under NAFTA if such an attempt were made.

In 1969 Newfoundland and Labrador was led by the so called “Father of Confederation”, the proud federalist, Joey Smallwood.

In 2009 Newfoundland and Labrador is led by a Premier who has presented himself to be a proud and very outspoken Newfoundland and Labrador nationalist in Danny Williams.

Nobody in Newfoundland and Labrador expects any Province to provide electrical transmission infrastructure free of charge, but any attempt to force another one sided contract by placing the Province under duress is simply out of the question.

When Quebec threw its weight around and blocked Newfoundland and Labrador’s ability to reach energy markets 40 years ago Premier Joey Smallwood met with Prime Minister Lester Pearson to discuss the matter.

According to historians, Pearson looked Smallwood in the eye and said, “Please don’t ask me. If you ask me I’ll have to say yes.”

Pearson was of course referring to the fact that the Canadian Constitution clearly states that no Province can impede another from moving goods or services across their jurisdiction.

At the time Smallwood approached Pearson Newfoundland and Labrador had only been a part of Canada for 20 years. Quebec was in the throws of a separatist crisis, terrorism was on the rise there and Pearson did not want to go head to head with the Quebec leadership or people in an effort to protect the Constitutional rights of Newfoundland and Labrador. Smallwood let him walk away from his obligation to do so.

Smallwood never asked the question and Newfoundland and Labrador, for the “good of Canada”, has lived with the resulting blow to its troubled economy ever since.

Today not much has changed in Ottawa but times are certainly different in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The current Premier of the Province and the citizens that have lived with the ghost of the Upper Churchill might not only ask the Government of Canada to defend the Constitution of the Country but will likely demand it.

New Brunswick Premier, Shawn Graham, may simply be blowing steam for some unknown political reason. He may not truly intend to take a page from Quebec’s past by attempting to block energy exports from Newfoundland and Labrador but if he does he’ll find that his Eastern neighbour isn’t as easy to take advantage of as it once was.

If such an attempt is indeed made and if Ottawa refuses once again to perform its Constitutional duty, their lack of action will serve no purpose but to hasten the ultimate break up of the Canadian federation.

How can a Nation exist when neither it’s Provinces nor its Federal government respect, defend or live by the very Constitution that defines it?

As of publishing, the region’s senior Federal Cabinet Minister and Minister appointed by Stephen Harper to represent Newfoundland and Labrador interests, Peter MacKay, has not commented on Premier Graham’s position.

UPDATE April 3, 6:55 AM - Sorry Graham but it seems the odds are stacked against you on your "protectionist" approach.

Since this post was published Premier Williams has stated to the press: "There's no point in people getting territorial on us and saying we're going to close off our borders, we're going to generate our own power and then push it out through, because that's just not the way it works,"

"What (Graham) obviously needs to understand " (is that) we have a right to go through there if we're in the queue properly and we can get the access through, then we pay New Brunswick a fair tariff."

Meanwhile, New Brunswick Opposition leader David Alward said the situation is nothing more than a publicity stunt launched by Graham's handlers.

"They're tying to show the premier as a leader, when in reality he has been all over the map," said the Tory MLA for Woodstock. "It's propaganda gone wrong.

Peter Mackay has said: "...energy projects could simply "bypass" New Brunswick.

Premier Rodney MacDonald had some tough words for his New Brunswick counterpart over the route of an energy corridor from the Lower Churchill hydroelectric project.

Premier Rodney MacDonald of Nova Scotia: "If they don’t want to take part in what is happening for the region, they can always be bypassed," (Sounds like Rodney is parroting the Federal Minister again doesn’t it? Sorry, but when it’s that obvious…” Moving on.)

"We are more than willing to see that power flowing through Nova Scotia. If that would mean bypassing New Brunswick and going through a subsea cable… we are more than willing to do that…There are requirements in place with regards to open access to the U.S. market which are actually dealt with by the federal government in the United States"

This isn’t the first time New Brunswick has threatened to block a regional energy project. during regulatory hearings into the $2-billion Sable offshore gas project, New Brunswick demanded jobs and access to the natural gas off Nova Scotia in return for having a pipeline cut across the province.

It could be difficult for Mr. Graham to try and block the flow of electricity, said Mr. Lumley.

It looks like, when it comes to accessing NL resources the province has lots of support doesn't it. Hmmmmm...

Meanwhile, the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador has also been touting a "new deal" to wheel power through Quebec directly to outside markets. Web Talk will have more on this "deal" and what it really means, in the coming days. - Myles

40 of 100 Endangered Caribou Shot, No End to Hunt in Sight

Over the past several days approximately 45 Quebec Innu hunters have been in Labrador hunting caribou from the endangered Joir River herd. Before the hunt began the herd was estimated at a mere 100 remaining animals. Since entering the area wildlife officials estimate the hunters have killed 40 of those animals and are continuing in their hunt.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government has complained to the Quebec government about a group of Quebec hunters that is apparently killing caribou that belong to a threatened herd in southern Labrador.

