Yvonne Jones says she wants a Labrador-wide Churchill Falls benefits agreement

Liberal Labrador MP Yvonne Jones says she wants a separate benefits agreement for the region so its people benefit long-term from Churchill Falls revenues. 

Jones, who will not be seeking re-election this year, told Radio-Canada that Labrador communities want jobs, access to electricity and some of the money promised in the memorandum of understanding. 

The provincial government says the new Churchill Falls memorandum of understanding will generate $227 billion in revenues for the province by 2075, as a result of a renegotiated price for power at the existing plant and the additional of new hydro projects on the Churchill River.

Jones wants some of that figure to go toward developing infrastructure and services in her region. 

"There is absolutely no reason that people in the area should not feel that they are benefiting from those developments in a major way," Jones said. 

Under the new MOU, electricity from the Churchill Falls Generating Station will increase to an average price of 5.9 cents per kilowatt-hour, which is 30 times higher than what Hydro-Québec pays now. 

That price will gradually increase starting at 1.63 cents in 2025, increasing to 7.84 cents by 2041, then to 19.4 cents in 2056 and 37.24 cents in 2075.

The outgoing Labrador MP said she'd like to see the government of Newfoundland and Labrador avoid repeating mistakes made while developing Muskrat Falls. 

"[Muskrat Falls] happened in a rush," said Jones. "What was left behind for the people of Labrador?"

She argued that the benefits of that project ended when construction ended. This time, Jones wants more to be done.

"If we're going to be making, you know, $20 billion out of this project in the first 10 years or 20 years of operation, we want to see some of that money back in Labrador," Jones said.

"I think that's where the province really needs to focus on here: how we get that royalty program for Labrador."

A statement from N.L. Premier Andrew Furey's office said that during construction of new projects on the Churchill River "qualified workers will be hired in priority — the Innu Nation, Labrador, Newfoundland and the rest of Canada, in that order."

The statement noted that "potential for new development in Labrador will become a reality" as the region gains access to new power.

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