For all the concern lots of people have had about this issue, it was never really a show-stopper for the Muskrat Falls project. As it is, Nalcor has taken measures to reduce the amount of water in the clay, thereby limiting the potential for landslides. In the worst case, Nalcor would have just extended a conventional concrete dam across the same span. That would have driven up the cost of the project, but since the government is already committed to finishing the project at any cost that was nothing to worry about.
Natural resources minister Siobhan Coady has been in the witness protection program for months. The most folks have heard from her is the odd statement issued by her office. A staunch and unquestioning supporter of the Muskrat mess from the beginning, Coady issued a statement about Gordon's change of opinion Thursday evening.
Coady's comments come across like a "told-ya-so" from one of the last die-hard boosters of the boondoggle. There's basically Danny Williams, Ed Martin, the rest of the Tory party... and Siobhan Coady. That's probably why her statement sounded like the sort of politically tone-deaf statement made famous by her predecessor Kathy Dunderdale, another unflinching charter member of the Muskrateer's Club.
Coady should save her energy for 2019 when she has to face voters' wrath for the insanely and needlessly high electricity bills Coady's project will bring.
-srbp-