|
Opposition Leader Roger Grimes says now that an agreement
has been reached on offshore revenue sharing, now is the time for the
provincial government to turn their attention to securing the 8.5 per cent
federal share of Hibernia. "It has been reported
in today’s National Post that the federal government may soon sell off their
8.5 per cent share in the Hibernia project," said Mr. Grimes. "Before this
is permitted to occur, Premier Williams should fight to have this important
revenue generator either transferred to the province or sold to the province
at an appropriate price. Our Premier should insist that this negotiation
occur before any other offers would be entertained by the Government of
Canada.
"In the House of Assembly last year, Premier Williams
stated that this was an issue of great importance. He said that ‘It is a
matter of ongoing negotiation. It is a matter that we will continue to
pursue. It is a matter that is personally important to myself and to all the
members of our government, and we will continue to keep that on the front
burner.’ Is this issue still on the front burner and what negotiations are
currently taking place?
"Premier Williams has stated that he would turn his
attention to securing the 8.5 per cent share in Hibernia after he finalized
an agreement on offshore revenue sharing. That agreement has now been
finalized. The story in the National Post says that Premier Williams may not
be willing to once again go to battle with Ottawa over another offshore
issue. I hope this is not true and the Premier follows through on his
commitment to focus his attention on this issue before the federal
government moves forward with this potential sale."
|