PREMIER DAVIS: NOW IS NOT THE “RIGHT TIME”

Guest Post Written By "AGENT 13"

In June 2015, Premier Davis surprised most of the attendees at the NOIA Conference held in St. John’s. How? By stating that the provincial government and STATOIL may be only weeks away from finalizing the “term sheet” on the Bay du Nord field, a massive oil discovery located on the Flemish Pass.

At that time, the Premier indicated that the provincial government was on a path of negotiations to have the “term sheet” finalized, but that he would not commit to having it completed before the general election.

Then, last week Deputy Premier Steve Kent was asked about the status of the “term sheet” negotiations.  He stated his understanding it was very close and we would likely be hearing from the Minister of Natural Resources and the Premier in the coming weeks.

The question that must be asked is this: “Which party to the negotiations would benefit the most by finalizing the “term sheet” now, so close to a general election?”

DAN CRUMMELL: THE PEOPLE OF MUD LAKE AWAIT YOUR ANSWER.

Guest Post written by Cabot Martin

My letter of September 11, 2015 to Minister Dan Crummell, on the perils of a North Spur collapse to workers both on the Spur and at the powerhouse site across the river, to downstream residents and to provincial finances alike has, so far, gone unanswered. Perhaps, that is not surprising. Despite the urgent nature of the matter, in the past he has usually taken about a month to reply.

One point not fully covered in my letter concerns the technical analysis on which Nalcor has based its “There’s no problem with the North Spur“ position. Seemingly, it has been adopted without critical analysis by Mr. Crummell.

NOTE TO LIBERAL CAUCUS: THANKS FOR NOTHING!

The Davis Government will go into the next election battered and bruised, ready only for the re-cycling bin.

No credit for this political train wreck is due to the astute oversight, vigilance, or to the insights of the Official Opposition.

While the Liberals stayed under everyone’s political radar, the Tories simply wore through the patience of most decent people, all on their own.

Bill 29 was only the beginning.

A trail of secrecy, misinformation, and deceit presaged the sanctioning of the Muskrat Falls project.

For the Liberal Party’s efforts to expose the sad underbelly of that project, we would say: thanks for nothing.

DOUBLE TROUBLE IF NORTH SPUR COLLAPSES

Guest Post Written by Cabot Martin

Minister's August 26, 2015 Letter Confirms James L. Gordon's Concerns

The attempt to bring some clarity to the North Spur landslide issue seems to be making headway – if in a very disturbing way.

Attached is a letter from Minister Dan Crummell (Minister responsible for Dam Safety) dated August 26, 2015 in answer to my letter to him of August 7,2015 together with my reply of September 11, 2015 to the Minister's latest letter. (Both letters are shown below.)

While this letter exchange with the Minister involves some pretty technical matters, this should not deflect us from the conclusion that an independent, engineering-based and technically competent review is needed. My latest letter closes with a call for a “Hydro Review Board” that would do just that.

WILL ONLY THE INNOCENT BE PUNISHED?

Recently, I received some comments in an email from a person who served at a senior level both in government and international industry.  I was pleased that he was maintaining a watchful eye on the Muskrat Falls project, especially the plethora of self-justifying utterances from the Nalcor CEO.   Likely, he had read Ed Martin's remarks to reporters during a scrum on July 14^th, too; and felt nauseous along with many others.

Certainly he had heard enough.

The following formed part of his narrative:

“In the course of a large project in which I was involved many years ago, the (concept of) "Six phases of a big project" was brought forward to keep us from becoming too cocky.In the years which followed, I have found this reference to be both useful and often true.