McLeod and Paddon - Spin on the Spin

James McLeod presented a news story on October 7th in the Telegram.

It was headlined "Nalcor audit won’t be done before retirement: AG"

As usual - pose a question - get an answer - print answer. No follow-up, no definitions of terms used, and no independent thought respecting the answer.

I'll get into Auditor General in another post - but for now - let's watch this "journalistic" masterpiece unfold.

The conversation between the two must have wandered into the need for a forensic audit. McLeod reports as follows on that question:

Paddon was cautious when talking about a potential forensic audit for Muskrat Falls. He said he knows it wouldn’t be cheap though.

“I’m not quite sure that the word ‘forensic audit’ is appropriate. I mean, I think really what people are looking for is for somebody to go in and look at, perhaps, the decision-making process and the execution process, and those sorts of things,” he said.

“It would take a lot of time and a lot of resources. The outcome? I have no idea what the outcome would be.”

IN MY OPINION HERE IS WHAT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ASKED AND ANSWERED:

1. Paddon was cautious but did say it wouldn't be cheap though.

Question: what's cheap? why are you cautious? 

2. Paddon was not quite sure that the word 'forensic audit' is appropriate.

Question: why is it not appropriate? what part of a forensic audit would be inappropriate? 

3. Paddon believes he knows what critics are calling for - decision making and execution process


Question: how does that fall out of the purview of a forensic audit? Why do you believe "people" are only looking at those components? 

4. Paddon believes it would take a lot of time and a lot of resources.


Questions: How much time would this forensic audit need? How much would it cost. Cost relative to what? What might be the cost of NOT doing it? 

5. Paddon has no idea what the outcome would be.


Question: is that perhaps why people want one done? Is the reason you can't speculate on the outcome because you do not know what perimeters would be set? 

and of course: Based on the doubling of the costs, hidden documents, continued extension on time-table for completion, independent contractors information hidden from shareholder. Don't these things present a red-flag to an accountant? 

AFTER THIS MCLEOD SHOULD HAVE SOUGHT ANOTHER ACCOUNTING SOURCE AND ASKED THE SAME QUESTIONS.

Now let's do a bit of research ourselves and see if a forensic audit is exactly what we are asking for and know that we need.

Forensic auditing is a specialization within the field of accounting, and forensic auditors often provide expert testimony during trial proceedings. Most large accounting firms have a forensic auditing department.

The audit covers a wide range of investigative activities performed by accountants. The process may also include serving as an expert witness in a fraud trial.

The investigation process follows a similar path as a regular audit of financial statements. The steps can include planning, review and a report. If the investigation was undertaken to discover the presence of fraud, evidence is presented to uncover or disprove the fraud and determine the amount of the damages suffered. The findings are presented to the client — and possibly the court should the case go that far.

During the planning stage, the forensic auditing team establishes objectives, such as identifying if fraud has been committed, how long it has been going on, the parties involved, quantifying the financial loss and providing fraud prevention measures. While gathering evidence, the team collects evidence in the proper manner in order for it to be used in a court case. There are various techniques used to gather evidence. A report is produced for the client with the findings. Lastly, those involved in the forensic audit may be asked to present their findings to the court.

Forensic audits uncover several types of fraud. The most common involves theft, including cash, inventory and fraudulent payments. Another type of fraud is corruption, such as a conflict of interest, bribery and extortion. The last major category is financial statement fraud. This relates to misstatements of the financials of a company.

Above information can be found HERE

There are many other sites - but this should suffice to ensure that what we are asking for is exactly what we want and need. 

This blog has already posted the RED FLAGS post on the need for a forensic audit. 

McLeod should have put to a few known critics - the responses of the Auditor General and get another take on it. 

This - let me find a source who has a title and a designation - and I can write a news piece is flawed and can lead to the readership relying too much value on the information presented. 

This is the spin of spin and is yet another artificial deterrent to completing a forensic audit and attempting to curtail increased calls for a forensic audit. 

It seems to me there are many people who just want this whole sordid mess to disappear. Unfortunately for them - social media is alive and growing. 

 

Wangersky's Wisdom Waning

Russell Wangersky should know better. He likes to wax poetic. He likes to believe that his columns are of intellectual value. His current column titled: 22 words with a very big bite is not intellectual but is naively romantic.

This is yet another example of Telegram employees giving a pass to politicians regarding Muskrat. 

