The headache of being a leader of a ballooned national party has begun for Jack Layton, and the challenge of keeping his MPs – half of whom are from Quebec – on the same page will be great. Yesterday, despite Layton’s verbal support and commitment to Newfoundland’s Lower Churchill project, Raymond Côté lamented Tuesday that the federal government made the Lower Churchill commitment only to win votes. The Quebec provincial government condemned the project, saying it constitutes an “unequal treatment” and gives Newfoundland an “unfair advantage” because Hydro-Québec built its own hydroelectric network without federal aid. “Given the context, one can’t criticize (Quebec) for coming to that conclusion. That’s why we’ll have to make some adjustments to lead the federal government to become fairer towards all provinces,” Côté said. More troubles are likely to come for Layton.
