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Gold/Mining/Energy : Inco-Voisey Bay Nickel [ T.N.V] -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Kitskid who wrote (724)	6/29/1999 3:50:00 AM
From: Cumbrian	Respond to of 1615

Monday, Jun 28 1999 Crosbie wades into the Voisey's Bay impasse The Telegram June 27, 1999 In a recent speech in Labrador, John Crosbie pleaded with the Newfoundland public to cut Premier Brian Tobin a little slack when it comes to negotiating with Inco on the Voisey's Bay development. He then went on to urge the people of Labrador to push for the successful conclusion of negotiations this year so that a start can be made on the project next year. For the most prominent, senior Conservative in the province, it was a remarkable exhortation, one that may be very useful to Premier Tobin as he tries to get the mine built sooner rather than later. Crosbie carries considerable weight on the whole question of how natural resources should be developed. He was, more than anyone, the person who pointed out how flawed the Upper Churchill power contract was when he was in then premier Frank Moores' cabinet in the 1970s. At the time, Crosbie complained that Joe Smallwood had sold out the province by not securing an escalator clause in the agreement. That clause would have increased revenue to the province when oil prices rose in the '70s and early '80s, though it may have required even greater powers to forecast the future than Smallwood is believed to have possessed. Few expected energy prices to rise as they did. A consequence of the Upper Churchill deal has been the reluctant-bride attitude of the province when it comes to new resource developments. Whenever another development is proposed, people demand that it not be another Churchill Falls - in the Newfoundland lexicon that is the equivalent of a Quisling or Benedict-Arnold-like action. So when Crosbie argues that Premier Tobin needs a little negotiating room - which includes moving away from the full smelter-refinery position shared with Inco in 1996 - he is saying that something smaller must be acceptable or the development may never get built. In other words, Tobin must compromise without paying for that compromise with his political career. It is a statesman-like position to take, and one that may actually make a difference. If, for example, the provincial Tories under Ed Byrne oppose something less than the 1996 smelter-refinery facility, Tobin can always trump their objections with the Crosbie card. Crosbie, to this point, still carries more credibility than the entire provincial Conservative caucus. Whether the premier will take heart from Crosbie's comments is uncertain. When his mines and energy minister, Roger Grimes, suggested almost the same thing several weeks ago great confusion emanated from the Tobin cabinet and indignant outrage from every other quarter. It's not the first time the notion of a smaller facility has been put forth, but it has yet to come from anyone but the nickel company and the Tobin government. In the real world, the half a loaf that Crosbie argues should be bargained for, is much preferable to the no loaf that currently graces the kitchen cabinets of Labrador and Newfoundland.