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02 April 2007

Ont. links Lower Churchill support to feds and Quebec

Ontario energy minister Dwight Duncan told reporters in St. John's on Monday that his province won't be purchasing any Lower Churchill power unless Quebec and the federal government back the project.

Duncan spoke to reporters following a meeting with Newfoundland and Labrador natural resources minister Kathy Dunderdale.

The vocm.com story is based on comments by Premier Danny Williams, comments made before Duncan met with reporters. Obviously what Williams described as "a serious look" by Ontario at the project, doesn't match up with the reality.

As Bond Papers has noted before, the Lower Churchill project may not proceed. The current war between Williams and the federal government makes it extremely unlikely that the federal government will invest in the project in order to meet the 2009 timeline for project sanction.

Williams has also criticised Quebec for its supposedly unstable political climate.

In this cbc.ca story, the Dunderdale correctly describes the federal government's commitment to the project, saying: "Right now, we've got a commitment from Prime Minister Harper that he would consider financing for the project...". Premier Danny Williams consistently misrepresents Prime Minister Stephen Harper's commitment as being a loan guarantee.

Duncan's comments make it clear that potential customers will want to see the financials on the project before they consider buying. So far, the province's hydroenergy corporation hasn't been able to start purchase talks since the financials of the project are still being finalized.

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