On Muskrat, Crosbie should know there's a difference between blame and accountability
The verdict of history may not yet be written, but early drafts are coming in
Trumpeting his "it's-time-for-change" campaign, PC Leader Ches Crosbie may be "a new broom" but he's missing a few bristles. At least when it comes to Muskrat Falls.
During the televised leaders' debate, when Liberal Leader Dwight Ball pressed Crosbie on the widely perceived financial disaster Muskrat Falls megaproject has come to embody, Crosbie — always the lawyer — said: "The verdict of history is not in yet."
How about some facts for Crosbie's figmental jury:
- The $12.5-billion price tag is twice the estimated cost.
- Payments on the money borrowed to fund it are $1.5 million per day.
- We've amortized to pay this off over 50 years.
- When it was unveiled in 2010, Muskrat Falls was supposed to generate first power by 2016; it has yet to produce a single spark.
Let's allow Crosbie's court a brief recess so we can recap Muskrat evidence that's before a real judge, namely Justice Richard LeBlanc, the man with the gavel at the Muskrat Falls inquiry.
There's sworn testimony about the secrecy and mystery of ballooning costs from leading Tories.
What they knew then, and now
History must surely consider these witnesses as it ponders a verdict:
"Anything that increased the cost of Muskrat Falls… is something we should have been aware of." — Jerome Kennedy, former Natural Resources Minister Dec. 2, 2018.
"We relied heavily on the work [Nalcor was] doing… We relied heavily on their facts and their work, believing we were on the same side." — Derrick Dalley, former Natural Resources Minister, Feb 27, 2019.
"I don't remember getting that information...The question is, did somebody else give it to me? And I don't recall it. I can only remember what I remember." — Tom Marshall, former finance minister, April 1, 2019.
"If they had said, 'This thing is going to be years late and it is going to cost billions of dollars more than the estimate,' I can guarantee you, sir, there would be no Muskrat Falls with my name on it. There's no joy in having a failed project to your name." Former premier Kathy Dunderdale, Dec. 18, 2018.
"It's obviously different information than I had known. I was trying to reconcile it. I was surprised by it. And it's the first I knew of it." — Former premier Paul Davis, Feb. 26, 2019.
During the debate, Crosbie asserted that people in the province are tired of what he called "the blame game."
Did you miss the televised leaders' debate? Here it is, in full
But there is an important distinction between "blame" and "accountability." To be accountable is to be responsible and answerable for actions and decisions.
Coulda, shoulda, wishda
Tory after Tory after Tory has, under oath, essentially testified they coulda, shoulda, wishda known more.
To be fair, some Progressive Conservative politicians have expressed regret, but not a single one of them has come forward to own the Muskrat debacle — or to offer any insight into how or why they failed to properly monitor and manage their legacy project.
As leader of the party that bestowed the catastrophe, perhaps Crosbie's decision to await history — and resist calls from Dwight Ball (and certain journalists) to consider apologizing for it — is about survival. [Crosbie did land a jab in the debate when he pointed out that Dwight Ball was an early Muskrat supporter who converted to the camp of critics.]
His current electoral battle versus the Liberals is a fight on a single front. Any hint or admission from the leader that something went seriously wrong with Muskrat Falls risks much more dangerous combat on a second front within his own party, where there remain loyalists to a former political general and a star witness at the inquiry:
"This is something to be very proud of." — Former premier Danny Williams, Oct. 1, 2018.
Perhaps Crosbie understands a truth about Muskrat that the rest of us don't: Abacus Data's poll last week indicated the megaproject doesn't even rank in the top three issues in the minds of voters.
Crosbie's entreaty to await "the verdict of history" eloquently bypasses accountability with more elan than other top-shelf Tories.
But by the time history renders its verdict, all of the players — and most of the rest of us — will be dead.
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