The Globe and Mail - 13.03.2020

http://www.summerwood.com

[email protected]

(416)498-

Callorvisittogetyourspringprojectingear!

There'sNoPlace

LikeHome

Rightaboutnowseems

likeagreattimeto:

EnjoyNature

EnjoyFamily

EnjoyHome

SAVE20%

onallstyles

&options.

UNTILAPRIL1st!

8’x12’UrbanStudio

10’x10BalaBunkie

12’x16’Oban

A

stronautChrisHadfieldwasn’tthefirstCan-

adian in space (that was Marc Garneau),

but in 2001, he was the first Canadian to

walk in space, and at 5:10 p.m. (ET) on this

day in 2013, he became the first to command the In-

ternational Space Station. NASA astronaut Kevin

Ford officially relinquished control of the orbiting

outpost’s 34th expedition crew, and Hadfield took

charge of the 35th and its six-astronaut crew from

aroundtheworld.Hadfield,whohadbeenontheISS

since Dec. 12, 2012, thanked Ford for giving him “the

keystothefamilycar.”TheCanadianprimeminister

and the Queen both sent regards. Hadfield, 53 at the

time, was an engineer, a former RCAF fighter pilot

and retired Canadian Forces colonel, who had al-

ready flown on two Space Shuttle missions. He was

also a social-media sensation, keeping his half-mil-

lion Earth-bound followers informed with frequent

tweets, music and photos from his $100-billion eye

in the sky. Hadfield was busy on the ISS, operating

Canadarm2 and overseeing experiments, and pop-

ular back home, where his mission generated inter-

est in the ISS and space-based science. He returned

to Earth two months later.PHILIPKING

MARCH13,

CHRISHADFIELD

COMMANDSTHEISS

NASA

A2 OTHEGLOBEANDMAIL | FRIDAY,MARCH13,

MOMENTINTIME

Theconflictamongthe

Wet’suwet’enclansand

subgroupsmayshed

lightonwhytheCoastal

GasLinkdealisn’t

goingasplanned A

Afalsealarmata

nearbynuclearplant

madeChrisPandza

realizejusthowbadly

heneedstomoveoutof

hisparents’house A

Investorsaredefinitely

feelingstressedright

now,butthereare

thingswecandotofind

ourzenuntilthemarket

stormblowsover B

[COLUMNISTS]

FIRST

PERSON

GARY

MASON

OPINION

Danny Williams says he still be-

lieves Muskrat Falls will be good

for Newfoundland and Labrador

in the long run, days after an in-

quiry faultedhis government for

pushing through the “misguid-

ed” project.

A final report from the inquiry

into the $12.7-billion hydro dam

released this week faulted Mr.

Williams’sgovernment for decid-

ing the project would proceed no

matter what, and for failing to ad-

equately oversee the Crown cor-

poration running the project.

Commissioner Richard Le-

Blanc found that after Mr. Wil-

liams was first elected premier in

2003, his Progressive Conserva-

tive government “was deter-

mined to proceed with the devel-

opment of the hydroelectric po-

tential of the lower Churchill Riv-

er and it initiated several

activities to advance this devel-

opment.”

The government “showed that

it had predetermined that the

project would proceed” and

“failed in its duty to ensure that

the best interests of the prov-

ince’s residents were safeguard-

ed,” Mr. LeBlanc wrote.

In a lengthy statement, the for-

mer premier criticized the inqui-

ry report as biased against the

project, calling some of the judg-

e’s conclusions “blatantly incor-

rect.”

Mr. Williams bristled at Mr. Le-

Blanc’s assertion thatgovern-

ment failed in its duty to protect

residents. “To insinuate elected

officials or public servants ever

wilfully jeopardized the well-be-

ingofourcitizensis,frommyper-

spective, deeply offensive,” Mr.

Williams said.

He saidgovernment decisions

were based on good advice and

years of planning, and he defend-

ed former Nalcor Energy chief ex-

ecutive Ed Martin and other staff

as working “honourably” and “in

good faith.”

Mr. LeBlanc faulted Mr. Martin

for misrepresenting the true cost

of the project, which has nearly

doubled since it was approved

and now threatens to cause resi-

dents’ electricity bills to skyrock-

et.

Mr. Williams said while there

are issues with the megaproject,

the hydro development makes

the province “the envy of the

world,” and said people should

stop using it for political purpos-

es.

Mr. LeBlanc was to make rec-

ommendations and share find-

ings, but not make judgments of

criminal or civil liability.

Premier Dwight Ball said Tues-

day that hisgovernment would

refer the report to the police and

the provincial justice depart-

ment.

Mr. Martin issued his own

statement Wednesday, defending

his actions and standing by the

project.

He accused Mr. LeBlanc of

making up his mind before hear-

ing all the evidence and said in an

interview he’s not concerned

aboutthepotentialpoliceinvesti-

gation.

Mr. Williams echoed Mr. Mar-

tin’s tone in his statement, de-

fendingtheprojectandsayinghis

testimony “did not fit the narra-

tive” of the inquiry.

He said Mr. LeBlanc did not

make findings of criminal activ-

ity, fraud or malfeasance because

“it was not there to be found.”

THECANADIANPRESS

FormerN.L.premiercallsMuskratFalls

inquiry’sreport‘blatantlyincorrect’

ST.JOHN’S

Toinsinuateelected

officialsorpublic

servantseverwilfully

jeopardizedthe

well-beingofour

citizensis,frommy

perspective,deeply

offensive.

DANNYWILLIAMS

FORMERPREMIEROF

NEWFOUNDLAND

ANDLABRADOR

ROB

CARRICK

OPINION