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Opposition Leader Roger Grimes says in light of yesterday’s National Post
story that raised the possibility that the Government of Canada may sell off
its 8.5 per cent share in Hibernia is reason enough for the provincial
government to immediately move forward with negotiations with the federal
government to transfer these shares to the province. "Yesterday’s
newspaper story should be a wake-up call for the provincial government,"
said Mr. Grimes. "While a new revenue sharing agreement was signed earlier
this week, none of our other offshore issues should be taken for granted.
The 8.5 per cent share of Hibernia is a very important piece of our offshore
and it should be transferred or sold at an appropriate price to the
province. The Government of Canada has already recouped their original
investment in the project and are now making millions of dollars profit
every year from our resource.
"Premier Williams and Natural Resources Minister Ed Byrne have
continuously stated that the 8.5 per cent share of Hibernia would be a major
piece to the formation of an Energy Corporation in the province. This
Corporation would have assets in electricity development and offshore oil
and gas development. There has been very little said publicly about this
plan over the past several months and now is the time to move forward in
securing this major piece of our offshore industry.
"I call upon government to update the people of the province as to what
actions have been taken to ensure this important asset is secured. Lobbying
efforts should also continue to have the headquarters of the Canadian
Hibernia Holdings Corporation (CHHC), the crown corporation that operates
this 8.5 per cent share, moved to this province from Calgary. It is an
insult that a federally run corporation that makes their profits from our
resource is based in Alberta, not Newfoundland and Labrador. This is not
acceptable and government should fight to have this office, and the jobs
that go with it, transferred to the province.
"Now is the time to put pressure on the federal government. The 8.5 per
cent Hibernia share has the potential to generate millions of extra dollars
for this province, while also providing us with a direct voice in the day to
day management of our offshore industry. Yesterday’s warning is reason
enough to immediately begin the process of negotiating this transfer with
the federal government."
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