Muskrat Falls symbolic of 'being owned,' Labrador activist tells inquiry

It was another day of criticism for Muskrat Falls at the commission ofinquiry, with the environmental assessment process described as a sham and complaints that mitigation measures have yet to materialize.

The harsh words came from a spokesperson for two Labrador groups that have long fought against the hydro development.

"We believed that given the knowledge and known significant and detrimental impacts that the project would have on the river, its ecosystem and local residents, that such a project could never be sanctioned," Happy Valley-Goose Bay resident Roberta Benefiel told the public inquiry during hearings in St. John's Wednesday.

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Benefielwas testifying on behalf of the Grand Riverkeepersgroup and the Labrador Land Protectors, both of which have fought against the project.

She described the environmental assessment process, which featured a joint federal-provincial assessment process,as an illusion.

With the project costs soaring from an original all-in estimate of $6.2 billion in 2010 to $12.7 billion as of last year, Benefielquestioned whether Nalcorcan afford to implement mitigation measures, includingrecreatingthe fish habitat that will be lost by damming the lower Churchill River.

Methylmercurycontamination fears

"How is Nalcor going to be able to afford to do the mitigation measures they said they're going to do?" she asked.

Benefiel also referenced the effectthe projects is having on an already threatened caribou population in Labrador.

But most importantly, she said, concerns aboutmethylmercurycontamination downstream of Muskrat Falls have yet to be addressed.

"I don't know if they ever will be," Benefiel said, adding, "We never felt that our concerns were taken seriously. Ever."

Politics andjobstrumped nature

She said residents continue to live in fear of a dam break, especially those residing in Mud Lake.

"When the project is completed, the waters of GrandRiverkeeperwill be contaminated withmethylmercury. Traditional trapping and portage routes will be submerged, winter travel will be more perilous, people downstream will live in fear.And the failure of the North Spur and the fish, waterfowl, sea mammals and fauna that relied on the Grand River will be displaced, depleted or extinct," saidBenefiel, whorefers to the Churchill River by its former name, the Grand River.

We believed that given the knowledge and known significant and detrimental impacts ... that such a project could never be sanctioned.- Roberta Benefiel

Benefiel said Muskrat Falls is symbolic of a long history of mistreatment of Labrador, and its resources.

"It's difficult for people who don't live in Labrador to understand how we feel," she said."It's how we feel about being owned."

"In our view, provincial and federal politicians have sacrificed sustainability of the province's natural capital in exchange for short-term political gains and short-term jobs."

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