NDP Leader Earle McCurdy wants to know what’s up with all the Muskrat Falls reports that were supposed to be released last month. In September, local media were told the Oversight Committee report would be out in October, while the final EY report was also supposed to be released this fall.
McCurdy notes that when the Liberals swept to power last year, they did so on promising more government openness and transparency.
“So far, since taking office, they’ve done the exact opposite. he report of the independent engineer, public reporting from the so-called oversight committee and the final report from Ernst and Young are all long overdue. There is also the matter of the Auditor General’s investigation of severance payments to the former CEO of Nalcor.
McCurdy says government should immediately take steps to increase transparency and address the questions that continue to swirl around the project. These include:
A public accounting of considerations informing the decision to continue (or discontinue) the project (stop-go analysis);
Creating an independent expert panel to deal with the very serious questions surrounding the stability of the North Spur;
Replacing the current internal government oversight committee with a robust, independent committee that starts with a fresh look at the recommendations of the 2011 Joint Review Panel and a progress report on their implementation;
Giving the Public Utilities Board a role in regulating Muskrat Falls; and
Respectfully engaging on an ongoing basis aboriginal and municipal leaders in the areas most affected by the project.
“The previous government recklessly insisted on leading us into this boondoggle,” McCurdy said. “The current government should be doing whatever is possible to mitigate the damage, and doing it openly and transparently.”
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To contact Earle McCurdy, phone 739-6387 or e-mail news@nl.ndp.ca.