Passion over reason

Inspirational Leader confirms for the House on Monday where rationality ranks on his list of priorities:

MS JONES: After the Régie decision out of Quebec was delivered related to transmission capacity for Lower Churchill power, the Premier stated that he did not want to go through Quebec anyway, and the Maritime route was always his preference.

I ask the Premier: How far along are you in discussions on the Maritime route and what time frames are you looking at for its development?

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, my preference was always the Maritime route but that was because it was a personal preference; I think it was more to get away from Quebec than anything, but it also has to be a rational decision and an economic decision and based on good financial consideration. So, as a result, all the way through what we have done is we have done parallel plans. We have looked at the Quebec route and moving all or most of the power into Ontario, but we have also, on a parallel basis, simultaneously looked at the Maritime route, the Atlantic route. As we all know, that is more expensive because it involves underwater transmission. It is well along. A lot of studies have been done. We have left that work primarily to Nalcor. Of course, they work with the minister of the department, the Department of Natural Resources, but a lot of studies have been done. A lot of work has been done over the years, basically, on the underwater development as well, and goes right back to the Lower Churchill Development Corporation twenty or thirty years ago. Time lines are not finite on this; this is an evolving circumstance because everything is still tied into environmental approval, finalization of the Aboriginal piece, but from an economic perspective we are in situation where we have enough information to really sit down and talk with any industrial developer at any point in time.

Now, it's rather hard to square this "personal preference" with the still woefully-underreported fact that His Premierosity and Kathy Dunderdale spent five years, mostly after announcing We were "going it alone" on the imaginary Lower Churchill project, trying to rope Hydro-Quebec into participating somehow in this brave and lonely endeavour.

Hard. But in the land of doublethink, not unpossible. Perhaps, if someone asked Inspirational Leader, he'd give it a try.