Today Dean McDonald resigned as Chairman of the Board for Newfoundland and Labador Hydro, effective immediately.
According to Premier Danny Williams, McDonald will be replaced by former MHA and cabinet minister John Ottenheimer. The question on everyone's mind is why McDonald decided to vacate his post so suddenly.
Premier Williams is saying McDonald's decision was made for personal reasons. Apparently since selling Persona Communications (after it had received a $10 million dollar government contract without public tender), McDonald has been busy with his capital venture company and has not been able to give NL Hydro the attention it deserves at this critical time.
Currently NL-Hydro is in the process of drawing up plans for the development of the Lower Churchill hydro project, is entering the oil and gas market space and bringing new wind power developments on stream.
There has been no comment publicly from McDonald today.
This is the second time McDonald has resigned from the same position. The first time was under the former Liberal provincial government of Premier Roger Grimes. McDonald resigned at that time saying he could not in good conscience allow the Grimes government to sign a deal to develop the Lower Churchill without going public with his belief that the deal, which would see power wheeled through Quebec, would provide less than optimal returns for the province.
This begs the question, with McDonald's immediate resignation, with a new plan for Lower Churchill development on the drawing board and with the current silence of Mr. McDonald, is the province once again about to sell out the people by selling off the Lower Churchill to Quebec?
Since the Lower Churchill project moved back to the front burner, the Williams government has claimed to be seriously considering going the Atlantic route rather than wheeling power through Quebec and paying a king's ransom to do so. Today's events have raised speculation that a decision has already been made to export the power rather than use it to attract local industry and that it may already be a done deal regarding how that power will leave the province.
