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Quebec slams Lower Churchill hydro loan pledge

Quebec Premier Jean Charest knocked a Tory loan guarantee pledge for the Lower Churchill power development in Newfoundland, calling the promise "astonishing."

Charest defied his earlier vow to remain neutral in the federal election campaign when he slammed Conservative Leader Stephen Harper at a press conference Friday morning.

Harper is "changing the market rules" for hydroelectricity "which has never happened until now," the premier said.

The federal Conservative leader told a rally in St. John's Thursday that if re-elected, a Tory government would financially support the Lower Churchill project, as long as it met certain conditions. use gases.

If Ottawa helps Newfoundland financially, it will be acting outside its jurisdiction, Charest warned.

Hydro-Québec never benefitted from any federal funding to develop its dam network, and would never ask the federal government for help, he added.

The Quebec premier qualified Harper's pledge for loan guarantees as electioneering.

Charest's protest rang hollow for Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter.

The Quebec premier has a selective memory when it comes to federal handouts, Dexter said Friday.

"The simple fact of the matter is that there is a large amount of money spent on icebreaking in the Gulf of St. Lawrnece that allows Montreal to stay open, and in competition with Halifax."

Harper's support for the Lower Churchill project would help lift the region out of its economic slump, Dexter added.

Charest can defend Quebec's interests, but not to the detriment of other provinces, he warned.

"I have always felt that the opinion he held is antithetical to the notion of building a country," Dexter said.

"You want to have prosperity in all regions, not just one part of it."

Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Kathy Dunderdale greeted the campaign promise enthusiastically.

Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe called it "a slap in the face," given the lack of federal dollars for Hydro-Québec.