"For all these reasons, the contract must be re-negotiated. It is not a question of whether. It is a question of how and when." - Brian Tobin, when he was Premier of Newfoundland & Labrador, addressing the Montreal Rotary Club, on October 15, 1996.

When Brian Tobin was premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, he became the first premier of the province to get extra money from the Government of Quebec for the Upper Churchill. How did he do it? He went to cities on the mainland speaking to important groups of people about the injustice of the Upper Churchill contact. And he said that if Newfoundland didn't get extra money, he was going to "pull the plug". Here is one of the speeches he gave on the topic (the one quoted above). Click here to read it.

(Note: This is not the time Tobin used the term, "Pull the Plug".)

Hebron Deal Moving Forward. Is it Connected to Lower Churchill Deal?

(August 23, 2007)

The Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) government, run by Premier Danny Williams, has an early stages agreement with an oil company partnership to develop the Hebron oil field.

Some have wondered, why the deal now, after more than a year long delay in negotiations. One interesting theory I heard from a reporter was this is connected to the development of the Lower Churchill. The idea is, if NL is to develop the Lower Churchill alone (and it's really not totally alone since a Labrador native group will be a small owner of the project too) the banks wanted the Hebron deal to go forward before agreeing to loan NL the money needed for the Lower Churchill project. The banks wanted to see that the province was a bit richer, you could say, before making the loan.

This hasn't been confirmed by any banks or the government, so it's just talk. But I have to say, it's interesting talk.

Newfoundland and Labrador to Develop Lower Churchill Alone

Premier Danny Williams made the right choice to develop the Lower Churchill alone. (Or, mostly alone. We will see which it is.)Yes, the province can afford to do it alone. Really, we can't afford not to do it alone.

But that is only a piece of the puzzle. The other big piece is the Upper Churchill. That arrangement with Quebec has to be changed, one way or the other.

The problem is, if NL is sending Lower Churchill power across Quebec, it makes it a lot harder to change the Upper Churchill deal. But, if NL had a way of bringing Lower Churchill power to the island of Newfoundland, then to the Maritimes and on to other markets, we could change the Upper Churchill deal. I know we can. Our problem with changing it is, if we break away from Quebec, we'd still have to send the power back through Quebec if we wanted to sell it elsewhere. And, yes, even in the contract with Quebec there most likely is a way out of it.

People say the island/Maritime route is more expensive for Lower Churchill power. Yes, it is. But when you add Upper Churchill power to it, this way is a steal. It is the path that has to be taken. Lower Churchill power should never be sent across Quebec. (May 27, 2006)

No Lower Churchill Deal Made Yet

I've talked to the Globe and Mail reporter who wrote the article about Quebec's future hydro plans. Rheal Seguin said that "details are sketchy at best" but no deal has been made yet on the Churchill project.

Excellent.

I can't help but wonder if Quebec's announcement of all its hydro plans isn't also a way to say to Danny Williams, we don't need your new hydro power, so we aren't willing to pay very much for it.

Will Quebec even be able to handle transporting the Lower Churchill power, now that it plans to transport so much of its own power out of Quebec?

Let's hope this forces Newfoundland & Labrador to find another way to transport any excess power. A way that doesn't include Quebec. Even better yet: keep all the power in Newfoundland & Labrador. (May 6, 2006)

Lower Churchill Deal Made?

Today the Globe And Mail had an article about Quebec's future Hydro plans. The article is written by Rheal Seguin, and is here.

Two things worry me about this. One, I know Quebec has been working on hydro development near the Labrador border that they shouldn't be. Someone needs to keep an eye on this! And two...

Just read this quote from the article:

"Ontario's Hydro One Inc. will participate in the Churchill project, a Quebec official said, but could not provide details."

I don't like the word "will" in that sentence. It wasn't "may". It was "will". And what "Churchill project" are they talking about? Maybe the Lower Churchill, since Ontario and Quebec have a bid in on that?

It could be that the Quebec official or the reporter made a mistake. But the way that sentence is written says to me that Quebec and Ontario are going to get the Lower Churchill power. That some sort of deal has been made.

Let's hope not. (May 5, 2006)

Energy Hearings

I was to the NL government's energy hearing in St. John's on Jan. 30, 2006. These hearings are being held all around NL to help the provincial government receive public input on their new energy strategy. The government is preparing to plan the province's long term energy policy.

I was there to see what was being said about Churchill Falls hydro power.

The place was full of people. Minister Ed Byrne was there with some of his officials.

The feel that I got from this meeting was, hydro power from Labrador is going to be sold out of province. Wind power is going to be used to help the island part of the province generate its future energy needs.

That's what I saw, reading between the lines. That doesn't mean this is government's current plan. But don't be surprised if this is what the future brings. (Feb.11, 2006)

Applying to Hydro-Quebec Again

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro have applied to Hydro-Quebec to be allowed to transmit power from the Lower Churchill to... to... to where? To Quebec, to help their industry grow more? To Ontario, to help their industry grow more, so Newfoundlanders can move there for jobs? Or to the United States?

