Oversight and negotiating committees announced for Churchill Falls talks
First, Justice Minister Bernard Davis announced the three-member panel that will provide independent oversight of the negotiations.
Second, Premier Andrew Furey revealed that the same team that negotiated December's memorandum of understanding between Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and Hydro-Quebec will lead the effort to reach formal contracts.
"We are now moving toward drafting definitive agreements with the leadership of this smart and experienced team that helped get us to this stage. Our goal is to complete the definitive agreements within the timeline outlined in the MOU," Furey said, referring to the spring 2026 target date for a new partnership between the two provinces.
The negotiating team includes former Fortis Group of Companies executive Karl Smith, N.L. Hydro president and CEO Jennifer Williams and Denis Mahoney, deputy minister of Justice and Public Safety.
The team brings together expertise in industry, utility and law, and will also be supported by internal and external expertise as required.
Meanwhile, engineer C. Douglas Bowman and business leader Michael Wilson will join consumer advocate Dennis Browne on a special panel that will provide oversight of the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding negotiations.
" Independent review of the negotiations with Hydro-Quebec was a critical component in reaching this historic memorandum of understanding and will continue to play an important role in getting the most out of future negotiations toward definitive agreements," Justice and Public Safety Minister Bernard Davis said in a statement.
By establishing the panel, Davis said the province "can be confident that the important need for independent oversight of this historic deal for our province is achieved. The work of Mr. Browne, Mr. Bowman and Mr. Wilson will be critical to the negotiations process, and I thank them for their commitment."
With opposition politicians clamouring for more independent oversight of the historic MOU, the provincial government announced on Jan. 9 that a special oversight panel, led by the consumer advocate, would be created. The oversight structure was established in co-operation with the two members of the New Democratic Party and the two independent MHAs.
The 14 members of the Progressive Conservative caucus refused to vote on the MOU following four days of debate in the House of Assembly, saying they were not satisfied with the level of oversight, and that they had outstanding questions about the framework agreement.
Browne will chair the panel, which has been tasked with reviewing the Dec. 12, 2024, MOU and monitoring the progress toward formal contracts between N.L. Hydro and Hydro-Quebec. The panel will provide advice to the cabinet of Premier Andrew Furey. There's no mention in the news release to any public release of that oversight.
But in a Jan. 10 statement to CBC News, Browne pledged to provide regular updates to the public and the legislature.
"Our oversight team will work for the people of the province and provide factual information on which the public will be able to rely," he said.
Davis said the panel will provide "reliable and transparent" oversight.
Browne is a longtime St. John's lawyer who has served two stints — 1996 to 2004 and 2016 to the present — as the province's consumer advocate. The role of the advocate is to represent rate payers on electricity issues.
Browne's selection to lead the oversight panel was criticized by the PCs because of his previous connection to the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, and his supportive comments of the MOU in media interviews.
But, Browne said "I have not been involved politically for almost 10 years now," and that he was selected as the consumer advocate through the Independent Appointments Commission.
Bowman, meanwhile, is an electrical engineer with more than 40 years of experience in the power industry. His areas of expertise include electricity services costing, pricing and contracts, and power sector restructuring, regulation and markets.
Bowman has provided consulting advice to governments, regulators, utilities and consumer groups, and has played a leading role in consulting projects in over 50 countries around the world.
Wilson is a chartered accountant with a career that has spanned more than four decades with the professional services firm Ernst and Young. Prior to his retirement in 2013, he was a managing partner in St. John's and senior partner in the Toronto.
