Now that the new Wakeham “deal” is in plain view and has been put thru the wringer…so to speak, its time to think about where it’s going or not going. Local reviews so far have not been kind. In fact, it’s fair to say they have been downright brutal and with good reason. Once again, it appears this province will get whatever is left after Quebec has its fill of the benefits available from the redevelopment of our river, just as it has since the 1969 initial development. Again, just like in 1969 our federal government is supporting what is essentially the theft of our resource for the benefit of another province. Nowhere else in this country would this be acceptable, so why is it here?
The answer lies in the political structure of our confederation.
Canada is made up of 10 provinces and three territories all with democratically elected governments plus a federal government for the entire country. The distribution of powers and responsibilities is well known and for the most part works well…. but not everywhere or for everyone.
The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is a large resource rich province by area but small by population. The federal electoral system is structured on a representation by population basis with representatives elected to represent pockets of people known as districts. We have only 7 federal MPs of the total 343 MP’s that make up Canadas’ House of Commons. All provinces have MPs based on the number of districts or pockets of population. Quebec has 78 MPs. There is also a Canadian Senate which is largely ineffective with virtually all decision making at the federal level ceded to the House of Commons.
NL’s only land border is with Quebec so to get our Churchill Falls hydro energy to market we must either sell it to Quebec or transport it through Quebec to outside markets. There is one other option through the “Anglo Saxon” route requiring two subsea crossings which while technically possible is not considered practical.
Now to the new CF “deal” and what this all means to what’s unfolding.
Quebec with its 78 MP’s has used that power to its benefit to effectively block NL’s attempts to get rights to transport our CF energy to markets outside of Quebec. Having accomplished that goal, it has used it as leverage to gain unfair advantage over negotiations to reach a deal with NL to buy its CF electrical energy at less than fair market value. And so here we are with a federal government supported “deal” that just like the 1969 contract, makes Quebec the primary beneficiary of our great Churchill River hydro resource. Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice…
I’ve said it before, but its worth repeating here, we are underdogs in the confederation and are destined to remain so if we don’t do what we must to take control of our own destiny.