Premier Dwight Ball announced on Monday the start of a public inquiry into the Muskrat Falls project seeking answers why the project costs ballooned by billions of dollars with first power not expected until 2020.
We asked area members of the House of Assembly their feelings on the inquiry.
Gerry Byrne
- Corner Brook
I hear every day people are worried about the future price of electricity because of Muskrat Falls. They feel angry and betrayed. They feel they were sold a bill of goods by the PC’s about all the supposed benefits that would come from this energy project. They remember anyone who spoke out and questioned the wisdom of building Muskrat Falls in the early days prior and during sanctioning was labeled a traitor to the province or to progress. Everyone I have spoken to or heard from says this inquiry is the only way to get to the real truth as to how this whole mess came about and what affect it might have on the province future generations.
John Finn
- Stephenville-Port au Port
This is something people of the province have been calling for quite some time. Indigenous people, environmental group and citizens have long been wondering if the project should have started to begin with. The cost estimate was around $5 billion and has escalated to $12.7 billion. The people of the province deserve to know what happened and we need to be sure it never happens again. What also needs to be looked into is why the Public Utilities Board was exempt from the process.
Scott Reid
- St. George’s-Humber
It would have been nice if more inquiry was done before the project was sanctioned in the first place. Because of the situation we’re in now, it’s important to find out what went wrong with the project so we can apply to any future projects and governance in general. If you look at Muskrat Falls, it’s similar to mistakes made in other countries that had enormous oil wealth. If more research had been done on the front end, maybe we wouldn’t be in the situation we’re in today.
Eddie Joyce
- Humber-Bay of Islands
The Western Star was unable to reach Joyce as of press time.