Since Dwight Ball orated - to an elite corporate community - that his government will conduct a public inquiry on the boondoggle - Telegram employees have been joining in an attempt to calm the seas of public dissent. When I say joining - I don't mean collaborating - I mean they are buying the government spin.

His piece begins with the sentence: "The single dirtiest trick played on electrical customers in this province hasn’t hit home yet. But it will."

Wangersky's assumption that the Muskrat disaster is a dirty trick played on consumers is downplaying the obvious gross negligence, the continued and often deliberate obfuscation, the real engineering concerns, the failure of equipment before the project is even finished, the doubling of the budget, the unending changes to project completion dates, and the number of red flags that demand a forensic audit.  It also negates the real possibility of criminal negligence, fraud, and bribery. 

When the World Bank blacklisted SNC Lavalin and its subsidiaries in 2013 from "bidding on its global projects under its fraud and corruption policy" - while Wangersky proclaims "..dirtiest trick.." - is irresponsible. 

Muskrat Falls stinks to the high heavens - it must be stopped. How do we know that documents are not being shredded as we speak? 

There remains a number of executives at Nalcor who have been there since sanctioning. How is this even possible? How is it possible that we paid a king's ransom for Ed Martin? 

So when Wangersky describes this fiasco as a dirty trick - he brings to mind events like fooling a candidates supporters into showing up at the wrong location. This is not a dirty trick. 

The most offensive and irresponsible part of this column is his concluding thought: "It’s water over the dam. The money’s gone anyway. The best thing we can do is to learn from the mistake, allow for independent oversight and not step in a pile of crap like this again."

I can only conclude that this intelligent and thinking human being must be bored with Muskrat, be suffering writers block, or simply and inexplicably buying the Tobinesque spin delivered by Dwight Ball. 

Learn from this mistake? How? By suffering bankruptcy? It's water over the dam? How does Russell know what we would be responsible for if illegal activities were found during a forensic audit? How does Russell know that the assets could not be used for another deal? He doesn't know. 

The Upper Churchill is a fiasco because of the contractual and economic contracts. The Upper Churchill is significantly successful in it's construction. It was on time and on budget. It stands as one of the best hydro facilities in the world. 

So here's what we learned. What we did right in development of the Upper Churchill - on time and on budget - we completely reversed for Muskrat Falls. The stinging and gross minimal return for Newfoundland and Labrador on the Upper Churchill - we repeat for Muskrat. 

If you went back 20 years and said we are going to repeat the mistakes of Churchill Falls - politicians would have been politically lynched. 

Now that the main stream media in Newfoundland and Labrador have been exposed for their unquestioning support of Danny Williams Muskrat fiasco - the line is "water over the dam"? 

Let's watch the same media as they spin the lines of the current failed administration. Watch as they play dirty tricks and marginalize the critics of this continued boondoggle. Watch as they contort to explain that giving away Gull Island to Quebec is going to be a good thing. 

This Wangersky wisdom we can do without.

  

McLeod does Marx - Das Kleptocracy

Telegram employee James McLeod has come out with a challenge - wait no - more than a challenge - an ultimatum "..put up, or shut up".

Yes the "reporter" who appears to have a similar love-hate relationship with Tweeters to that of one Mr. Trump - has determined what our real problem is.

All "serious, credible.." people need to step up and run for political office. They need to give up their "...paycheque, your own reputation, your own comfortable lifestyle" and throw their hat in the ring. If they do not - McLeod demands they be honest and go away out of it.

First of all the "people" James talks about as credible - are as determined by him. They are people who have a paycheck apparently a comfortable one and a "reputation" - supposedly good. There are many of them according to our newspaper sleuth - he's talked to dozens.

Then there is this jewel: "There are other reasons to stay on the sidelines, too: the demands of an unsympathetic press corps, ..."

1. the demands of an unsympathetic press corps

There was a break in my writing here - my belly was hurting from laughter.

Which definition of unsympathetic is James using?

a) not feeling, showing, or expressing sympathy
Can't be that one. I would suggest that rightly most express sympathy when a politician has a family or life event of tragedy.

b) not showing approval or favor toward an idea or action
Maybe that one - in which case I would say the majority of media have been very sympathetic both of Muskrat Falls and the current fiasco of a Public Inquiry - as the project continues to motor on.

c) not friendly or cooperative; unlikable
Maybe this one - but again the opposite is true. Many of our "reporters" "journalists" "columnists" and "announcers" are very cooperative and friendly to politicians. They have actually fawned over many of them - like Danny, Tom, Danny, the other Brian, Danny.

