Churchill power project hits snag
November 21, 2002
Halifax and Quebec — An agreement to proceed with a $4-billion power project on the Lower Churchill River has been approved by the Quebec government and the Innu Nation, but it has apparently hit a few snags in the caucus of the Liberal government of Newfoundland and Labrador.
Newfoundland Premier Roger Grimes told reporters in St. John's Wednesday that the deal, which has been under negotiation for more than a decade, wouldn't be signed this week as some had hoped. But senior officials in the Quebec government say they are confident that a deal will be concluded as early as next week.
Late last week, the Premier appeared to have cleared the final hurdle when Innu Nation president Peter Penashue agreed to a package that included compensation for native people who had been adversely affected by the controversial Churchill Falls development in the late 1970s.
Mr. Penashue said in an interview Wednesday that the agreement also recognizes the Innu land claims to the Lower Churchill area and provides a benefits package for native people as the project proceeds.
"I'm pleased that we were able to get something for our people from the Upper Churchill."
He added that the full details of the agreement won't be made public until it is put to a vote of the Innu.
The Innu have long complained that their rights were ignored when the massive Churchill Falls development went ahead in the mid-1970s. As a result, they say, their traditional hunting grounds were flooded and high mercury readings were found in rivers near the power project.
But the proposed agreement is also raising some other long-held grievances in the province.
Mr. Penashue said all three Labrador members of the House of Assembly — Yvonne Jones, Wally Andersen and Ernest McLean — expressed reservations about the proposed deal at a meeting last weekend.
He said Mr. McLean and Ms. Jones want electrical rates in Labrador reduced as part of the deal.
Mr. Andersen said: "We are negotiating and we're trying to put together a package that can secure the future of our people down the road. It's a hard process; it's a difficult process."
Mr. Penashue said he would like to see a fund set up for the Labrador area that could be used for economic development.
Mr. Grimes could not be reached for comment yesterday, but he told the House of Assembly earlier this week that the government is "taking what time is needed to negotiate terms which provide the right balance between minimizing financial risk for our province and maximizing economic returns for our people."
He said any development on the Lower Churchill would be entirely owned by Newfoundland and Labrador, unlike the Upper Churchill development, which is owned two-thirds by the province and one-third by the province of Quebec.
Mr. Grimes, who is heading for an election next year, has also insisted that the price paid for electricity by Hydro-Québec will increase over time as prices change. Newfoundland and Labradorians have long raged about a controversial deal signed by the late premier Joseph Smallwood that allowed Quebec to buy power from the Upper Churchill project at prices set in the 1970s and make large profits by exporting it at current prices.
Quebec Premier Bernard Landry said yesterday that his government is prepared to sign the multibillion-dollar deal whenever Newfoundland is ready. "We have been quite active and we are ready to sign," Mr. Landry said. "Mr. Grimes is putting it to a vote to his caucus. We are waiting for him to get approval. He should not have any problems getting it."
Mr. Landry said his government still has a few minor issues to settle with the Innu and non-native populations in Quebec, but that these matters will not interfere with the signing of the deal. It is now expected to be signed by the two premiers next week, according to a Quebec government official. |