The Joir River caribou are protected under both the Provincial Endangered Species Act and the Federal Species at Risk Act.

Conservation officials say the group is using high-powered rifles while firing from their snowmobiles.

Officials have been watching the killing from a helicopter but their attempts to land and end the slaughter have been met with threatening actions by the hunters.

To date neither Quebec, the home Province of the hunters who hail from the Romaine, St. Augustine and Natasquan bands, nor the Federal government has made any move to assist in protecting the animals or putting an end to this illegal hunt slaughter of the last remaining Joir River caribou.

Newfoundland and Labrador Minister Kathy Dunderdale says the killings are "senseless and unnecessary," considering that hunting is permitted of the much larger George River caribou herd in the same region.

"If this killing continues, we run the risk of losing the entire herd.”

"The Quebec Innu are fully aware of the regulations and why they are required, and this was reiterated directly to the hunting party by our officers," Dunderdale added.

"Our requests that they respect provincial and federal laws ... are being ignored."

Based on the lack of response by authorities it appears Newfoundland and Labrador’s requests are not only being ignored by the Innu hunters but by the Federal and Quebec governments as well.

The Fighting Newfoundlander (& Labradorian) Died in Battle

I’ve often criticized the Province's federal MPs for not having the courage to stand up and make our case to Ottawa, but I’ve come to a realization that it really isn’t them alone at fault.

I’ve begun to realize that the entire Newfoundland and Labrador population is "as gutless as a caplin", including myself I'm sad to say.

I never thought I’d write something like that but I have.

As sad as it makes me feel to put that in print, I’m glad I did.

Perhaps the fighting spirit has been bred out of us over the past few generations.

Perhaps we've become complacent under the “guidance” of our federal political leaders.

Perhaps the real fighting Newfoundlander (& Labradorian) was killed in battle.

Who knows, but whatever the cause it’s no less disheartening to realize that you are a part of the problem.

Where else but in Newfoundland and Labrador would an entire population sit idly by as their livelihoods, their future and their very way of life is under direct attack?

Where else but in Newfoundland and Labrador would people nonchalantly go about their daily routines, largely carefree, while the government of their Country robs them of their future?

No where, that’s where.

No where but in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Sure there are rumblings among some about the injustices we face in Canada.

There are those who can recite a long list of the damages done.

Still others, like yours truly, speak out to anyone who will listen.

Some are quick to contact their MP or the Premier when issues arise.

Others lash out through letters to the editors of their local papers or on call in radio programs.

There are even those who talk of learning political lessons from Quebec, by creating a “bloc NL” to gain some form of influence within Canada.

These actions may make those who undertake them feel a little better in the short term but the one thing they have in common is the fact that they are all just talk and, as the old saying goes, "talk is cheap".

Our fishery has been stolen and destroyed taking our rural way of life with it.

Our oil and gas resources are controlled by Ottawa where someone else has the power to decide (through one means or another) exactly how much money we will or will not see from its exploitation.

Our Upper Churchill hydro resources benefit Quebec instead of us and will continue to do so long after many of us have moved to the other side of the sod.

Our plans for future hydro development in Labrador are hindered and may even be stopped altogether by forces from within Quebec and Ottawa.

Our mineral resources are used to supply mills, smelters and factories in other provinces while we are left to do the hard manual labor of extracting the ore from the earth and shipping it out.

Ottawa continues to pick away at what few federal dollars this place sees in transfer payments and in doing so helps add to the massive provincial debt, extreme unemployment, faltering health care system and crumbling infrastructure we see around us every day.

Perhaps there are indeed lessons to be learned from Quebec and not just political ones.

When Canada planned to support a re-enactment of a major historical battle, which was incidentally lost by the French forces of Quebec, they were told to cancel the event and walk away.

Not because the re-enactment was inaccurate or didn’t reflect a true history of Canada but because some Quebecers did not want to be reminded of that particular aspect of their past.

Threats were made, including mobilizing into the streets and at the event with paint guns, protesters and the like.

Organizers were warned about what would happen to them, on a personal level, if they proceeded.

I have no doubt that had the organizers gone ahead with that event it would not have been a peaceful one and clearly the federal sponsors understood that as well.

They knew Quebecers were willing to do far more than write letters of complaint.

This is a case where the people of Quebec undertook a misguided attempt to bury an aspect of their history.

It's not an act to be proud of for sure, yet Ottawa was quick to respond by cancelling the “offending” event, proving that the federal government knows full well what the people of Quebec are capable of.

