Toxic Company, Beware

When Albertans first became aware of the priject, some Alberta MLAs initially expressed interest. Energy minister Brian Jean however was not one of them. Minister Jean in a virtual meeting with multiple Northern Alberta municipal councils last spring stated that the province would not stand in the way of the project if the proponents were serious and had the money  to build it but made it clear that the province would not be interested in funding the project with public money.

Minister Jean seems to have a firmer grasp of the nature of this company (SNC Lavalin/Atkins Realis) than some of the more junior MLAs. His tone was mildly mocking when he suggested those municipal officials pursuing economic development get together with industry to raise money for the project. At the going rate for 4 third generation rectors of the capacity advertised would be in the range of 75 billion with a B. That's if all goes well and the incompetence and corruption are not too rampant. The latter would almost certainly be the case.

i was able to corner Alberta opposition leader Nenshi at a conference in Edmonton last spring shortly after the project was announced. I asked him what he thought about the proposal. He initially seemed positive but when asked if he knew who was behind it he confessed that he did not. When I revealed that it was Trudeau's special friends SNC Lavalin he seemed genuinely shocked and stated "I had no idea, I had no idea!" This is the reaction of more than a few Albertans who may initially be receptive of the concept of nuclear power but their enthusiasm quickly evaporates when they hear the acronym SNC.

Very few Canadians want their tax money going to this company but that hasn't stopped the federal liberals from throwing loads of cash their way. Hundreds of millions. If the scheme collapsed tomorrow Wayne and Scott Henuset and their boss SNC Lavalin/Atkins Realis would walk away with a substantial stash of public money. The longer they can keep it going the more they'll pocket. Whatever happens they're covered. Win win for them, not so much for the taxpayer.

i suspect that some of those expressing support for the priject here would be appalled that their federal tax money is already going to SNC and paying for everything related to the project including farm land aquisition. Many if not most Albertans don't know who is behind the project because when the mainstream media reports on it they don't mention the company orchestrating it and how much public money they've been grubbing. This is an important price of info to omit given their sordid history.

Firmer SNC vice president Normand Morin was sentenced to 43 months in jail last year for fraud and forgery charges in a case which also involved 2.3 million in bribes to secure lucrative bridge contracts in Quebec. Once again stealing from the taxpayer. Just one example from a long tsp sheet going back decades. Former prime minister Trudeau fired an honest justice minister (Raybold) so his profiteering friends could retain their place at the public trough. This is the culture of the company looking to engineer Alberta's energy future with your tax money. No thanks.