Danny, meet Ed. Ed, Danny.

In the summer doldrums of 2005, Labrador and Newfoundland Hydro President Ed Martin told the Telegram, in an August 9th article by Deana Stokes Sullivan:

"Hydro has been instructed to fully evaluate the submarine and land transmission options," Martin said. "This includes a potential high-voltage, direct-current line to the island."

Then, just over a year ago, on October 24, 2005, the Labradorian reported that the dream — the Newfoundland dream — of an “infeed” of Labrador hydro to Newfoundland, was effectively dead:

Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro Chief Executive Officer Ed Martin believes transmitting power from the proposed Lower Churchill development through Quebec and not to the island is the best available option.…

“If we can do a deal across Quebec and into Ontario that would probably be our best deal, if we can get the right structure for that deal… We’ll [Hydro] decide on what power is being sold, what power will be retained for recall in Labrador, will there be an infeed or not…all those decisions on the configurations will have to happen in the next three to four months.”

Earlier this year, the Telegram also reported on the progress of the so-called “Lower Churchill” project. As Jamie Baker wrote on August 1:

As the province waits for Quebec to respond to an application for permission to transmit Lower Churchill power, Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro announced Monday it is also seeking a connection assessment and approval from one of the power source's likely customers — Ontario.

And Craig Jackson reported in the same paper on January 21:

The provincial government has signaled it may be willing to go it alone on development of the Lower Churchill hydro project by applying to Hydro Quebec TransEnergie, the transmission division of Hydro Quebec, for approval to wheel Labrador power through its transmission system.

Neither of which reports gave any indication that an “infeed” was on the table. And why should it be? Last year this time, Ed Martin was saying it was definitely off. And both of these accounts reinforce the plan to cash-crop Labrador hydro in Ontario and Quebc markets.

So what, then, was Danny doing on the Ministry of Truth with Comrade Bill Rowe this afternoon, once again beating the ”infeed” drum, as part of a broader plan, supposedly, to string pipelines, cables, and transmission lines from Newfoundland to ”Canada”, so that, in his words, slightly paraphrased, Newfoundland and Labrador would finally become part of North America?

Is the infeed on? Or off?

Danny and Ed need to get their stories straight.

(For that matter, Danny and half his cabinet need to do the same thing, these days.)

So which is it?

Is a hydro line from Labrador to Newfoundland part of Danny’s plan — if he has one — for the so-called “Lower Churchill”?

Or isn’t it?

The transmission line from Gull Island Rapids to Newfoundland, bypassing coastal Labrador, is either part of Danny’s Orwellianly-named “go-it-alone” plan, dependent on the financing and other contributions of Hydro-Quebec and the federal government, or it is not part of the plan.

But it cannot simultaneously be both.

And if an “infeed” is part of the plan — with or without transmission to Quebec and Ontario — what, then, of Labrador’s energy needs… especially in the areas which depend on diesel or power imported from Hydro-Quebec? (Yes, Danny, yes... all in the energy plan, we know, we know.)

With Danny making himself available to all kinds of media outlets these days, someone ought to ask him...