The Sun has FINALLY Shone on Muskrat Falls

Now we are talking. When did this become such a notion for our sitting Tories and retired Chief?

The big revelation! The mines need the power. Alderon needs the power. 

Here we were humming along - chatting with Quebec - talking Lower Churchill - then - as if from nowhere - OMG - we are running out of power. We will need to put bricks in our beds in order to stay warm. 

A new fight with Quebec. Negotiations are off the table - go away - pull out the flag - fly it - use it - "we don't like Quebec" remember - they say - remember the Upper Churchill. It's their entire fault - they are unreasonable so we will go around them. Watch us - lace up the skates - off with the gloves. 

Then we got a deal - we will avoid Quebec - keep the bricks from our bed - and green up Canada and the northeast USA.

Deal announced - Premier gone, Bureaucrat gone, Nalcor executive gone, - where?

Well after an "acceptable" period of absence - to the open arms of Alderon. Who? Alderon - who claim they better get power or their materially damaged.

Slowly but painfully surely we reached today - the day when we are told the mines need the power.

Now it's all okay - the massive debt, empty consumer pockets, and hospitals - roads - potable water - - schools can all take a hit because we are spending on power for the mines.

What's the deal now?

Well if we were told the mines needed it in the first place - which has been known for some time - then we would demand something in return for favourable power rates and access to the raw resources.

Example - if INCO wanted the ore - we want - long-term jobs, post-secondary processing, research dollars, and investments in community infrastructure. That was just to do what these mining companies in Labrador want to do and that's extract and export raw resources.

Have a look at Hansard and count how many times Opposition Tories demanded that these things not only occur but be cast in stone.

Oh let me remember now - smelting, secondary processing, long-term jobs for the ore. Go have a look at yourself - refresh your memory because now the time has come for the Tories to deliver the same.

  

Count how many times a PC MHA said smelter and refining of our precious natural resources - how many times they explained NO MORE GIVEAWAYS. 

Now the ball is directly in their court - they control the playing field and companies want to extract ore from Labrador. 

1. If you want special finance rates for power - become involved in the financing of the project. 

2. Deliver secondary processing of every ounce of ore you extract.

3. Provide research and development funds, and improve upon what INCO started with commitment to secondary education. 

4. For every mine being talked about today by the Minister and Premier - deliver a special debate in the House of Assembly on every deal to develop ore bodies so we can get a look at what they are offering.

The shoes are on your feet now - let's see you walk the talk.

  

The game changer was announced today and now there should be full media attention and exposure to what each of these mining companies will be doing for us.

  

Right now what I see is we - the owners of the power resource - pay for the production, transmission, and distribution of power from Muskrat so that mining companies can get a reduced rate to send our ore to China for processing.

Was the back door approach used? Let us now proceed with the real debate.

Do not let one new MW be constructed until we have a referendum on the project and a full and complete debate in the House of Assembly on every deal to extract ore.

Remember the Tory Position

Remember a few short years ago.

MR. WILLIAMS: Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

The real torpedo in the bow of this government's scam and sham was when Scott Hand came out and said that they were going to keep the smelters in Sudbury and in Thompson productive and competitive for a long, long time. That was it. That was the fatal blow, because then the jig was up. Then the people of Newfoundland and Labrador finally found out what the real deal was; and the real deal was that our ore, our concentrate, our nickel, our whatever, was going to leave this Province and keep Sudbury and Thompson going for a long period of time. To add, Mr. Speaker, 300 new jobs are going to be created in Sudbury this year. To add to that, Mr. Speaker, the Mayor of Thompson, Manitoba, is breaking champagne and the people are dancing in the streets because they are going to have our jobs. That is simply wrong.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WILLIAMS: 

What about us, Mr. Speaker? What about Newfoundland and Labrador? What about the jobs here, Mr. Speaker? That is what we need to concentrate on, not 300 jobs in Sudbury, not 1,000 jobs in Thompson.

Let's go through out-migration, Mr. Speaker. Let's talk about what has happened in our communities in the last five years when 40,000 people have left our Province. Let's look at the percentages over the last five years. In Portugal Cove South, 21.4 per cent of the people have left. In St. Shotts, 31 per cent of the people have left. In Aquaforte, 22.7 per cent of the people have left. In Peter's River, St. Vincent's, St. Stephens, 24.3 per cent of the people have left our Province. In Gaskiers, 21.5 per cent.

