The chief executive of Hydro‑Québec says a sweeping new energy deal with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro is a signal to the United States that Canada can get “big things done.”
Michael Sabia told an energy conference in St. John’s, N.L., that Canada’s sovereignty was under threat from U.S. President Donald Trump.
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Sabia says the draft deal will strengthen the country’s energy security and independence — as long as it goes ahead as planned.
A contract signed in 1969 allows Hydro‑Québec to buy most of the power from the Churchill Falls hydroelectric plant in Labrador for prices well below market value.
A new tentative agreement unveiled last year would end that contract and see Hydro‑Québec pay for more power while developing new projects with Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro along the Churchill River.
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro president Jennifer Williams agreed the proposed projects need to proceed smoothly and quickly, repeating “rigour and speed are not incompatible.”
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