N.L. a victim of 'economic terrorism'
The following letter to the editor is published in today's edition (Monday, Dec. 14th) of The Telegram. As a Newfoundland and Labrador MP, it was a challenge to truly love Canada. Oh, I always liked her enough, she’s a red-leafed beauty/hockey Goddess to look at, but dig deeper and there’s evidence of what the late Geoff Stirling once described as “economic terrorism.” Our people have suffered greatly because of the monumentally lopsided Upper Churchill contract — Quebec makes billions more than us. And Ottawa has never been prepared to step in, to stage an intervention, which only adds to the pain. Most people aren’t aware, but the Upper Churchill contract expires next year (1972-2016). At that point, an automatic 25-year renewal clause will kick in. And, starting in 2016, Newfoundland and Labrador will make even less from the contract than it did in the first 44 years. According to a 2009 Nalcor report, the purchase price under the power contract is one-quarter of