Premiers Endorse Plan for Joint Offshore Royalty Submission to Ottawa

PREMIER'S OFFICE--Premiers Endorse Plan for Joint Offshore Royalty Submission to Ottawa

Premier John Hamm and Premier Roger Grimes agreed Wednesday to join forces in their efforts to gain a fair share of the royalty revenues from offshore oil and gas by preparing a joint submission for the federal government.

"I am very pleased that Premier Grimes and I will be joining forces to push this issue in Ottawa: it is one of basic fairness," said Premier Hamm in St. John's on Wednesday. "The people of Nova Scotia and of Newfoundland and Labrador were promised they would be the principal beneficiary of offshore oil and gas revenues -- that is not the case."

The two premiers will develop a joint submission to the federal government on the principal beneficiary issue. They believe the prime minister would like to see the provinces secure long-term economic change.

"Now we have two voices speaking as one, two premiers working together towards the same goal," said Premier Hamm. "The time has clearly come for Ottawa to respond with more than a deaf ear."

Premier Grimes and Premier Hamm have both been publicly seeking a better deal from the federal government to retain a greater portion of offshore resource revenues.

The premiers agreed that an improved royalty deal would enable the provinces to capitalize more fully on their opportunities in the resource sector, helping to further expand their economies and reduce the economic and fiscal disparities that exist between their provinces and the rest of Canada.

Premier Hamm said the two provinces will also work together on assessing the economic impact of this issue on the Atlantic region, which should help the provinces argue their case for action.

Although there are many similarities in the situation for Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador, the premiers acknowledged that they may look for different solutions in some areas.