We all know by now the Muskrat Falls project is another epic failure - added to the annals of Newfoundland and Labrador's resource development.
This morning it's worth your time and effort to read Uncle Gnarley and educate yourself a little more on this millstone around our societal neck.
For years all of us who questioned, cautioned, and criticized the project were labelled in a very unflattering way.
The media relied on Ed Martin, the unsatiable corporate elite and their all-party political flock.
For years Martin was supposed to be an electrical power guru (which he was not). His real credentials and accomplishments never once questioned or best I can tell even researched.
A few weeks ago Ed rode off into his "retirement" to spend more time with grandchildren while our grandchildren were left to pay for this horrific mess.
Martin's grandchildren - if they remain here - may well have more of a cushion to rely on when attempting to cover the cost of living.
Now we are going to roll out the new overlord - Stan Marshall.
CBC headline - It's official: Muskrat Falls a boondoggle, says Marshall.
Just a year ago - anything that came out of Ed Martin's mouth would have been given the same esteem.
We have also been told - it is too late to stop.
As I have said already Stan Marshall's credentials are far superior to Martin's regarding regulated utilities and development of hydro projects. But he is not God - and he too is fallible and has baggage.
For once in our lives and on the 100th anniversary of Beaumont Hamel - let's show the courage our men showed in 1916.
We must demand a referendum on the Muskrat Falls project. We must demand to be shown all the options and the numbers attached to each. We must demand to be heard and that government give interested citizens and groups funding to do the research leading up to a referendum. We must demand that this be stopped until that time.
We have been told it's too late to stop because we cannot afford to do so and we've essentially been told we can't afford it when it's finished.
I do not want to rely on the financial imagination and business acumen of one man. I want all of our people to have a shot at coming up with solutions.
If the project is safe - and that's a big if - we need to see if another deal can be made for the power running through the Quebec system. In this way the power can be sold and help pay for the project. We need to see if an appetite is there to develop Gull Island through CFLco and sell that power at market price.
This is but one suggestion there are many more and potential for industrial end-use in Labrador in the future.
We accepted the "trust us" now for a decade and look where it has gotten us. Now we are supposed to just "trust us" again? If we accept this - we accept our inevitable financial and societal demise.
I will knock my head off the concrete wall again and ask the obvious question: Where is Stan Marshall's Executive Contract? Are there any potential conflicts? A few weeks ago local media was salivating all over the Martin contract - yet nothing on Marshall's contract.
Stan Marshall does not have all the answers and the politicians have proven they don't have a clue.
Stan Marshall should look at nationalizing Newfoundland Power for the same reasons he once wanted to privatize Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. The efficiencies can save us money. The consumers will benefit. Can Marshall look at that possibility? Is he constrained by conflict of interests?
I am not willing to accept that this particular Muskrat deal can't be stopped. I am not willing to accept that Stan Marshall is the only one with answers to our mess. I am not willing to treat Marshall any differently than I treated Ed Martin. I want more information - I want all of it. Then I as one citizen want the right to vote on another 6 billion dollars before it is spent.
Ref-er-en-dum - A general vote by the electorate on a single question that has been referred to them for a direct decision.
We have the right at 12 Billion Dollars to have that direct say.
1 comment:
Nice to read your blog again, Sue. It has been a long time.
Like you, I feel that a referendum is the only option and perhaps the populace will finally wake up to the nightmare that is Muskrat Falls. A few of us were like voices in the wilderness while the majority of our citizens pleaded ignorance a few years back.
Our forefathers fought for freedom and democracy but the vast majority became to complacent and slowly handed power to the elites. Thus, we seem to be paying the price for our own intellectual laziness. However, I believe it is still not too late to hold a referendum.
If Premier Balls has what his mane implies, he will put this project on an immediate hold, convene a PUB hearing that only takes 3-4 months to get the facts together, and then allow for a referendum. There is no doubt in my mind that the PUB, unfettered, would find Muskrat Falls greatly wanting, and would recommend it be scrapped.
The spurious argument that the sunk cost means we must proceed are utter baloney! We don't yet know the final cost, which I estimate will now come in at closer to $15 billion than the 10-12 many of us predicted at the outset. That will lead to financial ruin!
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