I am going to continue on, Mr. Speaker. I know it is difficult for hon. members opposite, but we are going to go through some of this list. In Sunnyside, 23.2 per cent of the people have left. In Heart's Desire, 25.3 per cent. In Cupids, 13 per cent. In Ricketts,13 per cent. In Lawn,18.6 per cent. In Lamaline, 21.4 per cent. In Fox Cove, Bay L'Argent, Grand Le Pierre: 14 per cent, 15 per cent and 10 per cent. In Rushoon, 18 per cent of the people have left our Province. In Gaultois, 24.1 per cent in the last five years have left Newfoundland and Labrador. In Milltown, 21.4 per cent. In Morrisville, 22 percent. In Ramea, 30 per cent of the people, one third of the people of Ramea, have had to leave our Province and this government is going to send jobs to Sudbury and Thompson, Manitoba. Shame on all of you!

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

MR. WILLIAMS: I will continue, Mr. Speaker.

In Cape St. George, 15.4 per cent. In Lourdes, 14.2 per cent. In Port au Port West, Aguathuna, 15.2 per cent. In Jackson's Arm, 10.6 per cent. In Howley, 19.3 per cent. In Hampden, 16.4 per cent. In Norris Arm, 16.3 per cent. In Little Catalina, 16.2 per cent. In Elliston, Catalina and Bonavista, 21.9 per cent, 13 per cent and 11 per cent have left in those communities. In Traytown, 18.3 per cent have left. In Happy Adventure, 14 per cent. In St. Brendan's, 21.8 per cent. In Melrose, 13.7 per cent. In Carmanville, 12.6 per cent. In Fogo, 18.2 per cent. In Change Islands, 21.7 per cent. If I may, Mr. Speaker, I will continue. In Summerford, Twillingate and Campbellton, 11.2 per cent, 11.6 per cent and 12 per cent have left these three communities.

MR. WILLIAMS

Thank you, Mr. Speaker

I thank the hon. the Premier for indicating that there, in fact, will be no conventional smelter. That promise has been broken. In fact, he has also confirmed that there may not be a hydromet. So, there is no guarantee of a smelter and there is no guarantee of a hydromet facility. 

 Mr. Speaker, can the Premier please confirm, in the event that the experimental hydromet facility does not prove to be economically, technically or commercially feasible, that this Province will not receive a Conventional smelting facility, which I am certain that he has, and he has already done so, as was promised and guaranteed by both the Premier and the Minister of Mines and Energy, but instead may, not will - may, and may only - receive a nickel matte refinery or some other facility, which is referred to in the documentation as some other facility? It doesn't specify what it is. It is some other facility, as stated in clause 22. Will the Premier, in fact, confirm that particular facility is also not guaranteed?

Williams - The De Terminator

When one of the Directors of Alderon Iron Ore Corp. addressed the St. John's Board of Trade a week ago - the purported virtues of the Muskrat Falls deal were not the only items discussed.

The representative of Alderon also extolled the virtues of his own investments while taking some quality time to attack some unknown and some known critics of the hydro deal.

As was predicted by Sue's Blog a few weeks ago - the businessman also took the time to use Russell Wangersky's words to demonstrate how the government and Nalcor have been supplying all kinds of information and that critics may be upset with the media because:

"I don’t think it’s correct to say that investigative work isn’t being done. Perhaps it just hasn’t led to what some people want to hear."

Of course what the businessman failed to mention was the numerous editorials Wangersky has done that have questioned process and details of the proposed energy deal. Then again that would not have satisfied the businessman's argument.


The businessman also talked about his massive land development - set to break ground next year - in the City of St. John's west end. He mentioned having acquired the land 15 years ago and that the development could be worth 5 billion dollars. What land was he referring to? What land was acquired 15 years ago? What land was acquired when the businessman was a politician?

Just as a side note to VOCM the businessman while talking about slander and libel and lies - he stated "we must hold people accountable for their words". Maybe the open-line and back-talk hosts should remember the businessman's words the next time they think about allowing callers like "bob" to out and out lie about a private citizen.

Continuing with the "we must hold people accountable for their words" mantra - how is it that the big deal now is to power mines with Muskrat power and that the potential 15 billion in mining projects in Labrador could be jeopardized if the Muskrat deal is squashed.