Here in Newfoundland and Labrador we are not trying to bury our past, in fact we often celebrate it. What we want to do is ensure that we have a stable and secure future.

If we had any real guts we’d be doing a lot more about protecting our way of life and future than simply complaining.

I'm not here to advocate illegal acts, even though I sometimes wonder if it might be the only solution. What I'm saying is that if we had any guts at all we’d be in the streets in massive numbers here, in Ottawa and all across Canada and we wouldn’t let up until our future looked a hell of a lot brighter than it does right now.

Ottawa Gives Implicit Nod to Quebec Annexation of NL Lands

The following article appeared in today’s Globe and Mail. It should be of great interest and concern to everyone in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The entire article speaks volumes about the attitude of Quebec and Ottawa toward Newfoundland and Labrador.

Take special note of the following passages within the article. They speak volumes:

“The federal government has sided with Quebec ...”

“…the federal government appears to have given tacit approval to Quebec's claim.”

“Ottawa says that any territorial dispute is a matter for the provinces to resolve.”

Web Talk Note: I guess it doesn’t matter to Ottawa that the border was, with NLs entry into the federation, written into the terms of union making it a constitutional issue. The constitution didn’t matter when during the Upper Churchill development so why would anyone be surprised that it's being ignored again at the expense of Newfoundland and Labrador.

“…the federal government appears to have given tacit approval to Quebec's claim.”

“The boundary has never been successfully surveyed. The last attempt was abandoned in the 1980s after the two provinces concluded the issue was too politically sensitive to tackle.”

Web Talk Note: This likely means that the Premier at the time was Conservative Brian Peckford, since both Rideout and Wells spent very little time in office during that decade. Why did no Premier, either Liberal or Conservative, do anythin about this? Once again we have a Conservative Premier in office who in 2006 said the border situation was not a concern for him. What’s up with that?

"Mr. Charest expressed confidence recently that the project will begin as planned..."

I bet he did. Anyway, enough of the analysis and comments. Here's the article:

Power play pits Quebec against Newfoundland

Where do headwaters of rugged Romaine River lie? Both provinces claim land where boundary has never been successfully surveyed

RHÉAL SÉGUIN
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
February 11, 2009

QUEBEC — The federal government has sided with Quebec by agreeing to hear the province's argument that a multibillion-dollar hydroelectric project is on Quebec territory, land also claimed by Newfoundland and Labrador.

The natural-resources fight pits Danny Williams's province against Quebec's plans to build the Romaine River hydroelectric project. Newfoundland has told Ottawa that Quebec's claims to the land are "invalid" and any such development by Hydro-Québec is "contemptuous of the Constitution of Canada."

Hydro-Québec is proposing to begin developing the 1,550-megawatt project as early as next summer, at a cost of $6.5-billion. It is waiting for the joint panel's environmental assessment report that will be submitted to the Quebec and federal environment ministers on Feb. 27. Both governments will then have up to 60 days to release the report before making their recommendations regarding the project.

Simply by participating in the joint Quebec-Ottawa environmental assessment panel, the federal government appears to have given tacit approval to Quebec's claim.

At issue is a substantial portion of a 3,500-kilometre-long boundary of rugged territory dividing Quebec and Labrador. The boundary has never been successfully surveyed. The last attempt was abandoned in the 1980s after the two provinces concluded the issue was too politically sensitive to tackle.

"Politically this was a real hot potato and it still is," said Eric Jerret, who at the time was president of the Association of Land Surveyors of Newfoundland and Labrador. "But now pressure is coming to bear on the governments to settle this. It's the only border in Canada that hasn't been surveyed. It can't be left unresolved much longer."

At some point it will have to be decided where the mining rights, property rights and especially the headwaters of five major Quebec Lower North Shore rivers reside. That could impact future hydroelectric and other economic developments. More importantly, it could revive tensions between the two provinces at a time when closer co-operation will be needed to develop power and transportation links.

For instance, Newfoundland resident Burford Ploughman has been working on developing a permanent transportation link between the two provinces across the Strait of Belle Isle. He was a member of the 1979 federal Commission of Inquiry into Newfoundland Transportation and fears a confrontation between the two provinces could harm potential progress on key issues.

"The federal government's position isn't helping matters. Are they going to use the Quebec border instead of the Newfoundland and Labrador one? How can they do an [environmental] assessment? If they do, does it mean they are recognizing Quebec's border rather than ours? That's the central question and in two weeks' time they're going to make a decision," Mr. Ploughman said.

A 1927 ruling by the Privy Council, confirmed in the Terms of Union with Canada, concluded the headwaters of the Romaine and four other rivers are in Labrador. Quebec has always considered them as being part of its provincial territory.

