Muskrat Falls is a boondoggle.
This is not from Captain Obvious Marshall - this is from those who predicted the problems with the contemplation of the deal and development going back to 2006.
Stan Marshall was hired to act as a CEO - his shareholders are the people. While Stan is used to dealing with very wealthy shareholders - right now he's been charged to deal with all of us as shareholders. As such we should be treated like shareholders of a publicly traded company and he should be seeking to maximize our investments and stop boondoggles with our money.
As we learn from Uncle Gnarley's post this morning - the latest executive choice to gamble or hedge $1.82 billion of public (us being the shareholders) money - did not fare well.
I wonder if we spent let's say 65 million (equivalent to what we lost) on the USA Powerball, currently standing at 650 million, would we fare much better.
We are losing our province and our youth to this mess and yet we carry on. We hope sometime in the future to have a public inquiry of the failure? Really? Are we completely mad?
We have not been privy to much truth on Muskrat Falls and Nalcor/Government continues to keep us in the dark on this complete and total failure of a "project".
We have transmission towers here there and everywhere - little signs on the highway sprinkled like salt in our wounds - telling workers where to turn off on the Muskrat Highway for the latest erection of metal.
A forensic audit needs to happen today, not tomorrow, not next week but today.
The findings of that audit need to be publicly reviewed.
Then we need to look at all our economic and legal options as it relates to this province.
These options must be vetted in full - transparently to shareholders.
Then we need a referendum.
Will we stop and use the asset another way?
Will we stop completely?
Will we proceed with re-opening contracts and renegotiating our position?
What are the potential legal obligations of any of these actions?
What are the potential legal obligations if a forensic audit finds corruption, malfeasance, lies, deceptions, and or fancy accounting?
Now that we've started to play lotto 649 with our money on hedge-bets - why not take a chance on gambling to find the truth?
Sitting here and saying let's have a public inquiry when this mess is completed is insanity. Let's foreshadow this choice.
100,000 seniors sitting in the dark - if they want to eat that is - trying to follow an Inquiry via snail mail? Seniors and low income families unable to afford the internet, power, telephone, or television - will be shouting out to their neighbours to see if they heard from one of their kids or grand-kids on the mainland watching our public inquiry?
Wake up and shake yourself off.
We cannot now or ever afford this project and that's notwithstanding the real possibility that the structure may fail.
If the dam does not fail - will the transmission system?
Who are we finishing the project for?
1. Not for the ratepayers of Newfoundland
2. Not for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador
3. Not for required power
4. Not to eliminate Holyrood
5. Not for industry in Labrador
Then who?
1. Galway?
2. Nova Scotians?
3. The corporate elite making billions?
4. Emera?
5. Hydro-Quebec?
So Dwight Ball and Stan Marshall - do your job for the people and the shareholders respectively. Stop this project until it is thoroughly reviewed by a forensic audit and a public inquiry - NOW.
As for this latest finance disaster on the hedge bet - we don't need a forensic audit or inquiry. Fire the executive of Nalcor and put Ball on notice.
Our only choice may be greater than Liberal PC or NDP in 2019.
As for Nalcor gambling in the "futures" market. That is what they have failed at consistently since 2006. Our future.
Meanwhile we are charging grandmothers and journalists for trying to have a peek?
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