Through the Looking Glass - A Constitutional Crisis in the Making

Much has been discussed in Newfoundland and Labrador in the past day or two about a potentially flammable situation developing between Quebec, Newfoundland & Labrador and the federal government over claims by Quebec that a large portion of Labrador rests inside its provincial border.

There appears to be a lot of misinformation of the facts being put before the public by some media outlets, either innocently or intentionally, so in an effort to summarize the reality of the situation, here are the facts as they currently stand:

More than a week ago reporter, Rob Antle, with the newspaper “The Telegram” wrote a story about an impending border dispute between Newfoundland & Labrador and Quebec. He was not informed by any official source in government but uncovered the situation himself.

Earlier this week the Globe and Mail ran a front page story highlighting the same situation.

Here it is in a nutshell.

Quebec Hydro, an arm of the Quebec provincial government, in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Environment, is in the midst of an environmental assessment before breaking ground on a major hydro development on Romaine River which, along with four other rivers, spans the border between the two provinces.

All “official” maps of the area that were supplied by Quebec, and accepted by the joint committee wrongly depict a large portion of Labrador, containing the head waters of all of those rivers, including the Romaine, as being fully within the boundaries and jurisdiction of the Province of Quebec.

The article in the Globe & Mail pointed out that by accepting those maps for the environmental assessment the federal government was implicitly accepting Quebec’s claims that it controls a section of Labrador as well as the head waters of the rivers they plan to exploit for a massive power generation project.

The government of Newfoundland and Labrador was not invited to participate in the review process and only found out about the situation months later.

Upon learning of the situation back in November, the province of Newfoundland and Labrador submitted a six page document, plus maps, that did little more than point out the problem at hand and express displeasure with the process underway.

No demands to cease the process were made.

As far as anyone can tell no further actions have been taken or are planned.

Officials at the Ministry of the Environment told the Globe & Mail that any territorial dispute is a matter for the provinces to resolve.

This is not correct.

The border in question was clearly identified and ruled upon in 1927 by the Kings Privy Council in England, long before Newfoundland and Labrador ever became a Canadian province.

It was a ruling that both Canada and Newfoundland and Labrador (a separate Dominion) accepted, both being Nations constitutionally ruled by the British North America Act at the time.

That 1927 border ruling was also clearly reiterated and agreed upon in the first two paragraphs of the Terms of Union by which Newfoundland and Labrador entered Canada. It is now tied to the Canadian Constitution making it a Constitutional issue.

Quebec never signed onto the Canadian Constitution and it has never accepted the 1927 Privy Council border decision.

For years Quebec’s maps, be they tourist, topographical, mineral exploration, election riding or any other form, have depicted its unsubstantiated claims to Southern Labrador.

Reports are now surfacing from long time political figures that at least twice in the past several decades the Quebec government has tried to quietly coerce or maneuver a Newfoundland and Labrador Premier into handing over the region to them.

With this in mind the actions of Quebec and acceptance of them by Federal Officials, who are proceeding with the environmental process in spite of the facts, have led to a great deal of concern among the general population in Newfoundland and Labrador. Yet Premier Williams and his government, as well as Federal MPs are oddly silent on the issue.

Since the dispute became public knowledge, neither the Premier nor anyone else in his government have issued any kind of official statement addressing the concerns of the people or outlining what they intend to do to protect the province’s territorial boundary.

In such a tension filled situation rumors and speculation often fill the void when facts are not available. Premier Williams is not known as the sort of man who sits quietly by when major issues arise so his silence on this file has led to widespread speculation that perhaps something unsavory is happening behind closed doors while the citizens of Newfoundland and Labrador are being kept in the dark.

They worry that the environmental process is due to be completed in just two weeks and if something is not done to address the issue quickly it may be too late.

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

Where Once They Stood We (should) Stand

The pending closure of the Abitibi-Bowater mill in Grand Falls-Windsor is the talk of the Province these days. Hundreds of direct and countless indirect jobs will be lost once the mill closes and the future of Abitibi’s timber and water rights in the Province are in question.

This is another clear example of the kind of industrial rape Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have experienced for decades and it speaks volumes about the attitude of big business toward this place.

We’ve seen it before in the destruction of the Atlantic fishery.

We’ve seen it in places like Stephenville and Bell Island.

Now we’re seeing it in Grand Falls-Windsor.

Yes the economy is bad but that reality is not the reason the mill is being closed.

The mill is closing because Abitibi-Bowater ran it into the ground through a lack of upgrade or investment over the years and because their board of directors believe they can walk away from the town while still making millions of dollars in profits for decades to come.

It’s up to the government of the Province, and the people who live here, to see to it that not another penny of profit is sucked out of our resources by this company once the locks go on the doors.

Representatives of the Provincial government say they are in the process of determining what can be done to recover Abitibi’s timber and water rights. That’s all well and good. I hope they can successfully regain them, but barring that, there are other options that will ensure the pillaging of our province, at least by this one company, is stopped dead in its tracks.

While the mill is active and the people working, excess power generated by Abitibi on the Exploits river is being sold into the Provincial grid and purchased by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. Once that mill is closed, Abitibi management intends to sell all the power to Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and reap millions in profits each year. This cannot be allowed to happen.

The right to generate electricity on the Exploits river was granted to the company so it could power the mill. They cannot be allowed to benefit from this resource once the mill is closed.

No mill, no power.

If the government finds it has no legal means to regain those water rights it must direct Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, a crown corporation, to take a lesson from the Upper Churchill debacle and a page out of the Quebec playbook.

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro must refuse to purchase a single kilowatt of power generated by Abitibi.

With no market for the power the company’s board of directors won’t be long figuring out that the generating station and water rights are completely worthless to them.

As for the timber rights, if government discovers it has no recourse for reclaiming those, it may well fall to the people of the Province to take a stand.

Weeks, months or even years of blockades and picket lines preventing wood laden trucks from rolling down the road and ships from hauling away this valuable resource may be needed.

The process will likely long, calling for great sacrifice on the part of many, including the possiblity of facing minor legal issues during the process, but in time the incessant delays, additional costs and resulting damage to its public image will force Abitibi to understand that leaving the Province means leaving the Province, not continuing to rape it.

No longer should Newfoundlanders and Labradorians sit idly by and be dictated to by greedy corporations.

No longer should the people continue to watch as their resources are stripped away for the benefit of companies and governments elsewhere.

If the people of Newfoundland and Labrador don’t make a stand with Abitibi-Bowater when will they make a stand and will there come a time when there is nothing left worth standing up for?

UPDATE: Premier Williams has announced that his government will introduce emergency legislation this afternoon in order to expropriate all timber rights, water rights and electrical generating facilities belonging to Abitibi-Bowater on the island of Newfoundland.

The Premier has stated that Abitibi-Bowater may receive compensation for damns, generating stations or other physical assets however no compensation will be paid for the timber or water rights.