I personally feel that only excess power should be exported from Newfoundland & Labrador, and nothing else. We should have 100% recall rights to all of the Lower Churchill power. (See the Petition.)

Currently, oil is imported to the province to be burned in Newfoundland to generate power. Believe it or not, oil is burned in Labrador also to generate power in communities. And I'm not talking about tiny towns, either.

NL Hydro has provided a refundable deposit of 17 million dollars as part of the application process. So this is serious.

NL Natural Resources Minister Ed Byrne said that this does not mean that the government has decided to export all of the Lower Churchill power out of Labrador. I pray to God they haven't. (Jan. 20, 2006)

Political Blog Archives

Great Auk Hunt- Reasons

I should add to my last post that some companies have turned down my sponsorship request for reasons other that losing sales to Quebec if they sponsor this project.

Of course, this is not an anti-Quebec project. In fact, I know Quebecers who support it. (Feb. 25, 2006)

Great Auk Hunt

Getting a local business to sponsor this so far has been as easy as hunting a Great Auk.

Unofficially, they, and some other people, don't want to get involved with this because they don't want to offend Quebec, and lose business with them.

It's really a shame that anyone in Newfoundland thinks that way. No wonder NL isn't trying to change the Upper Churchill deal. (Feb. 20, 2006)

The Sponsor Hunt

The search for sponsors is on. I've started asking group or companies if they would be interested in being a sponsor. The first one said no. So sad *sob*... (Feb. 10, 2006)

Camera Stuff

I have picked out in my mind the camera I want to use for the project. I still have to make sure I can smoothly use it in editing. The camera shoots in HDV, but it seems St. John's is not quite ready for HDV editing. And there are software issues that need to be figured out. But at least the camera situation is worked out. Of course, it still needs to be bought. Still time for things to get messed up. Okay. Enough boring camera talk for today...(Feb. 10, 2006)

Email Writing Time Answer

I heard back from the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation soon after my second email to them, and talked to someone from there on the phone. Maybe I might be able to get some help from them. So I'm pleased with how that turned out. (Jan. 20, 2006)

Email Writing Time

I'm about to write an email to the Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation . I wrote them one on Dec. 29, but never heard back. Time to give them another try. They are the official provincial group set up to help film production in NL. (Jan 8, 2006)

Movie Making Blog Archives

Want Machine's first planned project is a documentary called "Churchill Falls Interviews". It's about the late 1960's power contract between the governments of Newfoundland & Labrador and Quebec. The documentary has the point of view that the contract has to be ended. The documentary tells the full history of Churchill Falls from when white men first started visiting it in the 19th Century to when the contract ends in 2041.

The project is told through interviews.

"Newfoundland & Labrador must end the 1969 Upper Churchill arrangement with Quebec, and have no Lower Churchill involvement with Quebec. Newfoundland & Labrador must retain 100% recall rights to the Lower Churchill power."

The above is a petition concerning Churchill Falls hydro power. The Government of Newfoundland & Labrador, through Newfoundland & Labrador Hydro, hope to develop the Lower Churchill hydro project, if the right deal is available for the province. This petition asks that they do it without dealing with the Government of Quebec, and Hydro Quebec, which it owns. If the Lower Churchill is developed, any power not used in the province of Newfoundland & Labrador should only be exported through undersea cable to the Maritime provinces. Quebec needs to be totally excluded from Lower Churchill power. This is because a battle will be needed to end the Upper Churchill contract, which can be ended. But if Newfoundland & Labrador is exporting Lower Churchill power through Quebec, Quebec can use Newfoundland & Labrador's need for Quebec's help with the Lower Churchill against us. No connection with Quebec for Lower Churchill power can be allowed.

Only power Newfoundland & Labrador do not need should be exported. Newfoundland & Labrador must retain 100% recall rights to the Lower Churchill power, so if we development future needs for the power, we can recall it without extra cost to us.

More information is coming soon on how you can sign the petition.

Here is a link to an article the Montreal Gazette has, speaking to economics professor James Feehan and historian Mel Baker, on their 25,000-word analysis of how the Churchill Falls deal was done. To read it, click here. (Jan. 1, 2006)

----------------------------------

Here is a link to an article "The Independent" newspaper has up now. In it, they talks to "experts" and Premier Williams about the odds of the Upper Churchill deal changing. Including a professor at a Quebec university. The article is here. (Note: check it quickly. The article could get taken down.)

If you say something enough, people start to believe it. So, once again the "experts", especially the one from Quebec, doubts the deal will ever be changed. It's to their advantage to repeat this message, over and over. But don't believe it. It doesn't need to be true. I feel the deal can indeed be changed. (Dec. 22, 2005)