Muskrat Falls oversight committee skips reports, breaches mandate

The minister of natural resources is defending why the Muskrat Falls oversight committee hasn't released quarterly reports, a requirement when the committee was setup three years ago.

The Liberals promised during the last election to "open the books" on Muskrat Falls. But after taking power, the Muskrat Falls oversight committee stopped releasing quarterly reports.

A year and a half later, there hasn't been a report.

• Muskrat Falls oversight committee to provide public updates

SiobhanCoady insiststhere's been public reporting in other ways.

"The oversight committee is one function.We also have the independent engineer issuing reports. Mr. [Nalcor CEO Stan]Marshall has been out there on a regular basis issuing publicly, and talking publicly, about Muskrat Falls and other activities of Nalcor,"Coadytold reporters Tuesday.

"We've beentalking about it, we've been reporting in the legislature, and outside the legislature, all the activities.It's very public."

While it may be public, neither the government nor Nalcor CEO are independent. The independent engineer doesn't report to the province, it was hired by the federal government.

"All these activities add up to ensuring the people of this province know the Muskrat Falls project is on track and is better managed," said Coady.

The Muskrat Falls oversight committee was announced by the PC government in 2014.

"The committee will provide direction to appropriate ministers as required, and provide quarterly updates to the public starting in July on project costs, schedulingand project performance," said then-Minister ofNatural ResourcesDerekDalley.

Too busy to report

Coady said the committee has just been too busy to report publicly.

She said the committee has reviewed the expanded loan guarantee, scrutinized the renegotiating of the agreement with the main contractor Astaldi and ensured recommendations from an EY report for better oversight and governance were followed.

"I'm sure they'll get back on track with reporting," she said.

She didn't explain why she's only now insisting the committee follow its mandate.

'Inexplicable' says opposition

PC MHA Keith Hutchings said the regular reports should have continued from the oversight committee.

"For 17 months we haven't seen any of that, and it's really inexplicable why a government would do that," he said.

"They were going to open the books and the first way to make information available is through those oversight reports and any information they have, and yet they refuse to do it," he said.