Enough of this Muskrat madness

For the past month or two, I couldn’t help but notice a slew of Telegram letters, editorials and columns devoted to the ongoing Muskrat Falls issue, including columns from Pam Frampton and Russell Wangersky.

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, I don’t know about you but I am concerned about the Muskrat Falls money pit. It has created much controversy, and it is certainly a politically divisive issue right across our province. It seems that the masses are divided into the pro-muskrat love camp, while others are in the anti-muskrat madness group. Actually, I feel there are three Muskrat Fallsrelated teams in our province.

1) The Boondoggle II or Muskrat Love team led by Danny Williams, Ed Martin, Kathy Dunderdale, Tom Marshall, Paul Davis, Steve Kent, Cathy Bennett, Gilbert Bennett, Derrick Dalley, Jerome Kennedy and Shawn Skinner. (There was a movie called “Ocean’s Eleven” so why not “Boondoggle II?” I hope Mark Critch can play the Danny Williams character.)

2) Muskrat Lite team led by Premier Dwight Ball, Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady, Nalcor CEO Stan Marshall, Minister Perry Trimper, and others.

3) Anti-muskrat Madness team led by David Vardy, Des Sullivan, The Telegram’s Pam Frampton, Lorraine Michael, Earle Mccurdy, Matthew Della Valle, Beatrice Hunter, Marjorie Flowers, Eldred Davis, James Learning, Justin Brake, Paul Lane and others.

I have to agree with Ken Kavanagh Sr.’s recent comment: “Muskrat Falls is an ill-conceived, ill-planned, ill-managed and ill-executed project. It will be a significant burden on the fiscal health of the province, and a back-breaking financial strain on individual ratepayers (and taxpayers).”

We cannot overlook the fact the previous Nalcor CEO Ed Martin and the previous Progressive Conservative government overlooked or ignored the Snc-lavalin risk assessment report and its warnings of probable cost overruns and costly delays.

Then we have serious environmental issues related to methylmercury in the waters surrounding the Lower Churchill, and the structural stability of the North Spur.

It is quite possible that Muskrat Falls was responsible for the flooding of Mud Lake. We can’t ignore the concerns of the Indigenous peoples in Labrador. It is easy for Danny Williams and others to say this boondoggle should be completed, but are he and his disciples going to be affected by the increased Hydro utility rates and increased taxes due to the ever increasing Muskrat Falls debt of $12.7 billion-plus?

I have been one of those naysayers who was against this project from day one. Increased Nalcor and government expenditures towards this project means less money towards more important social and health-care programs. If it wasn’t for Muskrat Falls, we would have a new Waterford Hospital (I hope local mental health advocate Mark Gruchy weighs in on this matter) and other long overdue health-care projects and programs — like the Corner Brook hospital, Pharmacare, public dental care — would be done by now!

And Danny Williams’ other legacy project, the Newfoundland and Labrador Poverty Reduction Strategy, suffers too. The current Liberals have unintentionally created a “Poverty Increase Strategy” as a result of Danny’s Muskrat Love!

As for the private sector, they wouldn’t touch this Muskrat Falls with a 10-foot pole! I don’t think it would be approved by the “Dragons’ Den”!

Who is there to blame? Both the provincial Progressive Conservatives and the Liberals. The NDP’S Earle Mccurdy makes a excellent point: “The PC’S bulldozed this disastrous project through the House of Assembly without due diligence and without taking seriously the environmental, health and safety risks to the people of Labrador.

The Liberals had a responsibility, immediately upon taking office, to engage whatever expertise was needed to do a full-fledged ‘stop-go’ analysis before it was too late.”

So, I have to ask you readers: who are the real “boondoggle buffoons?”

I favour a forensic audit for one simple reason: find out who is responsible for these gargantuan cost overruns and delays, and make them accountable. I believe Premier Ball, Cathy Bennett (who favoured Kathy Dunderdale’s PC government Muskrat Falls policy), Siobhan Coady and the current Liberals could conduct a forensic study while completing this project.

Muskrat Falls is a classic example of corporate welfare gone helter- skelter.

Edward Sawdon St. John’s