Deceit or Incompetence?

Deceit or Incompetence?

By: Ryan Young

Last week I listened closely to Finance Minister, Tom Osborne, during a call with Paddy Daly on the VOCM Open Line show. Mr. Osborne spoke at length about how his government was ready to play hardball with Nalcor, and extricate answers about the project's finances from the board and/or CEO Stan Marshall. At certain points during the conversation, the new minister sounded quite a bit like the old minister, and the tough talk that she had for Nalcor on Budget day 2016. We have heard plenty of tough talk since the Liberals took office in late 2015, but what do we really have to show for it, and what has changed?

More and more people are waking up to the monumental mismanagement and possible corruption afoot within the Muskrat Falls project. Our government, on the other hand, seems to be working as hard as ever to misdirect the public and ensure that the project is finished without the taxpayers ever knowing what really happened to all of that money. The Liberal’s are happy to keep themselves hitched to the “previous administration” bandwagon, feigning ignorance and blaming the old government for everything wrong with the project. Unfortunately, nobody on team red seems to realize that by playing dumb, they are leading the public to believe that they are really as incompetent as the opposition says they are.

The most telling part of Minister Osborne’s VOCM conversation was when he told Mr. Daly that he was in the presence of the premier when he learned about the massive cost of embedded contractors being used by Nalcor. He claimed the premier was upset about the lack of transparency regarding the use of these contractors, and told us that Ball is committed to a public inquiry on Muskrat Falls. The question he didn’t answer, however, was did the CEO, the Minister of Natural Resources, and/or the Premier know about the extent of the use of these contractors before James McLeod broke the story in The Telegram?

The Liberals have been in power for nearly 2 years. They have brought in a new CEO and Board of Directors for Nalcor, they have claimed to have beefed up government oversight of the project, and they have paid millions of dollars to Ernst and Young to study and report on the finances of Muskrat Falls. They publicly claim that the administration knew nothing about the project management team being made up of 90% contractors or that they had billed Nalcor for $4.6 million hours of work. By telling us that the government was in the dark on this issue proves one of two things. Either our government is directly lying to us about Muskrat Falls or they are so completely incompetent, that in 2 years they have not even managed to identify this glaring issue on their own.

While most people could easily latch-on to the incompetence theory, it is quite unlikely that nobody in the decision-making process was aware of the billing free-for-all that was going on right under their noses. Despite what Ball might be spinning to the public, the issue of embedded contractors seemed to be passing the small test just fine until someone in the media remembered how to do some investigative journalism.

So where does that leave us? Mere hours after the backlash from The Telegram story began to bombard government, Ball announced that a Muskrat Falls inquiry would happen, and that he had reached out to the various departments for help in drafting the terms of reference. While that is great news on the surface, as Uncle Gnarley and others have pointed out, ordering an inquiry before a complete forensic audit of the project is completed is rather like putting the cart before the horse. The other concern many have about a possible inquiry, is that if the leadership group was telling the truth about their lack of knowledge and understanding of the project finances, then how can we trust them to draft terms of reference that will actually reveal the truth about Muskrat Falls?

I’d really like to believe the premier when he says that he and his government are committed to getting to the bottom of the Muskrat money pit, but words are just that, words, and actions speak so much louder. Take for instance the Ball’s concern over the standoff at the Muskrat camp and  the three hunger strikers from Labrador that forced the government's hand last fall. After a marathon meeting with indigenous leaders, a deal was reached in which further mitigation measures were promised. In a letter from the Nunatsiavut government that was released yesterday, President Johannes Lampe made it very clear that after several meetings with government and Nalcor, those promises of additional mitigation measures will not be honored.

Ball stood in front of reporters after the meeting last fall and told the province that the meeting was about one thing, the health of Labradoreans. He also said that going forward, their decisions would be based on science and research and that his government was committed to working with aboriginal leaders and that he was “confident” that they could achieve the goals that were outlined in the agreement.

While a big to-do was made about a chair being appointed and terms of reference drafted for the promised independent expert advisory council (IEAC), it was made very clear from Lampe’s letter that there was never any intention of lowering water levels so that additional mitigation measures could proceed. Indigenous leaders were told during a meeting with the premier and other provincial officials on September 6^th that water levels in the reservoir would be raised to 25m this fall, and once they reached that point they would not be lowered again.

Dwight Ball already has a huge credibility problem. He has failed to be honest with the people of this province at every opportunity. Despite their best efforts of getting out in the media and telling people they are going to do something positive, they can’t hide from their record, and the revelations brought forth by Johannes Lampe just further prove that this premier will say anything to ensure that Muskrat Falls goes ahead.

Deceit or pure incompetence? Either way, Ball and his government seem to be willing to throw away every shred of their credibility in order to deliberately mislead the people of this province about Muskrat Falls. The real question is: How long will we, the people, continue to stand for it?