"The headwaters and entire watersheds of the Romaine and the four other major Quebec North Shore rivers appear, incorrectly to be within Quebec," the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador stated in its Nov. 27, 2008, brief to the joint review panel.

"It is unacceptable that the federal government would accept a document as sufficient with such a glaring error of fact and law, especially one which is inconsistent with the Constitution of Canada."

The statement implies a constitutional battle may be in the making if Ottawa doesn't act soon to support Newfoundland and Labrador's claim to the land.

A spokesperson for Mr. Williams said yesterday the Premier refuses to say whether he will act to stop Premier Jean Charest from proceeding with the Romaine River hydroelectric project.

At the federal Ministry of the Environment, officials didn't appear to be aware of the potential confrontation. Ottawa says that any territorial dispute is a matter for the provinces to resolve.
"It will be up to the provinces to respond.

The environmental assessment commission will make recommendations to help alleviate possible adverse effects of the project on the environment ... But it isn't in the commission's mandate to take a position on territorial issues such as this," federal Environment Ministry spokeswoman Lucille Jamault said.

Mr. Charest expressed confidence recently that the project will begin as planned, insisting it has become a centrepiece of his government's strategy to create jobs at a time of recession.

UPDATE - 10:09 PM

The following letter was sent to Premier Williams a few minutes ago. If you would like to voice your concerns as well, the Premier's email address is: Premier@gov.nl.ca

To Premier Williams
cc.The Telegram (for publication)

Premier Williams,

I have copied this letter to the Telegram and to VOCM because I'm sure, like myself, most of the people in this province are very concerned about the constitutional challenge Quebec, with the implicit approval of Ottawa, is making with regard to the annexation of southern Labrador.

I also believe that they would like you to clearly state for the record what your government is doing to ensure that the environmental process now underway, and scheduled to be completed in just two weeks, does not proceed until the border is clarified for all of those involved.

The border between NL and Quebec is clearly defined in the Terms of Union with Canada however, knowing our past history when it comes to dealing with Quebec, it is not good enough to depend on Ottawa to respect the Constitution. The happenings around the Upper Churchill are proof enough of that.

If one nation attempted to unilaterally take control of territory inside another it would be considered an act of war. Taken in that context, we cannot allow Quebec to proceed with what amounts to an overt act of aggression against Newfoundland and Labrador

I look forward to your timely response.

Sincerely,
Myles Higgins

NL Govt. Orders (Quebec) Innu out of Labrador

The following contains excerpts from an article today in the Globe and Mail (or Mop and Pail for those who live in Newfoundland and Labrador)

By RHÉAL SÉGUIN
With a report from The Canadian Press
June 6, 2008

QUEBEC -- More than 100 Innu families from Quebec occupying land in Labrador are being evicted by the Newfoundland and Labrador government as part of an escalating confrontation over land rights involving resource development and hydroelectric projects.

A lawyer for the Innu said yesterday the people of the Uashat-Maliotenam reserve in northeastern Quebec will take matters into their own hands if they are forced off the land.

"I've heard people saying that if they tear down our cabins, there won't be a single cabin standing, whether it's Innu or a non-Innu cabin, in Labrador," Armand MacKenzie said.

"We're going to call it 'Labrador Burning.'

The government posted the eviction notices late last month, and have given the families 60 days to demolish and remove "cabins located at or near Nairn Bay" in western Labrador.

Mr. Williams told reporters in St. John's yesterday that the Quebec Innu recently erected the cabins in the region, and government lawyers are questioning whether the action is legal.

Mr. Williams said he isn't sure why the cabins were built, but added that they appeared after discussions intensified on the development of the Lower Churchill hydroelectric project. He believes the Innu moved in to assert their land claim over the territory, which would be affected if the hydro project goes ahead.

Mr. MacKenzie pledged to challenge the eviction notice in court. He said that some of the structures were built many years ago on the land, and that the Innu occupied it long before Newfoundland and Labrador was formed.

The Innu argue that their traditional homeland, which also cuts across part of Quebec, belongs to them under aboriginal title, and that resource development, especially hydroelectric projects, cannot proceed without their consent.

The entire article can be viewed at: Globe and Mail

UPDATE June 5th - Govt. of Canada to Have Say on Lower Churchill

The article below has been updated with the contents of correspondence from a representative of the Newfoundland and Labrador government. It seems the situation outlined in this commentary is perhaps not as dire as was first believed. According to this recent correspondence the govenment of Newfoundland and Labrador has taken steps to rectify this sad situation.

If I've inadervertantly caused any concern on the part of Web Talk readers I sincerely apologize.

Please see the Update section at the end of this article for more information.

Recently there’s been a lot of talk about Newfoundland and Labrador’s plans for the Lower Churchill hydro project. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are eagerly awaiting what they see as a way to finally benefit from Churchill Falls power after decades of being fleeced on the Upper Churchill development by Quebec.

