The Characteristics of a Muskrat are very interesting.
First and most importantly it can swim backwards and forwards.
Oh yes - you see up until a couple of years ago - the primary reason for developing Muskrat was to go-around Quebec. There was no talk of imminent power outages or as the Minister says - the need to bring hot bricks to bed with you. No it was not from cold houses - it was from a frosty relationship with Hydro-Quebec and Quebec.
Now how do you justify spending us into debt oblivion and catapulting our power bills beyond affordability? Well fighting with Quebec would not do it - so a power crisis might work.
I want you all to think back before the Emera deal was concocted. Who was talking about the emergency need to develop power for the Island? Where is that in Hansard?
We must believe that nobody in their right mind would seek to spend 6 billion of our dollars - unless we were so desperate for power that we would be living in third world conditions - if we did not heed the warning.
This being the assumption from Nalcor and Government - when did they first realize the crisis was upon us?
We have had years and years of people complaining about the Holyrood power-plant pollution. I don't remember once when government said - the ONLY solution was to develop Muskrat Falls - and more particularly doing so separately from Gull Island.
When Williams was first talking to Quebec or about Quebec - it was to develop all of the Lower Churchill for export and for some industry use in Labrador. There was talk of renegotiating terms of the Upper Churchill before any deal on the Lower Churchill was reached.
I will say this once more and as many times as needed. We have been running out of power for decades according to reports from Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. We should have run out in 1980 - 1990 - 2000 - and now 2016.
Meanwhile our population has shrunk by almost 15% since the crisis was first identified. Power intense industries have continued to disappear on the Island. Houses are more efficient as are the appliances we use in them.
Show me where Williams was concerned about shortage of power for the Island portion of our province prior to the Emera fiasco?
If this assumption is fundamentally flawed - how then could any independent review detect that - without open - unfettered - access to all the information? It can't - so once again - government denies people the whole truth.
Swim - swim - backwards and forwards.
3 comments:
Ah, Sue, you know how it is. Danny said it was good for us as he rode off into the sunset! How could he possibly be wrong?
We have the most uninformed electorate in the Western world, it seems. Will this assinine deal finally wake us up and educate us to the folly of this government?
It will wake us up only if we consistantly bring good information into the public rhelm and only if we consistantly explain the environmental and social issues involved with this project. It's amazing how learning that the project might increase power rates has brought this project to the attention of many of those who, up until then, were oblivious! It's a shame the environmental damage to a 93,000 sq. km. watersheed wasn't enough to get the masses' attention. We obviously need more environmental education in our school systems!
Robbie, you are right about the environmental issues but I don't know if most people even realize that hydro dams do any damage. The government is selling this as a "green" project and I am not sure that they know or care that it will destroy a large area of Labrador.
I would have thought more Labradorians would be highlighting this aspect of the deal, as it is more significant than most people know.
I encourage you to educate people on this issue whenever and wherever you can.
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