A new battle is looming between Ottawa and Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams, this time over a proposal to run high-voltage cables through the province's most famous park.
The provincial government is touting the power – from hydroelectric facilities planned for the Churchill River in Labrador – as a renewable supply of clean energy.
There's just one problem with the green storyline: The proposed transmission line runs right through Gros Morne National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and popular tourist draw.
The controversial proposal by Nalcor Energy, which is raising stiff opposition locally, has the backing of Mr. Williams. But such development in a national park would have to be approved by the federal government, setting the stage for another round in the feud between Mr. Williams and Ottawa.
No formal application has been made, according to a senior Parks Canada official, but the agency does not like what it has seen of the Nalcor proposal.
“There's no doubt … something of this nature has unknown consequences for wildlife, habitat and plants,” Doug Stewart, director-general of national parks, said Tuesday. “We don't allow things to happen if we don't have good knowledge of what the consequences will be.”
He noted Tuesday that Parks Canada and the minister responsible for it, Environment Minister Jim Prentice, “have authority to permit or restrict development in national parks.”
Mr. Williams does not have many friends in Ottawa. He campaigned against the federal Conservatives in the last election, arguing that Prime Minister Stephen Harper had broken his word on equalization payments, and the party was shut out in the province. After the election, the Premier said he was looking to repair the relationship. But within months he was lambasting the Tories for a budget he said was designed to harm his province.
Famed for its fjords and rugged beauty, the Gros Morne area was turned into a national reserve in 1973. It was recognized by UNESCO in 1987 for its remarkable scenery and geological history, and became a national park in 2005.
Also in 2005, Gros Morne tied for second place on a list of the continent's best parks compiled by the magazine National Geographic Traveler. One panelist described it as “authentic and unspoiled, and … likely to stay so.”
Nalcor, the Crown corporation that manages Newfoundland and Labrador's energy resources, has played down the impact of the new transmission route, noting that it would run adjacent to existing hydro lines through the park. But critics say the addition would be far more intrusive.
“The existing lines, they're not large by any standard,” said Todd Wight, owner of the Ocean View Hotel in Rocky Harbour, Nfld. “They've been here since before the park came along. The new proposal would be larger poles, larger lines, certainly a larger right-of-way.”
The Nalcor proposal calls for a 200-metre-wide corridor through 64 kilometres of the park. Hydro towers would average 43 metres in height and would be spaced anywhere from 175 to 300 metres apart.
Local member of Parliament Gerry Byrne slammed the idea, noting that a transmission corridor bypassing the park had been laid out a generation ago.
“In fact, because tree regeneration is so slow throughout the peninsula, those survey lines are still very visible and intact to this day, 35 years later,” the Liberal politician said.
“All of the provincial government's tourism ads on television and in print media being run by the provincial department of tourism feature Gros Morne National Park as the centrepiece of those ads. Picture each and every one of those ads now with a 150-foot steel transmission line running through them, and ask yourself if it's worth it when the original route behind the park is still in place and able to be used in a moment's notice.”
Mr. Stewart of Parks Canada also noted that there are other possible routes for the transmission lines. “We encourage [them] to consider the other options,” he said.
Nalcor officials say the Gros Morne route is their preferred path, but they are also considering one that would bypass the park entirely. The latter is more expensive, they say.