Most Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will tell you they want things done differently this time. They believe this is as a chance to finally control their own destiny without Ottawa or Quebec pulling the rug out from under them.

They may need to think again.

While all eyes are focused on the new Newfoundland and Labrador Energy Corporation as the lead on the project what hasn’t been widely discussed is the existence of the Lower Churchill Development Corporation or the impact it could have.

Incorporated in 1979, under then Premier Frank Moores, the Lower Churchill Development Corporation is the legal entity actually tasked with moving this development forward. It also controls all of the water rights on the lower Churchill

The new NL Energy Corporation, on behalf of government, will act as the parent company of the Lower Churchill Development Corporation but that doesn’t mean it fully controls the actions of this subsidiary.

The Lower Churchill Development Corporation, not the new Energy Corporation, controls the development, distribution and sale of power on the Lower Churchill (NL Hydro would actually purchase power from its “sister” company) What’s more, the Development Corporation is only partly owned by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

According to the Lower Churchill Development Act, by which the corporation came into existence in ‘79, the company’s shares are owned jointly by Newfoundland and Labrador and, here it comes… the federal government.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a controlling interest, 51% to 49%, however this arrangement does not give the people of Newfoundland and Labrador a final say in the decisions made by the company.

Neither the Energy Corporation nor the government of Newfoundland and Labrador can make any major decision about the Lower Churchill development without the agreement of Ottawa’s representatives on the board.

The following are excerpts from the incorporation legislation relating to this:

The general policy for the operation of the Corporation shall be determined by its board of directors consisting of 12 persons of whom 6 shall be nominees of Newfoundland, 5 shall be nominees of Canada and 1 shall be the chief executive officer…

(the following) shall require the consent of a majority of the nominees of Canada and a majority of the nominees of Newfoundland…

…any agreement with the Province of Quebec relative to water flow in the Churchill River, any arrangements with respect of the transmission of electricity from the Project, the sale of electricity from the Project…

In other words the government of Newfoundland and Labrador does not actually have the final say on Lower Churchill development and isn’t the only government that stands to profit from it. It also means, among other things, that the decision on whether or not Hydro Quebec’s grid is used to access export markets depends on the agreement of representatives for the federal government.

Under these circumstances, and given the political clout Quebec has with Ottawa, how likely is it bypassing Quebec will be acceptable to the board. How likely is it that once again Quebec will attempt to profit as much as possible from the Churchill River?

Because of the existence of the Lower Churchill Development Corporation and the 49% stake held by the federal government, Newfoundland and Labrador may once again be at the mercy of Ottawa and Quebec over Churchill power.

Rather than simply dreaming of the day the Lower Churchill is developed, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador might be better served to ensure that their government is focused on regaining full control of the project for the owners of the resource. If they don’t, Newfoundland and Labrador’s aspirations of becoming “Masters of our Own House” will only come to pass if it’s acceptable to Ottawa and, by extension, Quebec.

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

Hello Mr. Higgins,

The answers to the questions you posed to Minister Dunderdale regarding Bill 36 are below. I hope the following explanation is sufficient. If you require anything else, please let me know.

Thanks,

Q: Does the Lower Churchill Development Corporation still have a role to play in this potential development and if so, what is that role?

A: The Premier announced in May 2006 that the province, through the energy corporation, would lead the development of the Lower Churchill Project.

The Lower Churchill Development Corporation was formed in 1978 as a means to develop the Lower Churchill. You are correct that the corporation, which is now inactive, is co-owned by the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador (51 per cent) and the Government of Canada (49 per cent). An option to obtain water rights on the Lower Churchill is currently held by the Lower Churchill Development Corporation, however, the Provincial Government will not be exercising this option.

Instead, Bill 36, which recently passed the House of Assembly, provides the authority to Cabinet to grant water rights to the Lower Churchill to the energy corporation, when requested.

Q: If the project moves forward, who controls the water rights and electrical capacity generated (who would capture the revenues from the development). NL Hydro or the Lower Churchill Development Corporation?

A: The water rights and electricity generated will be controlled by the energy corporation. Revenues from the development will be returned to the energy corporation and ultimately the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador .

Q: Is the Lower Churchill Development corporation still owned 51% by the Province and 49% by the federal government?

A: Yes, however, this corporation is inactive and not involved in the development of the Lower Churchill Project.

We Are Canada

As surely as the sun rises and sets, the Canadian federation is slowly devolving into a handful of separate and independent states.

The dissolution of the Canadian federation has been quietly advancing for decades but the timelines have suddenly become more compressed and gaining momentum. Few of us have even noticed.