The "unsympathetic press corps" he speaks of does not exist in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Well no - that's not true - they are a very unsympathetic press corps to critics of the government - critics of Muskrat Falls. Many of them have tried in every way to marginalize such critics and have used words such as partisans, naysayers, and conspiracy theorists. How nasty....

I can assure Mr. McLeod - that many good private citizens - who have given freely of their time, effort, and intelligence to try and persuade a fawning media and public to beware of things like our current Muskrat boondoggle have risked their reputations, their paycheques, their "comfortable" lives and that of their families. The political parties, their trolls, their indoctrinated, their minions have on many occasions joined with or used the media to disparage "good" people.

He concludes this meandering thought by saying "politics is hard". Hard? Hard how? Hard to go to BBQ's in the rain? Hard to pound your hands in the House of Assembly? Hard to vote ignorantly on legislation? Hard to file for your allowances? Hard to keep up with Twitter or to block people from their Twitter accounts? Hard? Hard to make changes to your own pension plans? Hard to walk the streets once every 4 years? Really James - is that what you call hard? Hard is - an announcement like: I have ordered the shutdown of Muskrat Falls until a forensic audit and a review of project engineering is complete. It is really really easy to say - got to finish it now - cause it's almost done.

If you want to do a journalistic piece - I can recommend several.

1. Research and compare the various proposals to develop the Lower Churchill or any part thereof.
2. Research and compare the various hydro projects completed in Newfoundland and Labrador - their costs, engineering, contracts, the generation and associated transmission.
3. How did Danny Williams and Ed Martin pull the wool over media eyes regarding the many excuses for Muskrat Falls.
4. Do a complete expose of political parties in Newfoundland and Labrador and how they control the pool of MHA's and keep good people out.
5. Investigate and report on the Federal - Provincial Fiscal Arrangements Act and how Quebec has used/uses Hydro to their advantage while our province watches on the sidelines. 

I can ascertain from your articles that you know very little about the real history of Hydro and are therefore unable to ask the questions necessary to get information the public needs. This is true of the majority of your colleagues in the "press corps".

I challenge you and your colleagues to research your topic or stop writing.

I believe having a robust, knowledgeable, and fearless media would go a long way to improving the lot of our province. It might help "good" people feel more comfortable about running.

As for "good" people running. The media of Newfoundland and Labrador chased Danny Williams year after year until he ran. He was promoted without test, he was glorified by the media before "past the overpass" had ever laid eyes on him. He was touted by the media - he was put on a pedestal by the media - before he ever ran. I get the feeling you're gearing up to promote another messiah as perhaps leaked to you by the Liberal Party. The media in Newfoundland and Labrador are famous for creating messiahs and the childlike rumour mills for one millionaire after another.

The media has virtually controlled the sound bites, the desired quotes, and the forum in which "good" people could communicate. The good news is that Twitter, Blogs, and Facebook make communication among citizens much more accessible.

Frampton finds her Messiah - Media sees an exit

Hook line and sinker comes to mind with the flurry of media reporting positively on the announcement of a Public Inquiry into the Muskrat Falls debacle.

Ironically - they too are taken off the hook for the disastrous, corrupt, misleading, inefficient, and incompetent boondoggle.

Most media here in the province acted as a facilitator for all the Muskrat spin of the Tories and now that the "naysayers", "partisans", and "conspiracy theorists" have been proven right - the media - like the politicians just want it to go away.

The media are wearing a bit of this fiasco and it would be very convenient for them - to have those memories fade.

Was Tobin in for the dinner? Did he help out with this media spin farce? After all the 3 amigos are known for this type of thing.

In either case let's take a review. Pam Frampton's article ends with this sentence:    "All I can figure is that the 29 per cent who support Davis are the same misguided lot still waiting for Danny Williams to return as our one true messiah."  This follows Frampton's own headline, "Hallelujah — Muskrat Falls inquiry’s a go".

Handel would be proud. 

Frampton could have and should have mused about the venue for the announcement and the audience it was personally delivered to. 

The Muskrat frenzy continued in earnest - while chowing down the meal the latest Messiah had prepared for them. For them religion is money - the Messiah is the facilitator of the money - and the Hallelujah is the message that the money will continue. 

