Mr. Speaker, this week the Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs described the contract to sell electricity from Churchill Falls as unfair. He almost went so far as to advise Newfoundland to go back on its agreement, as that province did once before, with Meech.
There are three facts regarding this contract that must be remembered. Only Hydro-Québec was willing to invest in a dam in Newfoundland in the mid sixties. In 1984 and 1988, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the validity of the contract for the sale of electricity. Hydro-Québec's profits from the signing of this contract are comparable to the profits made by the other dams built during this period.
If he is looking for unjust causes, the minister has only to recall how Newfoundland got its hands on Labrador. In 1927, his Liberal predecessors ceded Labrador to Newfoundland, without Quebec's permission.
The minister should therefore stick to the job he has been assigned. He already has his hands full.