Parrott Writes NL Hydro Over Taxpayer Funded Ads Promoting Churchill Falls Deal

St. John’s, NL (September 5, 2025) – Lloyd Parrott, Progressive Conservative Shadow Minister for Industry, Energy and Technology and MHA for Terra Nova, has written to Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro demanding that the Crown corporation immediately halt its advertising campaign promoting the proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Quebec on Churchill Falls.

Premier John Hogan has publicly stated the deal will be “the number one issue in the upcoming provincial election.” Despite this, NL Hydro is spending thousands of dollars of public funds promoting the deal, raising serious concerns about political messaging and the fairness of the democratic process leading into the writ period.

Concerns about the review process are mounting. This week, media reported that Michael Wilson, a member of the independent review panel, resigned in protest, stating the panel’s work “wasn’t meeting the public’s expectations” and that “the independence of the panel became impaired.” The panel is chaired by Dennis Browne, a known Liberal loyalist, raising further questions about impartiality at such a crucial time in our province’s history.

“Churchill Falls and Gull Island are the crown jewels of our hydro resources,” said Parrott. “To spend public money promoting a one-sided message just days and weeks prior to a general election is reckless. NL Hydro must disclose how much is being spent, come clean on whether they’ll be advertising during the writ, and explain why a Crown corporation is engaging in political advertising on such a contentious issue. Stop the ads, disclose the spending, and respect the voters of this province.”