Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Kathy Dunderdale and her Progressive Conservatives are relentlessly pushing forward with the massive Muskrat Falls hydroelectric power project, but their tactics are fuelling widespread opposition.

Recent polling data on public opinion regarding the Muskrat Falls project has been decidedly mixed. While 66% favour the project, 69% want it sent back to the Public Utilities Board (PUB) for an independent review, and 53% think it should be put to the voters in a provincewide referendum.

These numbers suggest widespread dissatisfaction with the process used to assess the viability of the $7.4-billion project. Although Muskrat Falls had been under assessment by the PUB, the government withdrew the proposal after the PUB asked for more time and information.

In November, Natural Resources Minister Jerome Kennedy defended the move, saying the PUB “had their chance” to review the project. Kennedy called the PUB’s methods “an abdication of responsibility.” Instead, government is relying on a feasibility study it had commissioned from Manitoba Hydro, which determined Muskrat Falls to be economically sound.

After blaming the PUB for intransigence, Dunderdale and her cabinet turned their attention to political Opposition, the Liberals and the New Democratic Party. Both parties wanted a full debate in the legislature on Muskrat Falls as consolation for the lack of a PUB review. They wanted the chance to call on expert witnesses and looked forward to questioning Dunderdale under the hot lights of the House of Assembly.

During the summer, it looked as though they would get some of what they were looking for. Dunderdale initially promised a special debate in the legislature; but this turned out to be a mirage because, as the autumn session of the House of Assembly drew closer, she modified her stand.

Negotiations with the Opposition parties, she said, were going nowhere. So, rather than conduct a special Muskrat Falls debate on the project, politicians would have to ask questions during the regular session of the House of Assembly.

The Opposition parties were predictably perturbed. But this turned to outrage when Dunderdale, in an unprecedented move, introduced a private member’s bill in favour of the project. This gave members a total of two hours in early December to debate a multibillion-dollar project that is being paid for entirely by taxpayers.

This process is in stark contrast to a Nova Scotia review of its portion of the project, a $1.2-billion undersea power cable stretching 180 kilometres across the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board initially ruled that it did not have the regulatory authority to assess the project, as it would be funded by the province’s private utility company, Emera Inc. So, in October, the government introduced new regulations that give the board the authority it needs to assess the undersea link. The board has 180 days to issue a report, with terms of approval.

If Muskrat Falls is built within budget and buyers are found in North America for its power, then Newfoundland and Labrador’s Conservatives may escape political damage from their handling of the project’s approval. At this point, however, the public likes Muskrat Falls – but is not so thrilled with its sales force.

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