No plans to sell Muskrat Falls after 'scandalous' proposal: minister

Despite an argument put forth by a former manager of Hydro-Quebec, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador says it has no plans to sell off the Muskrat Falls megaproject.

Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady said Monday the province was not holding any discussions with Quebec's provincial government about transferring Muskrat Falls to Hydro-Quebec.

"There are no discussions between this government and the Quebec government as the Official Opposition suggests," she wrote in a statement. "They are completely misinformed and wrong."

The PCs demanded a response from the ruling Liberal government after F. Pierre Gingras, a former manager of planning at Hydro-Quebec, called for Muskrat Falls — and all of Labrador — to be given to Quebec, an idea PC Leader Paul Davis called "scandalous."

'The most logical proposal'

Gingras wrote a recent op-ed in Montreal-based newspaper La Presse, blasting the province's inability to properly develop the Muskrat Falls project.

"Once again, only the intervention of Quebec can resolve the complexity of the current disastrous situation to the maximum benefit to all Canadians," Gingras wrote in LaPresse.

Gingras called for Muskrat Falls, Gull Island and the entire area of Labrador to be transferred to Quebec in exchange for 1000 megawatts of power.

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The former executive called the move the "most logical proposal," adding it would allow for the construction of "dozens" of important projects, and would lead to a better future for First Nations in Labrador.

Speaking to the CBC on Monday, Gingras said he was not exactly sure how a deal could be made, but said it could involve a national power grid project, which would allow for the sale of Muskrat Falls power in western Canada.

He also said that Quebec is better situated to shoulder the cost of the Muskrat Falls project, which has ballooned $4 billion over budget since its inception to a now-estimated price tag $11.4 billion, with first power not scheduled until 2019. Domestic rates for power are expected to skyrocket in order to deal with that debtload.

"Newfoundland has a population of 530,000 people. Quebec has a population of 8 million people," Gingras said. "The debt is not the same, when you split it by citizens."

'Scandalous'

In a statement on Monday, PC leader Paul Davis called the idea "scandalous," and characterized the idea of any potential Hydro-Quebec involvement with Muskrat Falls as further proof the province should be wary of dealing with the utility.

Davis said the Liberals have not given clear answers about its intentions with the province's hydroelectric resources.

Over the summer, senior Hydro-Quebec officials toured the Churchill Falls and Muskrat Falls sites. Nalcor said, in a statement, the meeting was aimed at having the new leadership groups at both companies get acquainted. Davis questioned that explanation, saying "red flags were raised" after that visit.

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Former premier Danny Williams has raised concerns about a potential deal between the two province's energy companies.

Coady says the opposition is crying wolf.

"The Official Opposition speculating about hydro resources is a desperate attempt at fear mongering," she wrote.

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