According to his biography, Wilson has prepared or reviewed numerous commercial contracts in a wide variety of industries, such as power and energy, oil and gas, technology, insurance and construction and transportation.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
Quebec anti-abortion group fails to reverse decision banning protests in front of clinics
Social Sharing Brian Jenkins is among the protesters who must continue keeping their distance from Quebec's abortion clinics, after the province's Superior Court upheld a law requiring a 50-metre buffer zone It's a blow to the vice-president of the Quebec Life Coalition (QLC). The organization with a mission of "building a Christian society" challenged a 2016 provincial law preventing groups from protesting within 50 metres of an abortion clinic. It argued that the law infringed upon its civil liberties, including freedom of expression and the right to gather. On Monday, a Quebec Superior Court judge said although an infringement of the rights of QLC and its members has been demonstrated, "protecting the rights to dignity and privacy in access to medical services" warranted the need for the boundary. In her judgment, Justice Lysane Cree said the law ensures the safe provision of health and social services to users. "Evidence shows that a buffer zone is necessary around clinics to ensure privacy in a medical setting and the safety of all those who work or receive care," read the judgment. "The risks associated with not having a buffer zone outside clinics have been amply demonstrated." WATCH | Anti-abortion activist says decision is a 'blow for women's rights': Quebec judge upholds law banning protests within 50m of abortion clinics 23 minutes ago The Quebec Life Coalition, an anti-abortion group, challenged the 2016 law, arguing that it restricts free speech. The Quebec Superior Court decision found that the law does in fact limit freedom of speech, but that limitation is reasonable. The judgment outlined how the group members positioned themselves as "sidewalk counsellors" and would hold up signs with photos of a fetus or messages such as, "Pregnant and scared? …. We can help you," or "Pray for the end of abortion." Advocates for women's reproductive health say the judge's decision prioritizes health care and access. Jenkins calls it "a blow for women's rights. Rights to be informed." Protesters create shame and fear, advocate says Jenkins protests daily in Montreal and tries to speak to women entering facilities to dissuade them from terminating their pregnancy. Forced to stand away from clinics means protesters are "out of the picture," he said. "I can't see how harassment fits into the picture," he said. "We want to be supportive. We want to be helpful." He says he "can't control the reactions of people" who might feel vulnerable or attacked. "In our society we're seeing restrictions on freedom of speech and other areas," he said. TK Pritchard, executive director of Abortion Care Canada, says using this kind of argument negates responsibility. They say it's a way to speak or act without consequence. "You can be 51 metres away from the property and you can still have your signs," they said. "No one is stopping you from sharing your opinions." With abortion already highly stigmatized, Pritchard says this judgment helps prevent more challenges and barriers for patients when they're on site. "When there are protesters, when there are folks with signs that talk about abortion as murder … it creates a lot of shame for people and fear," they said. Courts weighed both sets of rights, lawyer says In Canada, although it's more common to see protests against campaigns organized by anti-abortion groups, Pritchard says the climate in the U.S. influences abortion care here. This raises an interesting question around the contagion effect, said Pearl Eliadis, associate professor at the Max Bell School of Public Policy who teaches civil liberties at McGill University's Faculty of Law. "We've started to lose our focus a little bit on women's reproductive rights and what a massive hit they've taken since the Roe v. Wade case was overturned," she said. She says she is starting to see "a lot more noise" around restricting women's access to basic health-care services, particularly in the U.S. "People can say what they want to say, but that next step, right, when it comes to actually impeding access to health-care services, that takes it to a whole other level," she said, adding the courts in this case were "quite right to shut it down." She says although the courts found that this law was a violation of civil liberties for the QLC, it is a reasonable limit, particularly since it relates to health care access. "The opening lines of the legislation in question talk about the importance of access," said Eliadis. "When somebody bars that access, it's a problem. And so that's how the courts weigh the two sets of rights." Clinique Morgentaler, a centre in Montreal that offers abortion, said in a news release that its staff must be able to go to the clinic without fear. "We sincerely hope that anti-abortion protesters will respect this ruling, which confirms women's right and freedom to choose to access abortion clinics without any constraints," read the statement. Quebec Justice Minister Simon Jolin-Barrette says women have the right to access services without being intimidated. "In Quebec, we can have different opinions, we can have our own opinion on the subject, however, it's a personal choice. We must respect personal choices regarding the medical services we receive," he said.
CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
Charging a soldier with terrorism may be a first, but Canadian military has history of extremism in its ranks
Social Sharing Early on the morning of July 8, RCMP officers arrested four suspects — two of them active military members — in an alleged plot to form an anti-government militia. The Mounties maintain the group had stockpiled a trove of weapons, including dozens of firearms and 11,000 rounds of ammunition, as part of a plan to take control of a piece of land near Quebec City by force. Three of the suspects, including one of the active military members, are facing terrorism charges. A judge will rule Thursday whether to grant them bail. In many ways, the police operation that led to the arrests was unprecedented. It's believed to be the first time an active member of the Canadian military has been charged with terrorism-related offences. And the cache of weapons seized as part of this case is among the largest ever in a Canadian terrorism investigation, according to Jessica Davis, head of the consulting firm Insight Threat Intelligence. But suspected cases of far-right extremism are not new to the Canadian Forces. It's been a recurring issue for over 30 years, one the military has dealt with intermittent resolve and uneven results. Somalia: The first reckoning The Forces' first major reckoning with extremism came after Canadian paratroopers tortured and killed a 16-year-old boy, Shidane Arone, while on a peacekeeping mission in Somalia in 1993. Prime minister Jean Chrétien's government disbanded the airborne regiment shortly thereafter. The government later cut short an inquiry