St. John’s, N.L. (December 19, 2024) – Tony Wakeham, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and MHA for Stephenville-Port au Port, today raised more questions about the Liberal Government’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Quebec.
Wakeham noted that Finance Minister Siobhan Coady stated in the media today that Newfoundland and Labrador will receive $500 million in 2025. However, in the December 12 news release announcing the MOU, the Premier stated: “And it starts as of 2025 with a billion dollars a year flowing to the province.”
Wakeman also noted that during a technical briefing for the Official Opposition on December 12, NL Hydro officials confirmed there will be zero dollars received in 2025.
“These are conflicting numbers. They all can’t be right,” said Wakeham. “This MOU is too important to the people of our province to have numbers circulating that are not consistent or based in financial reality. The Minister of Finance also continues to use $17 billion for the value to the province when the December 12 Globe and Mail article states the actual value to the province is only $9 billion. Why are these numbers so far apart?”
Wakeham also pointed out that 34 per cent of any payments to Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation (CF(L)Co) are paid back to Hydro Quebec as a shareholder.
“We must all remember that any revenues or payments to CF(L)Co are 34 per cent Hydro-Quebec’s. So, for every dollar earned, 34 cents end up going back to Quebec.”
Wakeham repeated his earlier calls for a clear answer on the amount of money that Newfoundland and Labrador will actually receive over the life of the MOU.
“We need to know the exact amount of money that is going to flow into the provincial treasury. Not equity, not deferred revenues, not anticipated contributions. We need to know the true dollar amount. This is what happens when a deal is rushed and the government does not allow for proper scrutiny. The people of this province deserve to have adequate time to analyze this deal and not just accept floating numbers at face value.”