Law protecting Nalcor contractor salary secrets will change, Dwight Ball says

Premier Dwight Ball says his government will move to increase transparency at Nalcor Energy, in the wake of a report by the province's information and privacy commissioner.

"This is a Crown corporation; this is public funds," Ball told reporters outside the House of Assembly on Wednesday.

"And I think the people of this province would have a right to know they have a right to know how their money is being spent."

• Law keeps Muskrat Falls contractor pay secret
• EXTERNAL LINK | Read the full report by information and privacy commissioner Donovan Molloy

In a report released earlier that day, open-records watchdog Donovan Molloy found that the law governing Nalcor overrides access-to-information legislation, putting the pay details for Muskrat Falls contractors off-limits to the public.

Ball said that needs to change.

"Of course, we want to see the similar rules that apply to government, that they would apply to corporations like Nalcor," the premier said.

He indicated that amendments could come before the legislature soon.

"We want to get this done as quickly as possible," Ball said.

"I would anticipate that this is something that we could get in place for the spring sitting. But I can't make that commitment right now, until we get more details on the information that's required."

'Bound by the legislation'

Nalcor declined comment on the commissioner's report, saying it had nothing to add to the response it provided to initial access-to-information requests about contractor compensation.

Earlier this year, CBC News and the Telegram had filed separate requests asking for information on payments made to contractors on the $12.7-billion Muskrat Falls project. The project is years behind schedule, billions over budget and Newfoundland and Labrador taxpayers are on the hook.

Two months ago, Nalcor CEO Stan Marshall told CBC News that the use of embedded contractors is common for projects like this one, with many of those workers in specialized fields like engineering or construction and project management.

• IN DEPTH | Pay packets and privacy: Why Nalcor says contractor compensation at Muskrat Falls is off limits

Marshall stressed that the law, as currently written, required him to reject access-to-information requests on how much they are paid.

"It's not that I don't want to release some of this information," he told CBC News in an interview at the time.

"If it was up to me, I'd release it. But I'm bound by the legislation."