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Opposition Leader Roger Grimes is asking Premier Williams and Finance
Minister Loyola Sullivan to provide the Official Opposition a technical
briefing on the new revenue sharing agreement reached in January and signed
on February 14th.
"I sent a letter to the Minister of Finance on February 1st
requesting a detailed briefing on the new revenue sharing agreement," said
Mr. Grimes. "We have yet to receive a response to our request and are once
again requesting that Minister Sullivan provide a detailed briefing to
ensure that we have the opportunity to explore all of the details of the
agreement.
"In light of a recent correspondence between Minister Sullivan and
federal Finance Minister Ralph Goodale, there seems to be concerns that
still exist related to the new revenue sharing agreement and several of the
clauses that may negatively affect Newfoundland and Labrador in the future.
In particular, concerns are raised with regards to clause four, clause seven
and clause eight of the agreement.
"We have concerns regarding this agreement, but we need Finance officials
to provide us with some clarification. The second eight years of this
agreement is causing much confusion. Government’s reluctance to provide us
with a timely briefing is raising concerns and questions within our caucus
as to whether this agreement was actually a good long-term deal.
"The Premier continuously stated that he did not want another Upper
Churchill deal signed on his watch. Everyone is this province thought the
Churchill Falls Agreement was a good deal. No one questioned it, not even
the Opposition. We want to do our job and make sure the deal receives the
proper scrutiny it deserves.
"I hope government will respond to our request for a briefing in a timely
manner so that we can have an informed discussion about the new arrangements
in the upcoming session of the House of Assembly and before legislation is
passed in the House of Commons."
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