ST. JOHN'S, N.L. — The second of two public meetings as part of the Muskrat Falls Inquiry was a stark contrast to the first, with participants in Happy Valley-Goose Bay emphasizing the importance of having political recognition for Labrador, and representation of their concerns.
The majority of the nine speakers taking part in the session at the Lawrence O’Brien Arts Centre on Thursday brought a key message, that they haven’t felt heard and have not seen the provincial government actively responding to their concerns as the hydroelectric project was proposed, planned and built.
“We have no governance that’s responsible. What do I say about that? Who do we turn to? Lawyers? I’m not disparaging lawyers, but I mean they’re not responsible. They’re not elected,” said opening speaker Jim Learning.
Learning is a member of the Labrador Land Protectors who also ran as an independent in the last provincial election.
Learning sported a T-shirt reading, “Mega dams = mega damage.”
The public sessions were added to the inquiry schedule to allow individuals who wanted to offer comments on the inquiry’s evidence a chance to do so, before Commissioner Richard LeBlanc writes his final report. Written comments have also been accepted.
At the meeting in St. John’s, many speakers addressed provincial and personal finances, civics and the goal of having citizens more engaged in major political decisions.
But in Happy Valley-Goose Bay, speakers mainly spoke about environmental concerns and disappointments, and either suggested or broadcasted a personal sense of disconnect from the province’s political leadership.
As in St. John’s, LeBlanc was in attendance. His report isn’t expected to include pronouncements on the ongoing environmental issues. For example, he has indicated the efficacy of the project’s environmental review and findings on the stability of the North Spur are not a part of what he was asked to deal with.
But in interpreting his terms of reference from the provincial government, LeBlanc did include a look into communications with the public about the project and the response of both Crown corporation Nalcor Energy and the provincial government to public concerns, particularly in the context of subsequent protest actions.
He has gathered and heard a wealth of evidence on longstanding concerns reaching beyond just the project’s direct financial cost, including the North Spur and methylmercury levels. And he listened to all of the speakers at the meeting this week.
The comments were passionate and direct.
“I ask you to think of your children and grandchildren, if you have any. If you do, I hope they question you when you get older and ask why you didn’t do anything about Muskrat Falls,” said Beatrice Hunter, an Inuk woman who was jailed — flown to St. John’s and jailed at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary — in 2017 due to her refusal to stay away from the main Muskrat Falls worksite.
She now plans to run for the NDP in the federal election.
“They’ve arrested many of us, they’ve done everything to try and silence us, and then they just got to a point where they just didn’t care, and they just did whatever they wanted anyway.
This inquiry is happening because of us, because of those of us who have fought long and hard to have voices heard. And then the government still made it very clear that their inquiry was only going to include economics,” said Denise Cole, member of the Labrador Land Protectors.
“To decolonize you have to listen, and you have to respect, and we have neither of those two qualities within any of our governments at this point,” she added.
Cole and others were critical of elected Indigenous leaders, apart from Nunatsiavut Government President Johannes Lampe, who recently declined an offer of $10 million from Nalcor Energy and issued a public statement condemning the provincial government’s response to concerns. The exchange followed a failure of the province to see proposed wetland capping at the Muskrat Falls reservoir completed, as a small effort toward methylmercury mitigation.
Methylmercury monitoring is continuing, as the Muskrat Falls reservoir is filled.
The inquiry is now set for a week of final submissions. That is scheduled to get underway on Monday, Aug. 12 in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.
A final report from the commissioner is due at the end of the year.
RELATED