Now the businessman - a Director of Alderon - a company that has strict corporate governance for its executive - was clearly following those guidelines by pushing the need for Muskrat to power the mines. When that businessman was the Premier the power was for:

Of the total 4.9 terawatt hours per year of power to be produced, initially 2.0 terawatts will be allocated to the Island to meet domestic demand and to displace expensive, dirty bunker "C" oil used in Holyrood; 

Approximately 1.0 terawatt hours per year, or 20 per cent of the output of Muskrat Falls, will be provided to Emera Inc. for use in Nova Scotia.  

The remaining power will be sold into the Maritime Provinces and the New England market place. Nalcor Energy will be able to sell power in these jurisdictions as a result of gaining existing transmission rights from Emera Inc. The total cost of the project will be approximately $6.2 billion 

Clearly holding people accountable for their words - does not mean much.

Will his words of 6.2 Billion hold-up? It used to be the total cost of the project but now the businessman suggests to us that perhaps 8 billion might be the price.

Now further on the Alderon situation - where the power supply is of critical importance to the development. Was the government of Newfoundland and Labrador under the Premiership of businessman Danny Williams unaware of Kami? No of course not. The day after the businessman announced his resignation as Premier - Alderon announced that it had raised over 16 million on a share offering. Monies raised in part to "advance" its Kami property in Labrador.

And so vested was Alderon Resources in this project - that in October 2011 it changed it's Corporate name to Alderon Iron Ore Corp to reflect that importance.

I do not create the facts - others have. How much in business - big corporate business - is happenstance?

Gary Norris
Danny Williams
Todd Burlingame
Brian Dalton

all to the Alderon Team. They list the acquisition of the businessman as a Director for the company as an impressive accomplishment ranked up there with the 490 million tonnes of ore, pre-tax NPV of over 3 billion dollars, completing a 40 million dollar investment, and commencement of trading on the NYSE.

The laws of the province should reflect a reasonable time-frame for government MHA's, Cabinet Ministers, Premiers, senior officials to become involved with any company that has any interest in a file that the politician/bureaucrat had worked directly with.

The time should reflect the relative power the individuals office had. My suggestion as follows:

MHA's 2 years
Cabinet Minister 4 years
Premier 5 years
Deputy or Assistant Deputy Minister 5 years

All within the span of two years - the former Premier announced a deal to develop Muskrat Falls, became a special advisor to Alderon, became a Director in Alderon, began speaking publicly on the importance of the Muskrat Falls project to Alderon.

The businessman also articulated to the Board of Trade that:

"debate is good"
"asking questions is important"
but
"opposition for the sake of opposition is wrong"
"critics who knowingly put misinformation in the public domain are irresponsible and are a disservice to the people of the province"

The businessman will determine what debate is good, what opposition is acceptable, which critics are responsible?

He then asked "what in the world is to be gained" by Ed Martin or Gil Bennett by forcing a bad project on their own province.

So the businessman will determine that people opposed to the project might have less than honourable intentions but the people who are for it have nothing but the best intentions. Once again Danny will determine that.

He has also determined as evidenced by such remarks - that these individuals can't be wrong, might just be making a mistake.

How many politicians, officials, lawyers, and experts got it wrong with the Upper Churchill?
How many Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro officials and politicians and business people got it wrong when privatization was attempted?

The businessman will be the De Terminator on all these matters?

Then how many times - including in the businessman's speech to the Board of Trade did he state "no more giveaways"? Where's all the ore going Mr. Businessman? How much of the ore will be processed here in Newfoundland and Labrador Mr. Businessman?

Alderon Iron Ore Corp. (TSX: ADV) (NYSE AMEX: AXX) (“Alderon" or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has signed a definitive subscription agreement dated April 13, 2012 (the "Subscription Agreement") with Hebei Iron & Steel Group Co., Ltd. (“Hebei”), China’s largest steel producer. Hebei will make a strategic investment into both Alderon and its Kami iron ore project (the "Kami Project") in an aggregate amount of C$194 million, in exchange for 19.9% of the outstanding common shares of Alderon (the "Private Placement") and a 25% interest in a newly formed limited partnership that will be established to own the Kami Project.

