Documents being secured for Muskrat Falls review: minister
Premier not clear on who, when and how of future review
There will be a formal review to determine how the estimated $12.7-billion Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project went so horribly wrong, Premier Dwight Ball says, but details remain scanty.
At a news conference Tuesday after- noon at Confederation Building, Ball and Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady revealed the Liberals are considering what exactly they want to call for — an inquiry, a forensic audit or a consultant review.
“It’s not a matter of ‘if,’ it’s just a matter of when,” the premier said, when pressed for the second time since Friday on accountability for dramatic cost overruns.
He went on to explain he could not say at this point exactly when a review might happen.
A project update at the end of last week revealed another $1 billion in expected costs for the hydroelectric project, with costs set to ultimately hit taxpayers and ratepayers in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Ball said his concern right now is not driving the megaproject’s costs any higher, but he is committed to pursuing a deep review of the project once things have gotten to a point where it won’t disrupt construction efforts.
“The only thing that’s preventing me from doing that is not wanting to have a disruption or distractions at Nalcor,” he said, explaining the Crown corporation’s CEO and board of directors have advised him it is a critical time in construction.
Ball also said he has consulted with the auditor general Terry Paddon.
In the meantime, Coady revealed she was having conversations over the weekend with government lawyers, and the government is now working with its legal experts to secure project-related documentation.
“There’s a range of options here, but as the premier said, we have to answer the questions we have been asking,” she said.
The chorus of voices in the province calling for an inquiry or a forensic audit has been steadily growing for weeks, and things kicked into overdrive after last week’s cost update.
Even former CEO Ed Martin, one of Nalcor’s most ardent defenders, said some sort of public review would help clear the air.
“You wouldn’t want to go into it with a positive or negative expectation. You’d want to go into it and say, you know, what can we do here that would benefit the province going forward?” Martin said in an interview with The Telegram Tuesday.
“It could be a value to have it in such a matter that you have people get a chance to revisit the rationale and the logic of (the Muskrat Falls project), again.”