Premier Wakeham has failed to address pressing questions about political influence regarding the Churchill Falls MOU.
During Question Period on May 5th, the Official Opposition questioned Premier Wakeham’s quiet hiring of a Danny Williams-era politician to advise him on the Churchill Falls MOU. It was only after being pressed by local media that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians learned Jerome Kennedy, a former Premier Danny Williams’ Cabinet Minister, had been hired back in January.
Premier Wakeham secretly hired Kennedy four months ago, then said this week that Kennedy was on the negotiating team that started work just two weeks ago, and then on Thursday Wakeham said that “first thing we’ve got to do is yes, we’ve got to turn around and get a negotiating team in place”.
The timelines don’t add up, and Wakeham has refused to disclose Kennedy’s compensation and his mandate. Kennedy was not a member of the so-called independent review committee, and negotiations have been stalled since September. So what exactly has he been paid to do over the last four months?
Beyond the secrecy surrounding his appointment, his record on hydroelectricity projects and close ties to Muskrat Falls architect Danny Williams raise even more questions. Kennedy infamously predicted “Muskrat Falls will pay for itself”, but it ended up costing Newfoundlanders and Labradorians billions of dollars in cost overruns and rate mitigation.
Premier Wakeham’s habit of flip-flopping appears to be learned behaviour. Last month, former Premier, and major PC donor, Danny Williams said “it’s probably the single biggest achievement I’ve had since I’ve been in politics, which was stopping that MOU.” This week, he reversed course saying “I didn’t kill the MOU.” When asked which version was true, Premier Wakeham refused to answer.
Every week, this government lowers the bar for accountability and transparency.
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