Newfoundland and Labrador and Quebec ripping up 1969 Churchill Falls Contract

This afternoon Premier Andrew Furey and Québec Premier François Legault made a significant announcement pertaining to Churchill Falls.

Furey said, "Everything changes for Newfoundland and Labrador" with a new deal for Churchill Falls and we are "ripping up the 1969 contract."

It will be known as the New Dawn agreement. The new deal will bring $200 billion to the province between now and 2075. The new deal averages about $1 billion per year.

Over the lifetime of the agreement, this deal will deliver over a quarter of a trillion dollars in additional revenue for the province.

Legal challenges will be handled in neutral courts.

In addition to renewing access to Churchill Falls' production, the new agreement provides for the increase in power of the existing plant, a new plant on the Churchill Falls site and a new plant on Gull Island. Hydro-Québec will be the project manager. Churchill River capacity will increase from 5,400 MW to 9,190 MW to be sold at escalating prices.

Thousands of new jobs will be created.

The contract between this province and Hydro-Québec has created a great deal of resentment. Events unforeseen at the time of the 1969 negotiation have greatly increased Hydro-Quebec's profit margin on the fixed price of energy from the station.

The provincial government unsuccessfully challenged the 1969 contract in court. In November 2018, the Supreme Court of Canada rejected a bid to force Hydro-Québec to reopen the contract before 2041.

In 2019, Quebec's highest court, the Quebec Court of Appeal ruled that Hydro-Quebec's right to sell Churchill Falls energy had a monthly cap, simplifying the management of water resources for the Lower Churchill Project's Muskrat Falls station.