Frampton stayed away from the obvious - that is - this type of announcement on a situation that has all the potential of bankrupting the province should have been done in a public forum. 

Frampton then waded into the latest polls on the politico and marched right up on the pulpit and decreed that 29% of people who support Paul Davis must be the same "misguided" ones who supported Danny Williams. 

That is laughable - the "misguided" ones? Is that the percentage who supported Danny Williams - or was there a tremendous number of more "misguided" people at the time? You are making fun of them? 

I'd say it's a tad likely that the media were as enthralled with that Messiah as the "misguided" ones you speak of.

Frampton's jubilation regarding the reactionary - too little to late - non-detailed - Tobinesque announcement that happened to be given to an elite Muskrat skinned audience - is naive. It is not an acceptable response of a journalist, a political commentator, or a columnist.

There were so many questions that needed - no begged - to be asked.

1. Why is it too late to stop the project? - details please
2. Why not begin with a forensic audit? - details please
3. How does any of this protect the indigenous people? - details please
4. Why is the Premier using a political fundraiser to announce a Public Inquiry?
5. Why did the Premier change his mind on the timing of the Inquiry? details please
6. What are the plans with Gull Island and Quebec? details please
7. Why are you not stopping the project until Inquiry is complete - considering the continued and serious questions regarding the North Spur - and the potential to uncover corruption or fraudulent activity? details please

and so many more...

The fact that a significant number of Newfoundland and Labrador media fall in the category that Frampton calls "the misguided lot still waiting for Danny Williams to return as our one true messiah" - albeit more focused on the Galway messiah and Costco's second coming - demonstrates one reason as to why we are in this mess now.

Ball needed an exit, Frampton needed to believe that in some way her much too late need to question the Muskrat boondoggle - played some role in getting an Inquiry called, the Muskrat elite needed reassurance, and the media generally just want the past to go away.

Next up - James McLeod and his call to so-called naysayers, partisans, and conspiracy theorists to prove their love of Newfoundland and Labrador - followed by Wangersky's learn from our mistakes lecture.



 

Through the eyes of a 1 year old

Ode to Muskrat

20 years have passed.

What is the place you lived in Mom and Dad?

The place with all the dirt bikes, bog bikes, and snowmobiles.

The place you went trouting and the dory you caught cod from.

The place you could walk for miles in the woods and see all the moose, rabbit, caribou, and partridge.

The place you picked your blueberries and bakeapples.

The place where people took care of people and always had a friendly smile.

The place with all the towns that had funny names.

The place with the whales and icebergs.

The place with beautiful beaches and miles of marshes.

The place I learned to ride my bike and where Nanny and Poppy were from.

The place where we cut our Christmas tree and you cut wood for the fireplace.

Where is that place - Mom and Dad?

Well, the place didn't survive long enough for you to live it.

For that we are truly sorry.

We were too busy enjoying the last spoils - to stop the corruption, theft, and waste of our tremendous resources.

Triple D - Danny's and Dwight's Dominoes

The title includes both Danny Williams and Dwight Ball - as Williams started the Muskrat mess and Ball seems determined to finish it.

The domino affect for Newfoundland and Labrador of this disastrous, ill-conceived, potentially corrupt project is astounding.

1. the astronomical debt burden on taxpayers and ratepayers
2. the questionable engineering to date on the project
3. the unquestionable loss of population that will occur
4. the unquestionable decimation of disposable income for a significant percentage of people
5. the unquestionable destruction of small/medium sized businesses relying on disposable income
6. the unquestionable increase in unemployment (already at third world levels)
7. the unquestionable reduction in essential services - as government seeks to find savings
8. the unquestionable increase in poverty - particularly seniors on fixed income and children
9. the unquestionable rise in taxation that will have to be introduced should energy subsidies occur
10. the unquestionable giveaway of more resources to try an offset 1-9 above

This project will be successful as the driving factor for out-migration and those remaining will have to shop at Costco or Walmart to survive - thereby eliminating and NL or even Canadian company existence.

Many of our abnormally high aging population will be left here as their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren move to more economically stable province, States or countries.

Rural Newfoundland and Labrador will be decimated at a greater pace. 

Health care, education, and social safety nets will not be maintainable at today's level - let alone advance.

Crime, drug addictions, and suicides will - in my opinion - be on the rise.