The idea that there will come a time when Canada no longer exists as a Country may be laughable to some and frightening to others. Though many of us may no longer walk this land when it finally happens, the movement from a single National entity into several autonomous Countries has already begun.

Quebec has been on the cusp of separation since the 60’s. Though public sentiment there has eased on the issue it still exists and requires only some unknown spark to re-ignite and flourish.

Ontario has long bemoaned the unfairness of a federation that has seen its once great manufacturing sector contribute so much and, in the opinion of most Ontarians, recieve so little in return. Ask any Ontarian about this Country and they will likely tell you, “We ARE Canada”.

The vast majority of Canada’s population resides within the borders of these two Provincial giants. This means the federal government has always been hard pressed to do anything that might upset voters there, even when the best interests of the nation are in jeopardy.

As a result neither the East nor the West has ever been recognized as anything but a handy supplier of raw materials. A group of eight “lesser” provinces orbiting a black hole that swallows up all the oil, timber, fish, wheat, beef, iron, gold, potash and low cost workers the regions have to offer.

With no real voice in Canada's government the Atlantic Premiers have, for several years, held meetings and conferences designed to more closely align their direction. They continue to find ways to strengthen their economic ties, enhance their political clout and streamline their individual expenses, without Ottawa’s assistance.

In recent years the Western Provinces have also begun to follow the lead of their Atlantic counterparts by working together to address issues of mutual interest and strengthen their ties to one another.

Now, with manufacturing heavy Central Canada slowly being weakened by an impending recession, Ontario and Quebec, the two most powerful provinces in Canada, have decided the time has come for them to band together for self preservation.

To all appearances, the coalitions formed in the Western Provinces and those on the Atlantic Coast may have been fortuitous, in light of what is to come after this latest move by Ontario and Quebec. A move that could well put the final nail in Canada's coffin.

When Ontario or Quebec sneeze Ottawa reaches for the tissue box. It’s always been that way. Now that both Provinces are joining forces the likelihood that any federal government would dare deny them just about anything they want has never been lower.

This can only mean very dark days for the rest of the Country.

What Ontario wants Ontario gets.

What Quebec wants Quebec gets.

For years Ontario and Quebec have been enviously eying the oil and energy wealth of other Provinces and looking for ways to “access” it.

Now that Canada has shifted to an energy based economy oil and electricity are the new currency of the federation. Oil, electricity and cash are three things many parts of Canada have more of these days. They are also three things Ontario and Quebec desperately want.

Make no mistake, Ontario and Quebec intend to improve their lot and the rest of the Country can be damned.

When Ontario and Quebec band together the oil wealth of Eastern and Western Canada will be up for grabs. The electrical energy capacity of places like Newfoundland and Labrador will no longer be safe. And a federation that was extremely dysfunctional, even when Ontario and Quebec acted independently, will begin to spiral into collapse.

Either Alberta or Newfoundland and Labrador will likely be the first to see the full impact of this new reality as more and more of their dreams are crushed to satisfy the yearnings of the two larger provinces. They will also be the first to make a move toward independence.

Then, like a series of dominos, other Provinces or regions will follow. An Atlantic State will form, then one or two Western States, Quebec will finally achieve the independence it has so often talked of and, in the end, the people of Ontario will be able to say with all honesty, “We ARE Canada”.

It’s no longer a matter of “if “Canada will cease to exist as it does today but when. Perhaps within the next 20 years, perhaps the next 30 or 40 but it will happen, as surely as the sun rises and sets.

The Truth is...

With the news that Newfoundland and Labrador will soon be moving away from equalization while Ontario will be moving toward a “have not” position, much has been said by government and the media alike on the subject.

Over the past week it seems, to this observer, as if the objective has not been to clearly discuss Ontario’s woes or even to congratulate Newfoundland and Labrador for its success. The objective of some seems instead to be an offensive against Newfoundland and Labrador by turning what should have been a good news story into some sort of blight.

During this time Newfoundland and Labrador has been called the “poor cousin” of Confederation. It’s been pounded home time and time again how Newfoundland and Labrador has “never been off of equalization since it joined Canada”. It’s been called a place that, “wants to have its cake and eat it too”. It’s been said that “Newfoundland and Labrador is the place to go if you want to see your (Ontario) tax dollars at work” and Newfoundland and Labrador’s Premier was even asked by one political reporter if he was willing to give up some oil wealth to help Ontario out of its troubles.

None of this was done with tongue firmly planted in cheek. In fact, for the most part, the tone was far darker than anything publicly said about Newfoundland and Labrador in recent memory.

Unfortunately, through it all, the true story of Newfoundland and Labrador’s existence and its first tentative steps toward so called “Have” status were, not even once, put before the people of Canada in an honest way.

