Absolutely, Mr. Eyking: Cape Breton.
We heard from the Canadian Hydropower Association. We also heard from several other witnesses who made me very wary...when I think about the potential of the energy production in Atlantic Canada and what effect this bill could have on that project.
To show you how important this project is to Atlantic Canada—I'm talking about the one Mr. Eyking spoke of, between Newfoundland and Labrador and Cape Breton and the rest of Nova Scotia—the premier of Nova Scotia says that this project will fundamentally change the entire region's economy. He referred to it as “our CPR”. That was said by Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter, who proclaimed it at a joint news conference with Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams. He also said we are building Atlantic Canada and we are building this nation.
The deal also offers Nova Scotia customers some long-term price stability for power. For building a $1.2-billion cable, Nova Scotia Power gets a 35-year lock on one-fifth of the project's output at a stable price, comparable to wind or biomass today. As the costs of fossil fuel power continue to rise, this should be CPR for consumers as well.
Now, it's not just a partisan project, not just Mr. Dexter's NDP government; opposition leader Jamie Baillie commented on this project, giving credit to the powers that be--