Meanwhile the fat-cats will be enjoying the wealth attained through the destruction of our province.
The fat-cats don't care - for the most part that's why they're fat-cats.
More seniors homes and long-term care will be needed as they cannot live at home with assistance from their children (who are gone) - yet there is no money to do this.

As younger taxpayers/ratepayers leave Newfoundland and Labrador the taxation and revenue needed to fulfill debt obligations will be shared among fewer people.

This is the catastrophic position we are in.

Ball - for his part - will not stop Muskrat and conduct a forensic audit and truly examine all options. Muskrat has consumed him and many of his colleagues. Ball - instead - will hold out on making a decision - any decision - as is his norm. This will cost us - our province.

Williams is running around complaining about infrastructure St. John's is "unfairly" imposing on him - and taking potshots at Dobbin - another "leader" of the business community.

Ball's biggest concern about seeking leadership, winning leadership, seeking elected office as the Premier - is whether or not the Townie big corporate community would accept him and take him seriously. He is working extremely hard to win their approval.

In my opinion - Williams for his part is unwilling to accept criticism - of any type and will parade around like a litigation happy snapping turtle.

The current crop of MHA's and. Ministers are primarily incompetent as it relates to policy areas such as energy, education, and health - to name but a few.

The government backbenchers are as probing as our media was during the Muskrat cheer-leading days.

The Official Opposition is in free-fall having promoted and backed the Muskrat fiasco - including Kent who opportunistically found another source of grand public servant pay - as leadership hopes or return to Ministerial  prominence was fading like the caplin stock. Leadership potential is about as good as chicken left on the counter for 2 days.

The NDP is nowhere in sight - as it finishes its dismantling to start anew. Now that the union workers have completed a fair chunk of the Muskrat fiasco - it might be okay now to throw out a few jabs.

The Danny dominoes were lined up when the Liberals took power - and the dominoes are now falling quickly after Dwight pushed the first one.

As I said in my last post - time is NOT on our side.

Beware Gull Island and Dwight Ball and 40 cent power

I read with interest the latest post on Uncle Gnarley's Blog 

MUSKRAT WILL DESTROY UTILITY SYSTEM IN 2020

This guest feature by PlanetNL certainly has no problem getting our power rates to 30 cents - even while using conservative estimates. 

As Sue's blog has pointed out many times - population - is and has been a real problem since the Fisheries Moratorium.  That one disaster cost our province at least 100,000 people  between the 1992 and now. It was the destruction of a resource fundamental to us being solvent and growing. 

The PlanetNL feature has not yet accounted for that part of the problem. 

30-35 cent power does not yet include the out-migration - that will absolutely grow exponentially as power becomes unaffordable.It does not yet include the significant numbers of those who will move to fixed income status as our population ages abnormally - without offsetting numbers of babies and youth. 

None of the soon-to-be pensioners have a plan that accommodates 4 or 5 times increase in power rates. None of the government administered programs such as CPP or the OAS were designed to deal with this runaway price on an essential such as power. 

Any attempt by government to subsidize those on low fixed incomes means that those taxpayers/ratepayers left will be subject to even more expense. 

Small to Medium size businesses - not in the industrial sector - will be unable to pay the electric bill without passing it to a consumer who cannot afford to pay it. 

I expect the next installment from PlanetNL to contain pretty catastrophic projections for cost of power as the author includes some of these other factors into the equation. 

I won't say I look forward to reading it - but I look forward to seeing real data and realistic projections finally coming to the fore. We as a people are closing our collective eyes - holding our breath - as we await the boom about to fall directly on top of us. It is likely to suck all the goodwill, hope, and trust out of us as we try and find a way to save this place from complete devastation. 

How do we fix this?

Well as a province that has the 4th largest utility in the country and the second largest underground power station in the world - and possessing first class natural renewable and non-renewable natural resources - we also - unarguably - have had the worst management of those resources.

To fix this - we must stop Muskrat Falls now. We must show the fortitude necessary to withstand corporate leeches who will be up-in-arms that their undeserving gravy train will end. We must conduct a forensic audit and use all the legal tools necessary to rid ourselves of the Emera deal. 

Finishing Muskrat and continuing on with this fiasco means we will have to give away our remaining resources - rightfully belonging to our future generations - to simply stay afloat. Pushing this out is not an alternative. 

