St. John’s, N.L. (December 31, 2024) –Tony Wakeham, Leader of the Progressive Conservative Party and MHA for Stephenville-Port au Port, released the following statement regarding the transparency and accountability on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Quebec on Churchill Falls:

“As the Leader of the Official Opposition, I am very concerned that the Liberal government seems to be avoiding transparency and accountability on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Quebec on Churchill Falls.

Premier Furey has called this document “historic” and claims it could have a “generational impact” on our province. Yet he has dedicated only 12 hours of House time for the Official Opposition to pose questions about the document.

For comparison's sake, the government’s annual budget gets well over 75 hours of review and debate. And during that time, the Opposition gets to pose questions to the Premier and relevant Ministers.

In a meeting yesterday, the Liberals could not confirm if the Premier or any of his cabinet would be made available to answer questions on the MOU when the House resumes next Monday. This would effectively stop the Opposition from asking questions of the government on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Currently we are only able to pose questions to unelected public servants and project consultants. While I am sure these individuals are very qualified to answer technical questions, they are not elected and are not accountable to the voters of Newfoundland and Labrador.

This MOU could be a big deal for our province. Or it could be another Liberal government signing a bad deal with the Government of Quebec that lasts for decades.

People have the right to know the details of this agreement and how it will affect them and future generations. The Official Opposition is ready to ask the tough questions that the government seems to want to avoid. We’re standing up for everyone in this province who wants to avoid any more giveaways of our resources.

The Furey government needs to allow for a full and open debate on the MOU. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians deserve nothing less than clear answers from their leaders on such a critical issue.

The Premier himself has been front-and-center in selling this deal, and has overseen the spending of hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars used for a promotional ad campaign. He should now be willing to take questions and be accountable in the House.

We won’t let the government sideline the voices of the people. The future of our province is too important.”