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Quebec's politics makes N.L. more reliable for power: Williams

Last Updated: Thursday, September 28, 2006 | 10:18 AM NT

CBC News

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams is urging Ottawa and the provinces to support the Lower Churchill hydro project, warning that Quebec's political "volatility" makes rival projects there undependable.

Williams accused Quebec on Wednesday of jeopardizing the Lower Churchill project in Labrador by making plans to develop five hydroelectric projects on the lower north shore, just south of the border with his province.

He said those projects would fill the capacity of Hydro-Québec's transmission grid, leaving Labrador with no way to move the Lower Churchill power to customers in the south.

"The more we can spread out our energy supply means that we won't be totally dependent on Quebec for energy — which, given the volatility of politics in Quebec, could be a very, very sensitive situation in years to come," Williams warned.

"Quebec [is] trying to do what [it] can to tie up the capacity in order to restrict our ability to transmit through Quebec and ultimately into Ontario."

Quebec's minister of natural resources, Pierre Corbeil, said Williams comments were inappropriate, adding that Quebec has made it clear for some time that it wants to develop its own hydroelectric potential.

Corbeil said Quebec was part of a proposal to develop the Lower Churchill with Newfoundland, but that plan was rejected because Williams wanted to develop it alone.

This story is now closed to commenting.

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