VARDY AND LEARNING TO PRESENT AT "FOR A NEW EARTH" EVENT ON MUSKRAT FALLS

Guest Post by For a New Earth

For A New Earth (FANE) is pleased to present a public talk with David Vardy (Economist, former Public Utilities Board Chair, former Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to Cabinet) and with Grand Riverkeeper and Labrador Land Protector Jim Learning, at the Peter Easton Pub, on the future of Muskrat Falls on Thursday, March 1st, at 7:30pm.

FANE co-hosted a public Symposium on Muskrat Falls in Happy Valley-Goose Bay last week, and will kick off Thursday evening with a public recap of the highlights of the event, which included a series of talks, presentations, sharing circles, and a final discussion on a formal resolution to be drafted.

Vardy and Learning both participated in the event. 

CAN MUSKRAT FLOAT AFTER A BAILOUT?

Guest Post by PlanetNL

PlanetNL7 – Can Muskrat Float After a Bailout

In prior PlanetNL postings, Muskrat economics have been shown to be unaffordable to consumers and a major threat to the solvency and survival of the Government of the Province.  Write-offs are a certainty and there may be many who think the project might look good after that.

Equity write-downs and restructuring of unmanageable debt are well known practices in the corporate world.  Does Muskrat have the potential to avail of such opportunities and would operations then make economic sense? 

………………….

THE ANONYMOUS ENGINEER EXPLAINS FORENSIC AUDIT

Recently the Commission of Inquiry into the Muskrat Falls project announced that it had contracted the management firm of Grant Thornton LLP to conduct a Forensic Audit. What does Forensic Audit mean? What is involved? What will it accomplish?

Who would answer those questions better than the  "Anonymous Engineer". He was the first person to ask for a "Forensic Audit".  Having worked on the project he made this declaration: “I could not put up with falsifying information anymore."

The whistleblower played a key role in bringing to public attention the issue of "falsified" or "low-balled" estimates. His concerns were first noted on January 30, 2017 in a post entitled Muskrat Falls Estimates A Complete Falsification.  A more detailed explanation of what had occurred followed with a second post - February 6, 2017 - called Muskrat: Allegations of Phony Cost Estimates.

The Anonymous Engineer's revelations were ones that neither the Premier nor the Minister of Natural Resources could refute, and which likely influenced the Government's call of the Public Inquiry. 

STAN MARSHALL DOUBLES DOWN ON BLUSTER

Stan Marshall's Muskrat Falls Update entitled “Understanding Muskrat” ought to have been an opportunity for the Nalcor CEO to engage with the public and sensibly discuss a litany of concerns. That's not what he had in mind.

Perhaps it was the air of arrogance that killed the evening at Memorial’s Bruneau Centre, though the softening of his “boondoggle” coinage inspired a measure of incredulity. The readiness to bully every critic of the project — no matter the legitimacy of their claims — spoke to a man who needed understanding less than he did validation, though condescension is not normally known to help win friends.

THE BARD ON TRAGEDY OF THE COMMONS

FILLING IN

They're filling in along the shore,

On mudflat, bog, and gravel bar.

At riverside and through the Bay

No buffer zones enforced today.

In many towns Municipal

In Provincial Parks or Federal

The excavators and big trucks

On Preserves are dumping muck.

ABACUS POLL CONTAINS CLEAR MESSAGE FOR LIBERALS

In June 2015, as a General Election beckoned, Abacus Data reported that only 3% of those polled perceived Muskrat Falls/electricity as “the most important issue facing NL”. Just 11% expressed concern over the deficit.  

The election gave vent to a public which had watched the P.C. Party languish in a succession of “amateur hours”. They ran the gamut from Dunderdale’s #DarkNL moment to Frank Coleman’s transparently self-serving attempt to become First Minister for all the wrong reasons. 

Tom Marshall left behind a legacy of deficits and not just those related to the Budget. There was the Humber Valley Paving affair and the charade of Muskrat Falls’ oversight.

FORTY QUESTIONS FOR THE INQUIRY JUDGE. PUBLIC SUPPORT SOUGHT.

David Vardy, Ron Penney and I have responded to the call of the Muskrat Falls Commission of Inquiry for submissions from the public on the interpretation of the Terms of Reference.

Our submission encourages the Commissioner to give the Terms of Reference a broad interpretation. It proposes a complete review of the project - one that provides full context for the public policy decision to announce and then sanction the project. It also seeks an investigation into matters relating to the management of the project and its long term effects on ratepayers and all the citizens of the province. 

MF INQUIRY: UNCERTAINTY THE FUEL OF SCEPTICS

If Judge Richard LeBlanc feels like he is being watched, perhaps he will delay judging the cynics until after he has judged Nalcor. 

Each decision taken by the Commission of Inquiry into the Muskrat Falls Project is understandably scrutinized as watchers assess whether the Commission is capable enough to undertake the enormous task for which it has signed on, and whether the Commission will be transparent enough to imbue public confidence in its mandate, procedures and processes. Arguably, perhaps, the Commission is already making decisions whose side-effect is enabling this result.  The Premier could have given the Inquiry a head start had he submitted a draft Terms of Reference (TOR) to the public and sought input. That job fell to Judge LeBlanc.

THE "MOONSHINE" LIST

The mainstream media likes to report the "Sunshine List". That's the one covering public servants earning $100,000 or more and who are employed with core government departments, agencies, boards and commissions including Crown Corporations. Some people believe the List serves a purpose beyond simply providing access to public information; that it gives transparency to decisions over which self-interested bureaucrats have too much influence.  

This Blog is also concerned about transparency. I suggest that public commentators who are paid consultants of the government should be added to the list or distinguished in a separate one. Therefore, I am proposing the "Moonshine" List. Why "Moonshine"? The liquid version often lacks clarity - like the consulting industry. "Moonlight" List was also a convincing option because "moonlight" is harder to catch than "sunshine", but like "moonshine" offers the assurance of an occasional glow.

THE MUSKRAT FALLS INQUIRY NEEDS YOU

Justice Richard LeBlanc has started the task of getting the Commission of Inquiry into the Muskrat Falls Project underway by allowing for the engagement of the public. Essentially, the Judge is asking for opinions with respect to the interpretation of the Terms of Reference (TOR). That outcome will govern the scope of the Inquiry.

This is an important phase. The Judge is doing what the Premier ought to have done.  But, unlike the Premier, Justice LeBlanc cannot alter or amend the TOR. He is, however, entitled to give them broad interpretation — as long as he does not overstep their parameters (over which he will exercise a Judge’s discretion). 

Anyone who has followed the Muskrat Falls saga will understand that the project’s origins, evolution and catastrophic failure required a complex web of political machinations, deals, contracts and relationships. Those who were poorly suited to the task, who were arrogant, who let ego or greed get the better of them, who were elected and were unwise or assumed a knowledge or a skill they didn’t possess, or who forgot to whom they owed fealty, will now be confronted with a Judge who will independently assess those decisions, their authors (some of them anyway), and the institutions that enabled them.