This is going to need read leadership, guts, and tenacity. This is going to require a wholesale change in our thinking and if the current politicians will not do it -They must be told to get out of the way.  

Stan Marshall - who has some qualifications for success in the sector (primarily in regulated utilities with reasonable guarantees of profitability) has been of little value here as:

1) he failed to replace some executive in Nalcor,

2) he remains in an otherwise (government exempted) conflict of interest situation with his personal interests in competing entities. 

3) he failed to report existing reports in a timely manner

4) he has not demonstrated the extreme due diligence needed right now (does not know enough about independent contractors) 

5) he has failed to call for a forensic audit despite the red flags

6) he is not engaged enough to make Nalcor his only and first priority

The entire executive of Nalcor must be replaced and we must name a new Board of Directors. The government must stop Muskrat Falls immediately and bring in forensic auditors. When that is completed - government must review all options and lay them on the table for the people and then utilize a referendum on those choices. 

In the coming months we should expect to see government trying to bail itself out with a new potential regarding Gull Island. Do not let them explore touching this asset until we have decided a complete course of action for Muskrat. They will GIVE AWAY another resource if we let them. 

This is a time when we need all our people to pull on the same oar and use our brightest minds to seek a solution - not based on 4 year elections and inadequate solutions. 

Right now Dwight Ball is not engaging with all such people. He is playing a political game with lots of spin to save his political hide and whatever else he may be engaged in. 

The Corporate Muskrat world  is working hard to find a suitable replacement for Ball - should he not be able to continue to deliver for them while maintaining the ability to be reelected. 

The MHA's in the House of Assembly had better buckle down and demand answers and become at least somewhat educated on hydro-power and our history. As it sits now they are woefully ignorant of the situation we are in and possess no ability to fix it.

Do you want a future for your kids and grand-kids in Newfoundland and Labrador? If so speak now. 

Either Newfoundland and Labrador will return to being a wonderful place for all of us to live and raise families in or it will remain a playground for the super-rich to extract more personal wealth from. 

Time is not on our side. 

When I see the media focus on the Dobbin/Williams racket or the where's Costco game - I acknowledge we are have a tough road ahead and the odds of us surviving are pretty minuscule. 

Onward we go.

Dear Premier - do you see the red flags? Forensic Audit

A forensic audit is the process of reviewing a person's or company's financial statements to determine if they are accurate and lawful.

 

Forensic audits are used wherever an entity's finances or operations present a legal concern.

Forensic audits are performed by a class of professionals with skill-sets in both criminology and accounting who specialize in following a money trail, keeping track of fraudulent and actual balance sheets and checking for inaccuracies in overall and detailed reports of income or expenditures. If they find discrepancies, it may be the auditor's job to investigate and determine the reason for it, or it may be the job of a separate financial investigator.


Red Flags for fraudulent or questionable activity. 

 

Unexplained variances between budgets and actual balances.

 

 

Significant internal control issues.

 

 

 

 

 

Unusual write-offs or unordinary transactions.

 

 

 

Infrequent or late financial reports and reviews.

 

 

 

(Scapegoating) Where people are given a title but without actual responsibility, it can effectively cover up what is going on with those who do have responsibility or power in a situation.

 

The weakening or elimination of a watchdog (such as PUB) for the Corporation.

 

 

 

Staff whispers and rumors “that all is not right".

Budget for a project escalates on a recurring basis.

 

 

 

Contracting an outside accounting firm to validate specific things but not all things. 

 A major indicator can be the act of deletion or pressure on staff to delete, remove or otherwise dump past records or conceal past reports following a senior management change. 

 

 

Falsified estimates, reports, or projections. 

 

 

 

There are any significant conflicts of interest present with senior executive and/or outside contracts/tors. In the case of a Crown Corporation - if any potential conflict of interest is or may be present with an elected official in Government. 

Employing any external consultants or contracting firms who have been found guilty of fraud, bribery, or embezzlement in the past.  

 

 

 

Any corporation that deliberately withholds information from its shareholders.

 

 

 

Questionable payouts or bonuses to Senior Executive where performance does not match results. (happened with Enron)

 

 

Be particularly concerned by any corporation that refuses to do an immediate forensic audit - when several warning signs are present. 

 

In conclusion - I add to all MHA's - ignorance is no excuse when it comes to the law. 

