By Barry Stagg
May 1997
CHURCHILL FALLS 1997
Every month it seems that Revisionists pop up trying to put another bizarre interpretation on the Churchill Falls fiasco that saw Joe Smallwood sell this magnificent project into bondage. Are there still people out there who believe that Smallwood was a poor, innocent bystander when Churchill Falls and all the riches of that resource were contracted out to Hydro Quebec for a pittance and a pat on the head? To believe that Smallwood was just another little fellow from Gambo who was tricked by some bad old business man is to believe in fantasies of the highest order. Florida swamp land salesmen might find fertile ground where such fantasies are taken seriously. Perhaps if you believe that the Newfoundland Lieutenant Governor writes his own throne speech separate and apart from Premier Tobin then you might believe that Premier Smallwood had nothing to do with the sell-out of Churchill Falls. However if you acknowledge the obvious then you accept that Smallwood called the shots and gave approval to any and all contracts selling Churchill Falls power at the Labrador-Quebec border.
Why is it so hard for some to accept that Newfoundland's first Premier failed in grand, miserable fashion to protect Newfoundland's interest at Churchill Falls? The various corporate creatures that nominally controlled this resource such as Churchill Falls Labrador Corporation were all creations of the Newfoundland Government. In broader political terms even when formal control of these corporations was vested beyond actual government control nevertheless the Newfoundland Government and in essence Premier Smallwood had the final say as to whether Churchill Falls power was contracted out to Hydro Quebec. Possibly a lot of the musing and revisionism of 1997 comes out of a sense of boredom and hopelessness that pervades the entire Churchill Falls issue. We have grown tired of hearing each other rue the day when the contracts were signed and the political masters reached the fateful accommodation that gave us the present day Churchill Falls contracts. Our own unique culture of complaint centres around Churchill Falls.
Unfortunately there are few legal routes upon which to navigate a way out of this unconscionable situation. Political manoeuvring remains the only option.
When the political dam breaks on the question of Quebec separatism there may be an opportunity to reform the Churchill Falls contracts. Without doubt Canada is headed for a disturbing and cathartic resolution of the Quebec issue. The rest of Canada has grown intolerant of the wet blanket of commercial victimhood that Quebec and its politicians have imposed on other Canadians. Quebec is either going to stay in Canada on the same terms as the rest of us or Quebec is going to be divided into a rump territory of independent Francophones while the rest of Quebec remains in Canada. The territory of Quebec that will most certainly remain in Canada is Northern Quebec. The population is predominantly aboriginal and those people are not in favour of Quebec separatism and have made that abundantly clear in their own referendum held in parallel to Quebec's latest official referendum.
It is over Northern Quebec that the Churchill Falls power lines are laid leading into the southern Hydro Quebec grid. With the new Canadian province controlling this territory then the independent and quite likely land locked country of Quebec may have no other recourse than to negotiate a quick and commercially orthodox deal to keep access to that power. Then Newfoundland must be ready with vengeance and word processors and calculators at hand.
The doomsday scenario of Quebec partition is no longer fantasy. There is a real belligerent will on the part of the rest of Canada to see this happen. There are plenty of loyal Canadians in Quebec who simply are not prepared to become citizens of an independent Quebec. With the right amount of intestinal fortitude and a properly drafted referendum question the Federal Government could put these issues to the citizens of Quebec within ninety days.
Maybe it is time that we put a stop to any further revisionism of the Churchill Falls question. We should accept as axiomatic that the Churchill Falls deal is commercially distorted in favour of Quebec and that the Newfoundland Government led by Smallwood acquiesced in that arrangement. We accept the blunt reality and we bide our time while the Quebec separatists rush head first downward toward the creation of their own North American version of Bangladesh.