Libs and NDP make critical mistake - Martin is right on Adams

Watch me do - what many of you thought I could not - defend Nalcor, Ed Martin, and Jerome Kennedy.

Yesterday the place was rocking over a blog entry by one Thomas (Tom) Adams - "energy guru".

The media grabbed on to this blogger like no other. Be damned with bloggers and critics from Newfoundland and Labrador - we have an Upper Canadian attacking the Muskrat Falls deal.

Ed Martin was quick off the block defending the position of Nalcor and the Emera deal by saying of Adams, “He’s either ignored some very, very important facts, or he’s not aware of them,”

In the 90's people were looking at breaking up crown owned New Brunswick Power - Tom Adams was all over that - pushing for it. Then Chair of the NB Power Dr. Frank Wilson made comments amazingly similar to Martin's comments yesterday. Dr. Wilson said of Adams and Energy Probe where Tom worked,  the Energy Probe report is not factual and inaccurate, saying the utility is in better shape than its critics like Adams suggest. Wilson said it still has the lowest power rates in the region and is relatively well-positioned for its future."This is a typical Energy Probe analysis. There's nothing in this that we haven't seen from them before."

For all the media or people with a short memory Tom Adams and I did battle in the 90's when he weighed in on the proposed privatization of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. His advice was not accurate then and it does not provide any assistance now.

This energy expert would have seen Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro ripped apart and privatized.

So in this case Ed and Jerome are right - IGNORE him. The quicker the better.

Opposition members like Dale Kirby should not be so quick to hold up Adams as a go to person on energy - they should instead seek the advice from Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who are experts in our hydro resources. The choice to hyper-tweet Adams was wrong and demonstrates the weakness in his parties own position.

Meanwhile the Liberals put out a News Release yesterday where they use Tom Adams comments as another reason for concern. Yvonne Jones as Energy Critic made a tremendous mistake by barking up Adam's tree. Once again stay closer to home and look to people who have protected the resources in the past - not one who weighs in every now and then - for unknown reasons.

There are many reasons to oppose the Muskrat Falls deal and many reasons for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to seek new policy direction. Tom Adams is not one of them. 

If one were a conspiracy theorist - you would think Nalcor asked him to weigh in - so we could focus on something other than the awful Emera deal. In other words find a common enemy.

Hopefully Adams will keep his opinions to himself so that the people who own the resources and will pay to develop it can get on with our discussion. If Adams wants to carry on - please try to keep his genius and agenda in perspective.

From where I sit - regardless of what the man says - even accurately - I cannot trust his agenda. Perhaps this time it's a desire to see the export of hydro flow to Ontario - anywhere but use the tremendous resource in Labrador for industry.

My recommendation to fellow Newfoundlanders and Labradorians is to stop the Emera deal - but stay away from Tom and don't use him in your fight against this deal.