 

Whistle-blowers needed for Muskrat Falls. Send me a message. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hurricane Muskrat

There is no cost greater than a human life. This blog does not attempt to trivialize any loss of life resulting from the terrible hurricanes that have hit countries and are about to hit others.

Regarding the financial losses of a Hurricane such as Harvey and Irma currently and like Katrina in 2005 - we can make comparisons to our ongoing Harvey called Muskrat. Although it is man-made - the financial devastation will be similar.

Let's look at it this way. The cost to Texas from Harvey is the same as the cost of Hurricane Muskrat. The difference is we will experience this type of financial disaster year over year for the next 25 years.

Now the big question - who's going to help us?

Let me put this in perspective. There are 29 million people living in Texas and the government has said the disaster could cost $150 billion. That works out to equal $5200 per person.

There are 529,000 people in Newfoundland and Labrador - let's say Muskrat costs $13 billion - this works out to $25,000 per person.  When this amount is attributed to ratepayers then the amount could be $68,000 per person.

That's 13 Harvey like equivalencies already.

Now envision this comparable:

The economy of Texas is the second largest in the United States. It has a gross state product of $1.616 trillion (2016),^[10] the second largest in the U.S. As of 2015, Texas is home to six of the top 50 companies on the Fortune 500 list and 51 overall (third most after New York and California).^[11] In 2012, Texas grossed more than $264.7 billion a year in exports—more than exports of California ($161.9 billion) and New York ($81.4 billion) combined.^[12][13][14]
As a sovereign country (2016), Texas would be the 10th largest economy in the world by GDP (ahead of South Korea and Canada).^[15] Texas's household income was $48,259 in 2010 ranking 25th in the nation. The state debt in 2012 was calculated to be $121.7 billion, or $7,400 per taxpayer.^[16] Texas has the second largest population in the country after California.

Newfoundland and Labrador has a GDP of $25 Billion and is falling. We are the home of 0 Fortune 500 companies. The economy of Texas is larger than that of Canada - so where would we sit? The unemployment rate in Texas moves between 4-5% while in Newfoundland and Labrador it sits between 14-16%. Texas tops the USA in population growth regularly while Newfoundland and Labrador continues to lose people with projections of losing another 40,000 over the Muskrat decades. On top of the Muskrat billions on the ratepayers backs - we have a provincial debt of about $23,000 per person while Texas shows up at $7400 per person. If we lose another 40,000 people and while increasing the percentage of an aging population - the remaining ratepayers could be up to $82,000 per person and the taxpayers remaining could increase each persons share of provincial debt by another $5000.

Now back to the "big" question - who is going to help us?

In the case of wealthy Texas - who by the way is the leader in medically uninsured people and whose leaders want to eliminate the affordable care act. A state which glorifies the "dog eat dog" far right economic system - is seeking funds and assistance from all over - particularly from socially democratic Canada and all kind and caring people. This might be a donation to the Red Cross or it could be the assistance from disaster relief personal. Insurance will cover another fair chunk of the $180 billion in losses and another chunk will be covered by the federal government.

Texas is able to afford it's own provision of essentials - including state assistance for income, housing, and food. They will however seek to do this through contributions from the private sector, caring individuals, and other states and countries. They will seek to minimize the costs to their own taxpayers. They don't like tax in Texas so they will try to mitigate their own human responsibility.

Meanwhile in Newfoundland and Labrador - we have nobody to help with Muskrat - its all on us. It is a man-made hurricane with no relief in sight - lest we sell off something else cheap - like Gull Island. That then ruins another 2 generations.

I hope that by comparing hurricanes to Muskrat  - and by saying we will experience - per-capita - the costs of Hurricane Harvey over and over again like Muskrat (groundhog) Day  for the next 25 years - that perhaps a few more people will get the seriousness of our mess.

At the start of the this post - I removed the element of human loss - as experienced by Texas and other hurricanes in the past - I must add that our human loss could be far greater - IF - the North Spur fails.

I bet many good people of Newfoundland and Labrador have already contributed to help people in Texas.

Unfortunately - the path we are on - there will be no people left in our place. Unfortunately our children and grandchildren will be lost to another province or country. 

The very first thing that must happen is Muskrat must stop. A forensic audit must be completed immediately to properly assess what options we may have on this fiasco of a project. We must recognize our debt crisis and unsustainable spending habits. We need to listen to people who have great ideas on how to spend less but deliver better services. We must virtually eliminate waste in our public institutions and eliminate rewarding incompetence - through bonuses or packages.