A newly formed limited partnership? Who owns that?

The businessman will not influence my decision on the proposed Muskrat Falls project, or the land project, or the fibre optic deal. The businessman will not be the De Terminator of what is legitimate or reasonable criticism - or who is or is not an acceptable critic.

Time for a referendum - without question - and let all FACTS be debated openly. What people determine from those facts - of course - is entirely up to them - not the De Terminator.

Keep the Train Running Choo Choo - Brian - Danny - Dean

Let's see if we can follow a path.

I really appreciate these routes from here to there.

Today comes the announcement that former Premier Danny Williams has accepted an appointment as Special Advisor to the Chairman of Alderon Iron Ore Corporation.

In this case he follows his Former Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to the Cabinet - Gary Norris who announced his retirement when? Well that was announced on November 30th 2010 and took effect December 3rd of 2010.

He had been appointed to the position by Danny on May 30th 2007.

Danny's Retirement Announced on November 25th of 2010 effective December 3rd of 2010.

Well just so happens that Gary Norris had also landed at Alderon - yes he in fact is the Executive VP - Government and Community Affairs - Alderon.

Now Gary Norris held the position of Deputy Clerk - under Brian Tobin - then as Clerk under Beaton Tulk then was moved out of the office by Roger Grimes when he became Premier.

Now Alderon also has another familiar name - Brian Dalton - he is on the Board of Alderon - and of course is the President and CEO of Altius Minerals. Then of course:

Altius entered into an agreement with respect to its Kamistiatusset ("Kami") iron ore project in November 2009 as part of its merchant-banking like approach to co-found a new public company to explore the project and western Labrador region. The agreement resulted in the restructuring and financing of Alderon Resources Corp. (ADV:TSX-V) who in December 2010 fulfilled its option agreement terms with Altius to earn 100% interest in the Kamistiatusset iron ore project (“Kami”) by issuing Altius 32,285,006 payment shares of Alderon (representing approximately 37% of the issued Alderon common shares). Altius also retains a 3% gross sales royalty relating to any potential future mining operations.

Now Brian Dalton did this: The royalty was created in June 2005 following 2 years of successful exploration in the CMB when Altius and its partner, Fronteer Development Group, restructured their exploration alliance as part of a longer-term business strategy to create a new pure uranium company - Aurora Energy Resources Inc. (TSX:AXU).   The agreement structure and launch of Aurora effectively converted Altius property ownership into an equity stake in the new uranium company and an underlying royalty covering Aurora's Labrador properties.  By October 2007 Altius had sold its entire equity stake in Aurora for gross proceeds in excess of $200 million, while still retaining its royalty position over the properties.

Now Aurora then appointed Dean MacDonald to it's Board of Directors - problem was Dean was also the Chair of Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. The appointment lasted 48 hours. Dean resigned - funny that.

Meanwhile back at the ranch there was a fellow called Todd Burlingame - who up until 2011 was sitting as the Manager of Environment and Aboriginal Affairs for Nalcor including during the Joint Review Panel. Well guess what? Mr. Burlingame is also now on the payroll of Alderon and was appointed the same day as Gary Norris.

Mark J. Morabito Executive Chairman Board of Alderon - described Burlingame and Norris this way: “Our Executive VP of Environmental and Aboriginal Affairs is Todd Burlingame,” Morabito adds. "His last big permitting project was the Lower Churchill hydro project, 3,000 megawatts and right in the same area with all the same stakeholders. Gary Norris was the former head of the Newfoundland civil service; he’s our VP of Government and Community Affairs."

Next of course we will follow then the path of Canadian Imperial Venture Corporation, Brian Tobin, Consolidated Thompson, Dean MacDonald, Persona, Cable Atlantic - and all the Labrador projects you can suffer.

Also we have to see what all were up to when in November of 2011 Province to Participate in Asian Conference in Support of Mineral Exploration and Investment Opportunities

Participating companies include Alderon Iron Corporation, Altius Minerals Corporation, Century Iron Mines, Grand River Ironsands, Labrador Iron Mines, and New Millennium Iron Corporation.

By the way is Dean going to run for the leader of the Liberal Party or will he try and influence from another position within the party? Gotta keep the train going. Brian Choo Choo - Danny Choo Choo - and Dean Choo Choo. What kind of train do you think they might be operating?