Media reports, political comments, and pundit opinions are wrong about the decision last week by the Quebec Court of Appeal in a case about the renewal clause of the 1969 Power Contract between Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation and Hydro-Quebec. The Court decision leaves Hydro-Quebec with virtually all of the electricity
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The Sir Robert Bond Papers: Plain English , Disclosure, and Bad Public Policy #nlpoli #cdnpoli
Right off the start, let’s affirm that Nalcor was created by an administration that was, from the time it took office, notorious for its efforts to flout the law in order to keep information secret. Polling information was the first sign of the problem bit wasn’t the last example. There
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Ball, Coady confirm secret talks with Quebec on Labrador hydro #nlpoli #cdnpoli
Premier Dwight Ball confirmed in the House of Assembly on Wednesday that officials from this province are talking to officials in Quebec about significant development of hydro-electric assets on the Churchill River. We know that something very serious is going on – in secret – because of the way that
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The development of our country #nlpoli
Today, the development of Churchill Falls is popularly perceived as a failure. Newfoundland is portrayed as the victim of a shrewd and untrustworthy lot in Quebec. They hoodwinked Joe Smallwood, the Liberal premier of Newfoundland at …
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: CF(L)Co v. Hydro-Quebec (Court of Appeal) #nlpoli
The full text of the Quebec Court of Appeal decision in Churchill Falls (Labrador) Corporation v. Hydro-Quebec: pdf-srbp-
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: What’s next for Nalco? #nlpoli
Just so that everyone is clear on this, it has taken Dwight Ball every single day from May 23 until June 2 to admit that he knew Ed Martin had received a severance payment on his departure from Nalcor despite the fact that Martin has supposedly resigne…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Offense and Defense #nlpoli
If you’re not on offense, you are on defense.And in politics, if you are on defense, you are losing.The Liberals wound up on the defensive yet again Wednesday with the resignation of Ed Martin and the entire Nalcor board.To be sure, Williams-era appoin…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Actions and words #nlpoli
The provincial cabinet has known since January – at least – that the powerhouse at Muskrat Falls is only 15% completed despite a huge payout to the contractor.That’s what Nalcor reported to the committee of provincial bureaucrats named by the Conservat…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Old whine still sour #nlpoli
“I’m concerned that we have an aging asset,” natural resources minister Siobhan Coady Siobhan Coady told CBC in explaining the most recent break downs at the Holyrood generating station.About two years ago, in the midst of darknl, then-Pr…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Hyping the stock, yet again #nlpoli
Any oil company seriously interested in bidding on an exploration license offshore Newfoundland and Labrador isn’t likely to need the hyped presentation by the provincial government Thursday. Exploring offshore is expensive. Always has been. Always will be. Exploring beyond the 200 mile exclusive economic zone, in upwards of two kilometres
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Line They Didn’t Need #nlpoli
For some time now, Nalcor has needed an extra line from Bay d’Espoir to increase the capacity across the Isthmus of Avalon. They just kept finding excuses not to install it. In January 2014, Nalcor chief executive Ed Martin told CBC’s Ted Blades that the line would be the most
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Reality check for the Ontarians, please #nlpoli
If nothing else, media coverage about energy talks between Ontario and Newfoundland and Labrador shows just how much people don’t know about what is going on in the country. Not a crowd for half measures, the National Post ran a story on Monday morning that was rife with basic factual
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: That’s gotta suck, big time #nlpoli
All the country’s provincial and territorial leaders – except for Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia – are in Newfoundland and Labrador this week for their annual conference. What an opportunity for Paul Davis in an election year. He gets to show himself off looking all leader-like and premieral or whatever the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Confidence Builder #nlpoli
The public utilities board asked Liberty Consulting to review Hydro’s decisions in 11 projects. Hydro is looking for a rate increase. The board wanted to make sure the increase was justified. Of the 11 projects, the consultant found: “Liberty found Hydro’s decisions and actions imprudent in seven of the eleven
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Jewel in the Crown #nlpoli
If you are a Newfoundland politics junkie who hasn’t been reading Uncle Gnarley, then you’ve been missing out. You can fix that by reading the latest offering from Gnarley – a.k.a. Des Sullivan – about Nalcor and the idea of having bureaucrats play at being entrepreneurs. While you’re at it,
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Nalcor promising Boston cheap electricity courtesy of NL taxpayers #nlpoli
Muskrat Falls is over budget, big time. The latest estimate is $7.4 billion and climbing on a project stat was forecast at $5.0 billion just four years ago. The project will wind up behind schedule, most likely. There’s a good chance Nalcor won’t have enough control over water flows on
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Nalcor following wrong energy path #nlpoli
Think back to last December. A couple of Nalcor guys bragged about the company’s strategy of importing electricity when they needed during the months when prices were low and then exporting our own electricity when electricity prices were high. Brilliant idea. It worked for Hydro-Quebec for most of the past
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Sound of Silence #nlpoli
With all the talk the past couple of days about the relationship between the provincial government and the provincial energy corporation, it might be a useful time to ask a fairly simple question: What does Nalcor do? Might seem like such an obvious question that it you are laughing, but
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Confidence Campaign #nlpoli #darknl
The provincial government started its campaign to gain control of the political agenda on Thursday with its announcement that it would appoint someone to do something sometime in the future. The conventional media outlets didn’t report Premier Kathy Dunderdale’s announcement that way. The Telegram, for example, called it an “independent”
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Crises within crises #nlpoli
The action of the Soviet Union, Winston Churchill once said, “is a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” Some people in Newfoundland and Labrador likely felt that way after Day Three of Kathy Dunderdale’s one woman crusade to deny that the province is experiencing a crisis. Most people
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