"I have been advised that meetings have taken place between Newfoundland Power and government officials regarding the disposition of some assets of the corporation," said Mr. Grimes. "My sources say that Newfoundland Power has approached government to obtain some of the diesel generating plants in the province.

"Premier Danny Williams’ actions since taking over government have indicated that he prefers a business approach to governing the province. His recent decision to publicly support the privatization of Petro-Canada certainly indicates that he prefers crown corporations be run in the private sector. Is this another indication that he is willing to privatize certain aspects of provincial crown corporations such as Hydro?

"While I have been told that Newfoundland Power is not looking to obtain all of the assets of Hydro, allowing them to obtain any portion of the crown corporation could be viewed as the beginning of the eventual privatization of the entire agency. Danny Williams supported the privatization of Hydro in the past, will this ideology now influence his decisions as Premier?

"I ask government to cease any further meetings with Newfoundland Power with respect to this issue. The people of the province have already stated they have no interest in privatizing Hydro. We will continue to demand answers from government to ensure they do not make these decisions without public scrutiny and input."