Muskrat Falls: Will the Madness Never End?

Muskrat Falls: Will the Madness Never End?

By: Ryan Young

In the wake of the fallout from last week’s budget, the Liberals and Nalcor were dealt another blow to their credibility on Monday when the Nunatsiavut government released the full report of the Harvard study on methylmercury. The study, led by Dr. Elsie Sunderland, reports that the downstream effects of methylmercury in relation to the Muskrat Falls project will be 13 to 380 percent higher than was predicted in the original environmental impact assessment for the project.

To catch my loyal readers up on the issue at hand, methylmercury is a toxic compound that is formed from naturally occurring inorganic mercury by the action of anaerobic organisms that live in aquatic systems and oceans. Through the methylation process, inorganic mercury is converted to methylmercury in the natural environment. In layman terms, bacteria in aquatic environments break down organic matter such as vegetation and convert it into the toxic methylmercury compound. Methylmercury is commonly found in small amounts in aquatic systems but in terms of Muskrat Falls, the amount of methylmercury that will be produced is directly related to the available organic carbon content of reservoirs derived from flooded soils and vegetation. Nalcor has only committed to clearing a small amount of the vegetation in the area where the reservoir flooding will take place. The residents of the Lake Melville area had their fears about a possible dramatic rise in methylmercury when the reservoir is flooded confirmed by the release of yesterday’s report.

The study suggests that anywhere from 30-200 residents could see exposure to toxic methylmercury that exceed the acceptable levels set out by Health Canada. Of particular concern is for the people of Mud Lake and Rigolet. Many residents there still depend on local game and forage for a large part of their diet. With the toxicity numbers outlined in the study, it will only be a matter of time before we start to see direct health effects on the people who live downstream from Muskrat Falls. Methylmercury is primarily a central nervous system toxin. In adults, dietary exposure can affect cardiovascular health, immune health, and hormone function. Even more disturbingly, chronic exposure from dietary consumption has been linked with brain impairment in children, including IQ deficits, attention deficit behavior, and reductions in verbal function and memory. These are very serious and very real concerns and the people living in the Lake Melville now have the facts to back them.

So where does Nalcor stand in all of this? While a spokesperson for the crown corporation said that “we will take the time to study the findings further,” VP of the lower Churchill project Gilbert Bennett was quick to say that “we do not predict that the creation of the Muskrat Falls reservoir will heighten risk to people in Lake Melville.” Bennett maintained that environmental studies for the project “have been undertaken by nationally-recognized technical experts.” While this is no doubt true, it is hard for anyone, lest of all Gilbert Bennett, to criticize the credentials of the study. Harvard University cannot be brushed off as a biased neigh-sayer. They are one of the most respected research institutions in the world and this report demands serious consideration by Nalcor. For Gilbert Bennett or anyone else to shrug this study off is nothing but pure contempt for the people of Lake Melville.

On the other side of the issue, the Nunatsiavut government says they are considering “all options,” including the courts, to force Nalcor to clear the reservoir before flooding. Nunatsiavut president Sarah Leo told media that the concerns are valid and that the culture and health of the Inuit people living near Lake Melville is being directly threatened from the development of Muskrat Falls. Nalcor has stated that it will issue warnings about consuming fish and seals when methylmercury levels spike. Leo says that is unacceptable and that this study confirms their fears about long-term toxicity. Her message to Nalcor was: “until full clearing is carried out, flooding must not be allowed. It’s as simple as that.”

So where does that leave us? The brass at Nalcor have all but outright said that they will disregard this study and continue with their plans to flood the reservoir without clearing it. In the grand scheme of things, people like Gilbert Bennett and Ed Martin can’t be expected to care about 200 Inuit when they have six figure salaries and big bonuses at stake. For Nalcor it will be business as usual. I fully suspect that the Nunatsiavut government will file a court challenge based on the Harvard study. Whether or not it is successful, it might certainly add further delays to an already over-delayed project.  Frankly this issue should have stopped the project in the environmental assessment stage. It makes this blogger wonder what strings were pulled to push it through in the first place.

For many people in this province, the Muskrat Falls project has been all about cost. With the release of the study yesterday, however, it is very clear that we have an ethical and environmental dilemma on our hands as well. Instead of measuring the project in dollars in sense we now have to think about it in terms of the environment and human life. Is it worth it? If I was sitting on the fence about shutting down Muskrat Falls now, this issue would push me over the edge. With a price tag that will likely reach $15 billion or more, a little more to clear the reservoir and spare the people of Lake Melville is not too much to ask for…unless you are Nalcor. The people of this province need to stand firm with the Nunatsiavut government and demand that Nalcor take action on this issue. If not we will all bear the responsibility of hundreds of our own in Labrador, sick or dying, to keep the lights on in Nova Scotia. I don’t want that on my conscience. Do you?