The truth is: At the time Newfoundland and Labrador entered Canada in 1949 its total debt was about $100 million dollars. After 59 years of Confederation that debt mushroomed to over $11 billion dollars, the highest per capita debt in Canada. This is what happens when, as my dear Mother says, “you have to borrow money to pay the light bills and put food on the table”.

The truth is: For centuries the historic ocean trade routes between North America and Europe saw thousands of ships travel the eastern seaboard and fill the harbours of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the Maritime provinces. That isn’t the case any more. In an effort to centralize industry and grow the mega economies of Ontario & Quebec the Federal Government used the tax dollars of all Canadians, including those in Atlantic Canada, to construct the St. Lawrence Seaway, essentially killing commercial traffic flow into Atlantic ports.

The truth is: When Newfoundland and Labrador entered Canada it boasted the world’s most prolific fishing resource off its shores. It was a fishery envied around the world. Upon entering Confederation this fishery fell under the control and management of Ottawa. By 1992 this fishery had been mismanaged into collapse and overnight more than 40,000 people lost their livelihoods. The impact to Newfoundland and Labrador’s small population was the equivalent to Ontario losing one million jobs in the blink of an eye.

The truth is: In the 1960’s Newfoundland and Labrador began development of the Upper Churchill Hydro Electric project. At the time it was the biggest project of its kind in North America. The Province of Quebec refused to let Newfoundland and Labrador wheel electricity across its borders at market rates and although the federal government had the authority to force the issue it did not. As a result Quebec now makes billions directly from the Newfoundland and Labrador resource and billions more through the industries it attracted. The owners of that power, Newfoundland and Labrador, can barely afford to keep the turbines spinning. This situation will continue to exist for another 33 years.

The truth is: Even though most of the oil and gas discovered off its shores would never have fallen inside Canadian jurisdiction had Newfoundland and Labrador not entered into Confederation in 1949, the federal government never the less has control of those resources, not the province. The way the federal government views the subject, in Canada oil on land belongs to the province, oil under the water belongs to Ottawa.

The truth is: When Newfoundland and Labrador petitioned the federal government for the right to force oil companies to develop major finds, rather than sitting on them as a “nest egg”, Ottawa refused to stand up for Newfoundland and Labrador. This is why today if a company in Alberta does not develop a discovery within 5 years they lose control of it to the Province. In Newfoundland and Labrador an oil company can sit on a discovery forever, never produce a drop, and prevent anyone else from accessing that find.

The truth is: Although the original 1985 Atlantic Accord supposedly ensured that Newfoundland and Labrador would receive the full benefits of oil resources, it wasn’t until an update to the contract in 2005 that the spirit of the deal was actually fulfilled and a fairer sharing of revenues was delivered.

The truth is: After disputing the value of the 1985 Accord for 20 years and after fiercely battling the Federal Liberal Government for months Newfoundland and Labrador finally got the changes it wanted with the signing of the 2005 update to the Atlantic Accord contract. A little more than a year later the Federal Conservative Government, without consulting the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, unilaterally changed that contract denying Newfoundland and Labrador, according to independent economic estimates, of $10 billion dollars in potential revenue.

The truth is: The list of ways Newfoundland and Labrador has been impeded in improving its economic situation is a lengthy one, with many other examples similar to those identified here.

The truth is: In spite of those roadblocks Newfoundland and Labrador is finally beginning to see some small signs of progress. That progress is not due to the benevolence of the Canadian government. It is because the people who have clung to Newfoundland and Labrador’s rocky coastline for centuries simply refused to give up in the face of adversity.

The truth is: Today Quebec continues to make billions from the Upper Churchill power plant in Labrador. Ottawa still refuses to force oil companies to stop sitting on massive reserves. 16 years after the cod fishery collapsed the fish stocks still have not recovered, yet Ottawa continues to turn a blind eye to foreign fishing fleets raping the spawning grounds off Newfoundland and Labrador.

But…

The Truth is: In spite of it all, Newfoundland and Labrador is paying down its debt, to the tune of nearly 1.5 billion over the past couple of years.

Newfoundland and Labrador has finally recorded multi-year surpluses in its provincial budgets.

Newfoundland and Labrador has reached a point where it requires only $18 million dollars in federal equalization payments this year and will move off equalization completely next year.

The truth is: While the unemployment rate in Newfoundland and Labrador is still more than double the national average it is at least moving in the right direction and is currently at a 25 year low.

That’s the truth.

Now imagine for a moment what Newfoundland and Labrador might have accomplished if it had been given half a chance.

Newfoundland & Labrador - When is an Energy Plan not an Energy Plan?

Yesterday was not a good day for yours truly.

Like many others my day began with vivid recollections of the travesty that took place on September 11, 2001. The anniversary of 9/11 is enough to deeply sadden any caring person but for me that mood became even darker as the day wore on.

