Accounting principles

Another rather interesting statement from NALCO(R)'s concluding remarks before the Joint Review Panel studying the proposed Lower Churchill project, at pp. 163-4 (pdf link):

The Mayor of the Town of Happy Valley-Goose Bay stated that the Town Council was in favour of the Project, so long as it met three conditions: the provision of a block of power from the Project for the local communities and future industry; the development of a Labrador Heritage Fund from the proceeds of this and other projects; and a competitive electricity rate for industrial, commercial and residential consumers in the vicinity of the Project. The Labrador North Chamber of Commerce suggested similar conditions.

[...]

With respect to the request for a Heritage Fund, Nalcor submits that the Province does not set aside funds for particular areas. The areas where the Province chooses to invest are based on the priorities set by the Cabinet and legislature, as discussed above. Just as revenues from offshore oil and gas developments were used to fund the College of the North Atlantic in Labrador, revenues from the Project should be directed to those areas of the Province that need investment the most, both in Labrador and on the Island.

That's a remarkably political pronouncement from an arm's-length crown corporation, such as Nalcor is.

And it's a remarkable statement about the provincial public accounting process. "Revenues from offshore oil and gas developments were used to fund the College of the North Atlantic in Labrador". Really?

If this is a known fact, then presumably the Minister of Finance — or, heck, Nalcor — can answer the obvious follow-up questions:

What else, specifically, have offshore revenues been spent on? what, specifically, have revenues from Voisey's Bay been spent on? what, specifically, have revenues from Labrador iron ore mining been spent on? what, specifically, have revenues from the Upper Churchill recall deal been spent on? and what, specifically, has been paid for with provincial income and sales taxes collected in Labrador, with Labrador generating a higher share of those revenue streams than its share of the provincial population?

If Nalco(r) is able to make the claim it makes above, then those other questions will also have very specific answers, with specific dollar amounts attached.

Right?

Perhaps there will be answers in tomorrow's budget docs.