St. Anthony port development future unknown as government and proponent wait for answers

The proposed port development for Crémaillère Harbour in St. Anthony remains in limbo, eight months after the province released the project from its environmental review, with some conditions.

The issue now lies with the development company, Great Northern Port Inc. (GNP), needing access to Crown land in order to move ahead with its industrial cluster, which will include a marine base for oil and gas shipment from northern Canada to China, Arctic marine and air operations and a centre for ice research.

The company says the development will bring hundreds of jobs to the area through the construction phase and dozens of permanent jobs once it's completed.

The land application hasn't been approved yet, and the town is waiting.

"From the perspective of the proponent, all the documents and required requests and expectations have been submitted and met," said Krista Howell, mayor of St. Anthony.

"Any community that sees the potential for hundreds of jobs would be ecstatic to have such a project."

Howell said the town and GNP remain in constant contact, each side sharing any new information from government with the other as it comes to light.

New development is always welcome in the area, she added, saying rural Newfoundland is struggling to find meaningful employment for its communities.

"The general frustration is there, as you can imagine. Something with so much potential is literally just within our grasp and it seems to be held out," she said.

Waiting for answers

While the Town of St. Anthony and GNP wait for answers from government, the province says it's waiting on answers from GNP.

Fisheries and Land Resources Minister Gerry Byrne told CBC Radio's Newfoundland Morning the province won't be handing over the proposed 485 hectares (1,200 acres) of land until all parties are on the same page.

Byrne said he proposed a roundtable in St. Anthony with the town, GNP and the proposed tenants as a way to get each side on the same page, rather than continuing to chase each other for information.

He said GNP had no interest in his proposal.

"We'd like to get further details of exactly how it is, and what it is that is expected for the 1,200 acres of the people's land … who can argue with that?" said Byrne.

Dan Villeneuve, president and CEO of GNP, confirmed to CBC News that the company "respectfully declined" Byrne's proposal.

"The reason for this is quite simple, it is extremely unusual for a government department to ask for a land developer to sit with his proposed tenants and openly discuss the project before the project is sanctioned," Villeneuve said in an e-mail.

"The developer must have an unfettered opportunity to finalize commercial business terms with its proposed tenants."

Byrne also said GNP hasn't yet followed up on its conditions after its environmental release in June. Those conditions include completing proper reviews and obtaining approvals before storing ore at the site or doing any clearing that could impact wildlife and submitting environmental protection plans for each the project's three phases.

"When you're dealing with this volume of land, this is a proposal that deserves a good, solid review," Byrne said, comparing the size of the project to the Galway subdivision in St. John's, which according to its website is actually 971 hectares (2,400 acres).

Even so, Villeneuve is questioning why government is wanting his company to jump through unnecessary hoops over a land deal when Galway — a project twice the size — didn't go through the same process.

"Surely they did not. In fact, the public record will show that the Galway developers only started signing on tenants long after the project was approved and the land granted by the government," he said.

"Why is it that a project twice the size of ours went through without the requirement for developer and tenant roundtables or other intrusions?"

Byrne's final concern is that it isn't completely clear who the tenants will be once the marine industrial park is completed, adding the Canadian Coast Guard is scheduled to be one of those tenants but hasn't confirmed its interest.

The ice research centre, to be developed by a third party, hasn't released its own details to government yet, either.

Villeneuve said it's inappropriate of the minister to discuss the status of his company's commercial negotiations with a third party in the media.

"It seems the minister is placing a very unusual burden on us at the outset of this project, while we are trying to get it up and running. To my knowledge — and I stand to be corrected — the government has not imposed similar requirements on other developers," he said.

"We very much look forward to working with the government, the local town, the joint councils of the GNP and the citizens of this province affected and concerned by this project, to make it a success for all."

Read more articles from CBC Newfoundland and Labrador