Des Sullivan
Des Sullivan

THIS IS NOT DEMOCRACY

Muskrat Falls
Photo Credit: NunatuKavut
Photo Credit: NunatuKavut

The Government said it will not sanction the Muskrat Falls
project until after the Decision Gate-3 numbers are in, until Manitoba Hydro International has
submitted its review and until after the debate on Muskrat Falls in

the House
of Assembly has concluded. 


Photo Credit: NunatuKavut
Photo Credit:NunatuKavut

What do you see in these photographs?  Perspective is always shaped by bias. But, photographic evidence is compelling even to those in denial.

Perhaps you believe that Nalcor should forge ahead with Muskrat Falls regardless of what anyone believes.  Perhaps you believe that, since Government money is involved, a lower standard of scrutiny is acceptable. If you dare think that public money does not deserve to be treated as if it were your very own, you have chosen a slippery slope.

What ever your thoughts about the viability of Muskrat Falls or how you feel about millions of dollars public money being spent in this way, or whether you are upset that the Government has offended the Rule of Law by ignoring the legitimacy of the Public Utilities Board, I suggest that you not take your democracy for granted. 

This time its Muskrat Falls; next time, it may involve an issue you feel strongly about, where another Government decision impinges upon your sense of fairplay and the sanctity of your democratic institutions. 

Yes, those photos confirm that the Muskrat Falls project already under way, notwithstanding the commitments Dunderdale and co. have given the public to not proceed with construction until official sanction. Perhaps, like me, you probably see more. 

Photo Credit: Clarice Blake Rudkowski
 

I see a Government that is so determined to build Muskrat Falls, that it has already started work without legislative sanction, without adhering to the commitments previously given. I see a Government that is flaunting the democratic process. I see a Government in contempt of the Legislature. As far as the Dunderdale administration is concerned: the public be damned! 

Spending by Nalcor is proceeding at the rate of $12-15 million a month. The Nalcor President says he wants project sanction by the end of the year. Who does he think he is?


Has Premier Dunderdale no shame?

Des Sullivan
Des Sullivan
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada Uncle Gnarley is hosted by Des Sullivan, of St. John's. He is a businessman engaged over three decades in real estate management and development and retail companies. He is currently a Director of Dorset Investments Limited. During his early career he served as Executive Assistant to Premier's Frank D. Moores (1975-1979) and Brian Peckford (1979-1985). He also served as a Part-Time Board Member on the Canada-Newfoundland Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB). Uncle Gnarley appears on the masthead representing serious and unambiguous positions on NL politics and public policy. Uncle Gnarley is a fiscal conservative possessing distinctly liberal values and a non-partisan persusasion. Those values and opinions underlie this writer's views on NL's politics, economy and society. Uncle Gnarley publishes Monday mornings and more often when events warrant.

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5 COMMENTS

  2. Thank you for posting this, good sir. This kind of flagrant violation of all assumed and enshrined tenets of democracy flies in the face of actual PC governments like those of Peckford and Moores. These are said days for true tories.

  4. Sometimes in history we know that the "people" put leaders in power who eventually take ownership of the "people". This is one of those friggin' times. The Tories are arrogant enough to go ahead with Muskrat Falls without it being sanctioned, who knows how many environmental laws are being broken in there. We see photo evidence that equipment was moved across a river bed. Any construction company will tell you that if they did it, they would pay dearly for it. And what pisses me off is that we have brainwashed Tories and weak-kneed Liberals and NDP who will not do a GD thing about it. If Sobeys took Jam Jams off the shelf, the "people" would rise and march.

  5. Well, I think it's still better to discuss the issue. The Muscrat Falls would be another attraction and preservation of the environment. But I hope the government will let themselves take advantage of when it comes to financial concerns.