Chairman defends independent review committee’s impartiality over Churchill Falls MOU

The chairman of the committee leading Newfoundland and Labrador's independent review of the Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding with Quebec is backing the impartiality of his three-man team.

“As we understand the information, we will form an opinion. We do not have an opinion as we sit today,” Chris Huskilson told Radio-Canada on Monday.

Huskilson is the president and CEO of 5-H Holdings and the former CEO of Emera Inc. Emera helped develop the Maritime Link for power distribution alongside Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro.

Premier Tony Wakeham appointed him as the committee chair on Dec. 15.

The other two members, Guy Holburn and Michael Wilson, are members of the former oversight committee created by the previous Liberal government.

Holburn is a professor of business, economics and public policy at the University of Western Ontario.

Wilson, who resigned from the original committee, has been public about what he calls a lack of independence among the former oversight committee, specifically among a limited scope of work and overstepping by the Liberal government.

“We're all focused on getting the information, forming an opinion and writing a report for the government,” Huskilson said.

Meanwhile, Opposition leader John Hogan believes some of those opinions are already formed.

“Mr. Wilson clearly has an opinion. He's expressed his opinion publicly. He expresses opinion during the general election campaign. He thinks this is a bad deal for Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Hogan.

Wilson stated in an open letter on Oct. 2 that the conditions of the MOU are "disastrous" and that the MOU "results in an outrageous transfer of wealth to HQ and is an outright betrayal of the people of this province and all future generations."

Hogan also criticized Huskilson’s role. Hogan believes the PCs appointed the former Emera CEO to justify killing the Churchill Falls MOU since he was  also involved in Muskrat Falls.

Hogan said Huskilson’s past association with Muskrat Falls raises questions about whether he is the best person to lead the panel.

If the MOU, which was signed by the previous Liberal government, goes ahead, the province could take in more than $225 billion over the next 50 years and increase power output on the Churchill River by nearly 4,000 megawatts — largely powered by the development of the Gull Island hydroelectric project.