Liberals commit to Muskrat Falls audit, but say starting one now would be distraction

Newfoundland and Labrador Natural Resources Minister Siobhan Coady says her government wants an inquiry or audit on Muskrat Falls, but now is not the right time.

It's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.- Siobhan Coady

Following Friday's announcement that the current cost estimate of the hydroelectric project has risen to $12.7 billion, former premier Paul Davis took issue with Nalcor CEO Stan Marshall's suggestion that, "intentionally or otherwise," the costs were significantly underestimated.

Davis has called for a investigation to start as soon as possible to get to the bottom of the ballooning costs, something that Coady said is ironic given it was the government Davis worked for that launched the project in th first place.

"Mr. Davis was a premier of this province, he was a cabinet minister at the time," she told the St. John's Morning Show on Monday. "If he didn't know what was happening he should have known what was happening, he could have made the adjustments then. And they also chair the public accounts committee."

'Nothing to hide', says Davis

Davis, the current provincial leader of the opposition, said PCs have "nothing to hide" on the sanctioning of Muskrat Falls, adding the Liberal government's decision not to audit the megaproject is playing politics.

"If there's evidence of wrongdoing," said Davis, "then [Marshall] and Premier Dwight Ball should be more forthcoming."

Premier Ball said Friday that a forensic audit would slow down the project and incur more costs, but Davis said that decision was politically motivated.

Coady backed up Ball, saying the Liberals are committed to an inquiry, adding "it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when". But she said starting one right now would drive electricity rates up even higher and be a distraction as it turns the attention of the whole organization towards the audit.

"What Stan Marshall said last Friday was that the last thing he needs right now is more reports and more reporting," she said. "Because he needs to focus on getting this project completed as efficiently and effectively as possible so it won't further impact cost and schedule."

Coady said they are preserving documentation as they go, so that everything is under control for when the time comes for an audit.

Meanwhile, on Friday Paul Davis said his party welcomes an audit as he others in the PCs did what they felt was in best interest of the province.

"I can tell you I have nothing to hide. We have nothing to hide from the decisions that we made," he said. 

"The decision we made based on the information we provided back in 2012, '13, is quite clear, and if they're going to make some kind of suggestions there's some numbers to the contrary, then they should produce those numbers."