probing deeper problems within the unit that lead to the death. But the inquiry's final report still revealed that pre-deployment, members of the regiment displayed swastikas and Ku Klux Klan flags at CFB Petawawa. "[N]eo-Nazis and other varieties of white supremacists were known to be present among CAR members," the inquiry's report said. Only one of the soldiers involved in Arone's killing was given a sentence longer than a year. "After the Somali affair, there was really silence. We didn't really hear much about what was happening in the military," said Barbara Perry, a professor at Ontario Tech University who has studied extremism within the Canadian military. "No doubt that there were still problems internally, but it was not something that anyone from the outside was able to look at." WATCH | Canada's military has a long-simmering problem with extremism: Canada's military has a long-simmering problem with extremism 5 days ago For the first time, an active member of the Canadian Armed Forces is facing a terrorism-related charge — but extremism in the ranks has been a concern for decades. For The National, CBC's Jonathan Montpetit explains how the military has been trying to get a handle on the issue for nearly 30 years. From alt-right to neo-Nazis Another spate of far-right activity in the military was revealed in the 2010s, largely due to reporting by media outlets and anti-fascism activists. These incidents coincided with the rise of the so-called "alt-right," a movement to make radical ideals more palatable to mainstream audiences, as well as the proliferation of extremist networks online. In 2015, for example, some veterans of Canada's Afghanistan mission founded the Islamophobic group La Meute in Quebec. A Radio-Canada investigation found at least 75 active-duty members had joined the group's private Facebook page, which at that time numbered around 43,000 profiles. The military told its members to leave the group or risk having a warning placed on their record. In 2017, four active military members in Halifax were given probation for joining the Proud Boys, a white-supremacist group now considered a terrorist entity. Around this time, several reservists were also identified as contributors to more extreme neo-Nazi groups and online forums. In one incident, a reservist in the Royal Canadian Navy posted on Iron March, a now defunct forum for neo-Nazis, encouraging others to join the military to acquire combat skills. "They pay you to teach you the methods you need to destroy them," the reservist posted in 2016. He was released by the navy in 2021. Another reservist, Patrik Mathews, was revealed by the Winnipeg Free Press to be a member of the neo-Nazi group The Base. Mathews, who was discharged after the affiliation was made public, is currently serving a nine-year prison term in the U.S. for participating in a plot to start a race war. But overall during these years, the military only rarely took significant action against suspected cases of extremism and hateful conduct, according to documents obtained by CBC News in 2019. Of 50 cases of suspected hateful conduct recorded between 2013 and 2018, only four resulted in disciplinary measures. It was more common for the military to issue warnings, probation or simply release problematic soldiers. Researchers stymied Scrutiny of the military nevertheless heightened with every revelation, and in 2020, under the encouragement of then chief of defence staff Jonathan Vance, a team of researchers were given $750,000 to study the problem. But members of the research team say they felt stymied by unco-operative military leadership, who barred them from interviewing soldiers and blocked access to facilities. "My take away was that Vance and the CAF wanted to be able to point to be doing something about the problem of IMVE [ideologically motivated violent extremism] in the ranks without really having to uncover the scope and depth of the issue, or at least have independent researchers confirm it," Leah West, a professor at Carleton University who was part of the research team, said in a social media post shortly after the Quebec City arrests earlier this month. Also in 2020, not long after the Black Lives Matter protests, the federal government convened a panel to study hate and discrimination with the Forces. Among the panel's top recommendations, when it released its report two years later, was for the military to pay closer attention to the litany of earlier studies and recommendations on these very issues. "There were a lot of recommendations that were given, and there wasn't a whole lot of consistent follow-up on what they did," said panel member Derek Montour, a former U.S. Marine who heads the Kahnawà:ke Shakotiia'takéhnhas Community Services, south of Montreal. Montour said the panel also found military leadership was often ill-prepared to recognize and deal with incidents of hate and extremism. "Training of leaders on what to do when they see it is limited, so they feel alone. They're not sure where to report," he said. "All of those factors then breed a ground of vulnerability to these [hate] groups." New system to track hate incidents In recent years, the military has been setting up a new system it says will allow it to better track incidents of hate within the ranks. The Department of National Defence shared figures with CBC News that show since 2020, there have been 120 reports of military members promoting or displaying hate entered into the system, including 20 so far this year alone. Another column shows that, in the same period, there have been 16 reports of membership or participation in a hate group. It's not clear from the figures how many of the reports are founded or led to disciplinary measures. Earlier this month, the Ottawa Citizen reported that reservists in the Cameron Highlanders of Ottawa maintained a Facebook group that allegedly contained antisemitic, homophobic and racist comments. An investigation by military police, which predated the Citizen revelations, found no evidence of a service offence. A new investigation has since been opened and the brigade commander responsible for the unit has stepped down. National Defence did not respond to repeated requests for an interview about its efforts to deal with extremism in the military. In a statement, a spokesperson said the military is committed to the "culture change" necessary to become a more inclusive workplace and has implemented new protocols and training resources. The statement added "while we have made great progress, we know that there is still more work to do." Perry said she helped train military officials on how to detect far-right extremism when the new protocols were rolled out, only for interest to wane again during the pandemic. "I think this particular case [in Quebec City] ... has obviously put that squarely back on the agenda for the public and for the military as well," she said.
CBC
5 hours ago
- CBC
Quebec judge upholds law banning protests within 50m of abortion clinics
The Quebec Life Coalition, an anti-abortion group, challenged the 2016 law, arguing that it restricts free speech. The Quebec Superior Court decision found that the law does in fact limit freedom of speech, but that limitation is reasonable.
