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ST. JOHN & S, N.L. – The premier of Newfoundland and Labrador said he was disappointed but that he was finally ready to turn the page on Friday after another defeat in court in the long feud that the The province maintained with Quebec on the income of the electricity of Churchill Falls.
Premier Dwight Ball said that a Supreme Court of Canada ruling Friday – which would leave his province short of money with an unbalanced deal of 1969 – will not interfere with the relations of the province with Quebec.
"The past is the past, for us the decision is the decision," said Ball on Friday.
"What I have recognized a long time ago (that is), we are making more progress, we are getting more benefits for the people of our province when we work together."
Ball hinted that his current government would no longer dispute any legal challenge to the decades-old contract in which Hydro-Quebec agreed to buy electricity at Churchill Falls at a fixed rate that is expected to decline over time.
The deal has since generated more than $ 27.5 billion for Hydro-Québec and about $ 2 billion for Newfoundland and Labrador.
The glaring imbalance of profits is at the root of decades of animosity between the two provinces and numerous legal battles exclusively with Hydro-Québec.
The last challenge began in 2010, when Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corp. Ltd. unsuccessfully argued in the Superior Court of Quebec that Hydro-Québec had a "bona fide" obligation to reopen the contract because of unpredictable changes in the energy market.
The decision was subsequently confirmed by the Quebec Court of Appeal.
The Supreme Court ruled 7-1 in favor of Hydro-Québec Friday, finding no obligation of renegotiation, regardless of the unexpected "substantial profits" of the contract for Quebec.
Nalcor Energy, the provincial Crown corporation that is the parent company of Churchill Falls (Labrador), said Friday in a statement that it was accepting the court's ruling.
"This decision is final and ends an eight-year judicial process," reads the statement.
"We are disappointed with the result, but we will continue to honor the contract and continue to cooperate with Hydro-Québec."
Ball said that he was not surprised by the decision of the judges. Former Prime Minister Tom Marshall has also not been declared, who said in an interview that he was "deeply disappointed" by this news.
Marshall was Minister of Justice when he was introduced to the "good faith" argument on which the trial was based, according to which, in a contract of such length, it was necessary to consider changes in the electricity market.
"This action was not asking for the cancellation of the contract, it was simply asking for equity," Marshall said Friday.
"I am very sad right now, but I think we have certainly given the best of ourselves and got a fair hearing in front of the highest court in the country."
Marshall stated that he respected the expertise of the judges, but he hoped that the argument of "good faith" could result in changes to what he sees as an unfair deal for his province .
"I am at an age when I will not be there when this contract comes to an end when they negotiate a new one, I would like to know what will happen," Marshall said.
The contract was renewed in 2016 and expires in 2041.
Before this date arrives, Newfoundland and Labrador faces serious financial problems.
The Muskrat Falls hydroelectric dam in Labrador has now more than doubled its costs and is currently under public investigation.
Ball said the planning of electricity sales in Churchill Falls after 2041 will begin "long in advance".
In the meantime, Ball discusses other opportunities for collaboration with Quebec, such as the expansion of the Labrador mining industry, and says that a friendly relationship with the neighboring province will be beneficial for Newfoundland and Labrador, despite stormy relations.
Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady said the harsh lessons learned from the transformation of the electricity market would help shape future contracts.
"Things have changed since the contract award in the 1960s, and we will be wiser all the way to the 2041 approach," she said.
Holly McKenzie-Sutter, Canadian Press
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