Before noon I lost my longtime companion and best (four legged) friend of over 16 years.

There’s nothing like taking a friend, especially one you’ve had since he was a 4 weeks old, for that last long trip to the local vet. If you’ve never had to do it I don’t recommend it to anyone.

Of course I’m in no way comparing my personal loss to the anniversary of 9/11, but with both events stirring my emotions on the same day I spent the afternoon looking forward to anything that might provide some much needed distraction, if even for a brief moment. Thanks to Premier Danny Williams I found what I was looking for. Unfortunately a brief moment of distraction was about all it provided.

Just before noon yesterday the government of Newfoundland and Labrador released what it billed as a new energy plan for the province. Something everyone had been looking forward to for a long time. On first reading I wasn’t quite sure how to react to it and after further review I realized why.

One question kept popping into my head: When is an energy plan not an energy plan?

The answer came quickly: When it raises questions instead of providing answers.

Don't get me wrong, I see a lot of vision and direction in yesterday's release and while that in itself is a good thing it’s also the problem. The document, while providing some level of detail around gas royalties, for the most part reads more like a strategic vision than an actual implementation plan.

Of course there’s nothing wrong with setting a visionary direction and in all fairness it can't be easy to include a lot of detail in a document intended to span several decades. I suspect however that most people in the province and in the energy sector itself were looking for something with a lot more meat after waiting so patiently.

Maybe it’s just the mood I’m in. Perhaps, under the circumstances, it would have taken a document on par with the Declaration of Independence to fully impress me. Be that as it may, I see this so called plan as little more than a guideline document that will, more likely than not, end up collecting dust after the “Williams Team” eventually moves on and a new government takes its place.

On a brighter note, I like the fact that oil industry representatives were quick to say they are willing to work within the guidelines presented, even though they are not overjoyed about the equity position government expects on future projects.

The way I look at it, it's always a good sign when those who covet what you've got aren’t walking away angry, but it's an even better sign when they aren't slapping each other on the back and high fiving it all the way to the bank.

On that front Williams seems to have struck a balance between provincial need and industry greed.

The weakest part of the plan for me is the province’s direction on clean energy, or hydro power. It’s here that Williams has left a lot of questions unanswered.

In the document the government speaks of connecting the isolated island power grid to Labrador via an undersea cable. The intention is to use some of the power from the proposed Lower Churchill development as a replacement for the oil fired generating plant at Holyrood. This is great news for the environment and with the cost of oil these days it should be welcome news for consumers in the long term.

Where the plan is seriously lacking is around the use of Lower Churchill power to attract industrial development in Labrador.

Though a few references to industrial development and making the people the prime beneficiaries of the resource are peppered throughout the document, nowhere does the plan clearly state that partnering with industrial players and encouraging them to locate inside the province will be aggressively pursued. Instead there are only cryptic references to economic growth. It's almost as if the idea of local industrial growth was added as an afterthought to appease the public.

After touching on the topic of industrial growth the plan moves quickly on to the exporting of power into the North American grid.

Once again, this part of the plan is light on detail and direction and it shouldn’t be.

The selling of Lower Churchill power outside the province brings up a very sore point for many Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Exporting power is not a preferred option for many. It is viewed as providing a way to foster industrial growth in places like Quebec and Ontario while unemployment continues to soar inside the province and local people move away by the thousands to the very places that would be the recipients of that power.

The public distaste and underlying anger around selling power instead of using it to attract industry is often further aggravated when the prospect of moving that power through Quebec is discussed.

The hangover from a lopsided Upper Churchill contract is still being felt very strongly and in some ways has shaped the psyche of the entire province when it comes to the prospect of making another “bad deal”.

For as long as he’s been in office Premier Williams has all but ignored partnering with potential long term industrial partners and instead claimed that his team is actively considering exporting power through a maritime route rather than acquiescing to what many suspect will be exorbitant demands by Quebec Hydro.

While this new energy plan speaks of the afore mentioned undersea link to the island as providing a starting point for this alternate route it doesn't go beyond that. What isn’t mentioned is the very serious capacity issue outlined in a 2005 government report recently acquired by the CBC. That document identifies major concerns with the provincial power grid and its ability to handle any substantial increase in power distribution. The grid is essentially maxed out and as such poses a major problem for any plan to bypass Quebec with the Lower Churchill.

This glaring omission is very concerning to those following the direction of the Lower Churchill development. Though government is still publicly saying that the maritime route is a valid option, the fact that there is no mention of capacity issues and little acknowledgement of industrial power use in Labrador, seems to be a clear signal that government has already made its mind on how it will proceed. It looks like they plan to either hold their noses and use the Quebec corridor after all or, if the public outcry is becomes deafening, shelve the project entirely.