Nalcor: Don’t call it damage control
Elaborate communications management defines Muskrat Falls cost-overrun revelation
Nalcor CEO Ed Martin said he wasn’t trying to do any sort of damage control when the government-owned energy corporation flew journalists to Muskrat Falls for a two-day junket, coinciding with the release of new information that the project is $1.4 billion over budget, and delayed by up to a year.
“I mean, the bottom line is that we have come out publicly with all the information we have — Nalcor has — in a transparent fashion, as soon as it’s reasonably available,” Martin said in an interview. “We have a track record of doing that. We’re always out there. We’re always available to the press. We’re always being transparent.”
At least part of that statement is not completely true. Nalcor had all the information about cost overruns and construction delays a week ago. It scheduled a media junket to Muskrat Falls for Sept. 22-23, but had to cancel at the last minute, because of a conflict in Martin’s schedule.
The release of the information waited a week for Martin to be available to fly to Labrador and meet reporters at the dam construction site.
The decision to delay the release of the troubling update on the $7.65-billion hydroelectric project appears to be part of a significant co-ordinated attempt at damage control involving Nalcor and the provincial government.
On Monday, reporters were taken on a tour of the spillway and powerhouse construction sites at Muskrat Falls. Managers stressed how there were only three more concrete pours be- fore the spillway was completed.
On Tuesday, the Nalcor bus full of journalists drove to the North Spur, where a construction manager talked about the work being done to shore up the natural headland, which will form part of the final dam.
From there, the folks from the media were ushered into a helicopter and taken on a flight along the transmission line between Muskrat Falls and the Upper Churchill, before circling around the dam construction site for a while to allow for aerial pictures and video.
It was Tuesday afternoon before reporters were bused back to the Muskrat Falls construction site and offered a chance to ask Martin about the project finances.
On the bus ride, a communications worker handed out “embargoed” news releases revealing that the project was over-budget and delayed. Reporters were instructed that they couldn’t report on the information until the media event with Martin started.
Normally, when the government is announcing something with a lot of numbers and complicated details, it happens at a news conference with a “technical briefing” first.
At the media centre in Confederation Building, senior bureaucrats routinely answer media questions and provide background information before the formal announcement, to make sure journalists have as much information as possible.
“We have a track record of doing that. We’re always out there. We’re always available to the press. We’re always being transparent.”
Nalcor CEO Ed Martin
In this case, Martin had a spectacular backdrop to make the announcement that the Muskrat Falls project was $1.4 billion over budget, but journalists had minimal opportunity to digest the information in advance.
While Martin was talking, the provincial government released the Muskrat Falls oversight committee report, which offered a lot more detail about the nature of the cost-overruns and schedule delays.
Journalists in Labrador did not have the opportunity to read the 33-page oversight report until after Nalcor communications staff cut off the Martin news conference as journalists were still trying to ask more questions.
The provincial government committee is supposed to provide independent oversight about how the project is progressing, but by all appearances, the release of the report was coordinated with Nalcor.
The Telegram requested an interview with Natural Resources Minster Derrick Dalley. Instead, an emailed statement was provided on his behalf, which did not specifically answer the question of whether the timing of the oversight committee report release was co-ordinated with Nalcor.
“The Department of Natural Resources was aware that Nalcor planned to provide a project update to the public via media,” the statement from Dalley said. “Nalcor is a Crown corporation and keeps us abreast of their work on behalf of the province.”
After the news conference at the dam site with Martin, journalists were made to wait on a helicopter for about half an hour, before they were flown to the airport in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, and then flown back to St. John’s.
The schedule prevented journalists from making calls and seeking reaction from other sources, regarding the cost overruns.
Martin didn’t think any of this constituted “damage control” because he was available to answer media questions.
“I don’t understand the term ‘damage control’ in this case,” he said. “We’ve come out with the information. We’ve laid it out to you. We’ve given you a printed copy of what it is. I’m explaining the ins and outs of it.”