Provincial leaders sat around the same table this week for rare direct talks on two of the country's most sensitive issues: how to share water and how to keep the lights on.
Old disputes, new urgency
The meeting produced no grand treaty, but participants described the tone as unusually cooperative, driven by the shared pressure of a difficult season.
These are not problems any one province can solve alone. That realisation is finally sinking in.
Working groups were formed to translate broad agreement into technical detail, the stage where past efforts have often stalled.
- A joint committee on seasonal water allocation.
- A framework for sharing surplus power across the grid.
- A commitment to meet again within the quarter.
Skeptics have seen promising summits fade before. But even they conceded that talking, for now, beats the alternative.
