The Commission of Inquiry into the Muskrat Falls Project The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador has commissioned an Inquiry into the Muskrat Falls project.
The Commissioner is the Honourable Justice Richard LeBlanc. Following representations from the Coalition and others, the Commissioner provided an interpretation of the Terms of Reference. The Coalition made an application for standing the Commissioner and was granted full standing. The Commissioner recommended to Government that the Coalition be provided funding for legal counsel and Government has agreed to that recommendation. The Coalition has retained Geoff Budden of Budden and Associates. The Muskrat Falls Concerned Citizens Coalition (MFCCC)The Muskrat Falls Concerned Citizens Coalition Inc. (MFCCC) was incorporated under the Corporations Act or Newfoundland and Labrador on May 15, 2018 as a Corporation Without Share Capital (aka non-profit), number 81796.
The purpose of the Coalition as set out in the articles of incorporation are to participate as a Party with Standing before the Commission of Inquiry Respecting the Muskrat Falls Project. The founding members are Ron Penney, Chair; Dave Vardy, Secretary; and Des Sullivan. They have passed Bylaws which govern how the Coalition is to operate. Members of the Coalition, including the founding members, are volunteers and serve without compensation. If you wish to assist in helping to monitor the Inquiry please volunteer by emailing us at info@mfccc.ca. Our RoleThe Coalition has been established to assist the Inquiry in meeting its obligations to answer the questions posed in the Terms of Reference as interpreted by the Commissioner.
The founding members have been critical of the project since it was announced by former Premier Williams in November of 2010, questioning the need for the project, seeking a full review of the project by the Public Utilities Board, and participating in the PUB Reference. Since the original announcement of the project its costs have more than doubled. We continued to raise concerns about the management of the project throughout the construction phase, in particular the stability of the North Spur, and more recently about the impacts of huge increases of rates on ratepayers. We have been interviewed by Inquiry counsel and also by the forensic auditors, Grant Thornton. We have made suggestions to the Inquiry on lines of inquiry which it should pursue and witnesses it should call. We continue to raise concerns about the North Spur and recently asked Dr. Steig Bernander and Dr. Lennart to comment on a peer review of the stability of the North Spur commissioned by Nalcor, which we have submitted to the Inquiry and raise continuing concerns about it’s stability. Inquiry HearingsThe Inquiry hearings will be in phases. You can view the schedule here.
Pre-sanction SubmissionWe have been asked to make a submission to the Inquiry on our involvement with the project prior to sanction on December 17, 2012, including our involvement with the PUB review, and interactions with Government and Nalcor officials, what key issues we raised about the project prior to sanction, and the response of Nalcor and Government to our efforts. You can view our submission here.
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