Our politicians who rely on continued electoral success as a career - should be unceremoniously fired at the ballot box and we must try to attract those truly interested in advancing our society as a contribution.

We need to change now or face our own extinction.

So you thought Tom Marshall was one of the good guys?

In May of 2012 Tom Marshall (Minister of Finance) called Open Line - on that day hosted by Pete Soucy.

During the course of that discussion - which was about prescription drug costs - he waded into Muskrat Falls and their reasoning for it.

For a couple of reasons - I purchased a text copy of that call  - and now it will serve as good reminder for us all.


TOM MARSHALL: So we're putting money in to ensure that our seniors, the people on the 65 plus program are protected and of course the big one of all is going to be Muskrat where we're trying to regulate electricity costs. So, and we'll continue with you know, with things like that to ensure that people on fixed incomes and lower income people are protected.

In this response to a drug program related question - he began to wander into Muskrat Falls. You can see he is addressing seniors and protecting them from higher cost electricity?

TOM MARSHALL: Well you go to remember that Muskrat Falls is for us. It's for the people of the province. Muskrat Falls does not exist primarily. The reason for Muskrat Falls is not to export power, that's why Churchill Falls, the Upper Churchill came into existence. You know, it was done by a profit seeking corporation and their objective was to make money. Muskrat Falls is for the people of the province, it's being done by Nalcor which is owned by the people and it's being done to provide electricity - to meet the electricity needs of the people of the province primarily. We're going to need power here on the island, we also want to shut down Holyrood because that's the most expensive power we have that goes into the grid. And you know, at peak production they're burning 18,000 barrels a day. When they started, I think a barrel of oil was $3. Now it is $103. So - and our experts tells that the price of oil is going to continue to rise and Holyrood produces electricity by burning thousands of barrels of oil. So that's what's been driving up peoples electricity costs. That's why Newfoundland & Labrador Hydro has gone looking for rate increases, it's all because of - or mainly because of the increases in the price of oil. So we need more power and we need to get off Holyrood. In addition, Labrador is going to need a lot of power. There's all these mining companies that want to open up mines in Labrador you know, in the iron ore.

I hope you read each and every word of his next response. Try and get your head around this fiction from just 5 years ago.

Then he adds:   

TOM MARSHALL: And uranium -they're going to need a lot of power. So when we first talked about doing Muskrat, the idea is that the extra power we'd say, well rather than let the water flow down to the sea, we can at least take that extra power, that surplus to our needs and through this maritime link that Nova Scotia is going to build, at least we can sell that extra power, that surplus power to the US market or NB or NS or PEI. But now what we think is that won't happen for very long because ultimately the power is going to be needed in Labrador.

I truly hope the people of Labrador are reviewing this.

There is no doubt I had an interest in this and could not believe the words I was hearing.

I was not the only one who wanted a copy of this that day. You'll probably be surprised when you find out - given the current day affairs. 

Marshall fired and Ball on Notice?

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?

Proof that Emera is in control

Below is an excerpt from Emera's response to the Massachusetts Clean Energy RFP July 2017. 

 

"Hydro-Québec’s current contractual access to energy from the Churchill Falls facility, through arrangements with Nalcor, expires in 2041. As the end of that contract draws closer, having Atlantic Link as an additional large-scale transmission path creates options for Massachusetts and the New England electricity system to secure cost-effective clean energy, including supply originating at Churchill Falls. Massachusetts has a unique opportunity to position the New England electricity system for future optionality by choosing Atlantic Link infrastructure in the 2017 Clean Energy RFP process."

 

So good to know that Emera is going to take the reigns of the Upper Churchill for the next generation of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. 

 

I wonder - should we expect CFLco to have something to say about this?

 

It also says:  " Nalcor is currently constructing the 824 MW Muskrat Falls generating station (scheduled in-service date of 2020)."

 

Is this correct also? 

 

Seems Emera has more information than the people of our province do. 

 

Why not have a peek at what Emera has in store for us. It is Emera that is running our energy system. I think Emera may be running the whole works. Of course we can't stop Muskrat "Premier" Ball - Emera won't let you.

Press here to view Emera's proposal. 

I plan to contact the Massachusetts Clean Energy group and give them our side of the story. What Emera is saying is simply inaccurate or WE the people don't have a clue as to what's going on.