Muskrat Falls Constitutional Challenge set to resume this week

Political blogger questions legality of Williams-era legislature

by Miles Howe

K'jipuktuk (HALIFAX) – As the Nova Scotia Utility and Review Board now weighs the pros and cons of the Maritime Link, Brad Cabana, a military captain turned award winning political blogger, is heading back to Newfoundland Supreme Court this week with his constitutional challenge of the Muskrat Falls hydro-electric project.

Representing himself in court, Cabana's challenge is largely based upon the potential illegality of the Newfoundland 'Electrical Power Control Act' and the 'water management agreement', two pieces of legislature pushed forward by former premier Danny Williams. According to Cabana, if the Muskrat Falls dam is built, even on the back of this legislature, it will infringe upon Hydro-Quebec's unimpeded access to the Upper Churchill River, which has already been established in court in a 1984 case.

Cabana's research has unearthed a trove of information and he has come up with a chain of data and theories that link SNC-Lavalin, Williams, Newfoundland Crown corporation Nalcor, Peter Penashue, Nova Scotia's Emera and others, in a world of corporate jostling that would appear to be running headlong into Stephen Harper, Hydro-Quebec and Enbridge's sphere of influence. Potentially caught in the middle of this grudge match are the ratepayers of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland, who stand to foot the bill for the dam and undersea cables.

Click here to hear the complete interview with Brad Cabana.

bar baz