Will Lower Churchill Be Another Giveaway?
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I’m so sick of the giveaway mentality shared by successive governments in Newfoundland and Labrador. People in the province have rallied behind Premier Danny Williams since he came to office. They tout him as Dan da Man, the guy who is going to end giveaways once and for all, but is he really?
When Danny Boy stood up to the vultures of big oil I was in his corner all the way. When he fought Ottawa over offshore revenues I cheered right along with the rest of the Province and when he talked about the volatile political situation in Quebec I nodded my agreement, but I have to say, his position on the Lower Churchill really has me pissed.
For months now Danny Williams has talked about exporting power through Quebec or via the so called Anglo Saxon route. He referenced the east/west power grid as a means of pressuring Ottawa into supporting his export plans. Just this week Williams told a local reporter that the Quebec route is his preferred option and he’s sure he can work out a deal. That bothers me like you wouldn’t believe because the one thing I’ve never heard him say is hat he wants to use the power right here at home.
Why does Newfoundland and Labrador have to export power in order to take advantage of it? What’s wrong with using the resource here and why the hell does the government of this province once again think the only way forward is to give everything away?
It all started back when Newfoundland and Labrador away its sovereignty and nothing’s changed since. Just look at the pathetic record of past governments.
The Upper Churchill project – billions of dollars flow into Quebec coffers for another 35 years while Newfoundland and Labrador barely makes enough to keep the turbines spinning.
Voisey Bay – INCO signed a deal to build a smelter in the province and years later ore continues to be flow to Ontario and Manitoba faster than water down the Churchill but there’s still no smelter and even the location for it is being debated.
Offshore oil – The province has a burgeoning oil industry yet not one drop of the stuff is refined here and there are no petrochemical industries in the Province. Every drop is shipped out to be processed.
The list goes on and on, yet the Premier sill says his preferred option is to export power through Quebec.
Newfoundland and Labrador has the highest unemployment rate in the Country, some of the highest taxes, massive out-migration, a dependence on seasonal industries and is facing an aging population base. Come on Danny, get with the game. Instead of looking for ways to export that power why not adopt a “No Export†policy on all electrical energy. Instead, why examine the feasibility of improving the internal distribution grid so the power can be used to attract industry to the Province.
Using wind power, Lower Churchill power and eventually even Upper Churchill power as a catalyst for industrial growth is the only way the province will ever see the full benefits of the resource and the only way for those benefits to be understood, shared and felt by the people. The future depends on growing the economy and the best way to foster that growth is by retaining and using renewable resources to attract industrial development.
Newfoundland and Labrador’s ability to supply low cost, stable and clean energy, in combination with its port facilities, an available workforce and the its physical proximity to North American and European markets uniquely positions the province to become an industrial nirvana. An ample power supply, one that will grow much larger in 2041, can encourage industrial growth and it has the potential to:
• Drastically improve the province’s economic situation;
• Lower unemployment rates;
• Stem the tide of out-migration;
• Broaden the industrial tax base;
• Lessen dependence on an unstable or seasonal economy;
• Provide a mechanism for ex-patriot Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to return to their homes; and
• Increase the province’s shrinking population;
The only possible argument against this approach is a limited ability to finance the development, but there are ways around that. In fact the project itself could be developed in partnership with industry. It’s not a new concept. In the 1940s, British Columbia wanted to develop sparsely populated parts of the province and establish new population centers without risking taxpayers’ funds. Aluminum manufacturer, Alcan, was invited to the area and they worked with the BC government to develop the Kitimat-Kemano power project, which in its day was the largest privately-funded construction project ever undertaken in Canada. As a result Alcan continues to be an industrial leader and major employer in BC today.
Like BC, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador has the opportunity to use its power resources to grow the province. It has the opportunity, over time, to resolve a lot of the problems that exist today. It has the opportunity to do things right at least once. It has the opportunity, but will it, or will the government of today simply give it all away once again?
By Myles Higgins
@ October 22, 2006