Premier Danny Williams - House of Assembly, April 21, 2010 - on the costs associated with his disastrous expropriation bill:
What we are trying to do, and we have throughout this negotiation, is protect the interests of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador because Abitibi owes us anywhere from $200 million to $300 million in environmental liabilities for the mess that they left us, in addition to the severance for the workers that have paid, in addition to what we as a government have put into Grand Falls-Windsor and the Central Newfoundland region.
Provincial environment minister Charlene Johnson - House of Assembly, April 22, 2010 - on the costs of Abitibi’s environmental liabilities:
Mr. Speaker, under the act the way that we - under the orders that we issued [November 2009] we require Abitibi to submit to us a remediation plan. There were five orders: Botwood, Stephenville, Grand Falls-Windsor, Buchans and some logging camps. So, until they submit a remediation plan to us - and they had one year to submit this plan and they have done some work on it in the past. Until they submit that plan and until we are satisfied with the plan to ensure that the environmental liabilities will be dealt with, I cannot give you a firm, actual cost until that comes to us and we are satisfied with it.
-srbp-