Maverick MHA Paul Lane wants auditor general unleashed on Nalcor

Renegade ex-Liberal MHA Paul Lane wants Newfoundland and Labrador's auditor-general to launch a sweeping investigation into Nalcor Energy, the province's Crown energy corporation.

Lane, who broke away from the Liberal caucus in May in protest of the prior month's tax-raising, service-cutting budget, issued a letter challenging Premier Dwight Ball to "do what is required to restore the people's confidence in what is supposed to be a key component of our future success as a province."

Lane who carbon-copied his letter to the "Citizens of N.L." cited a litany of issues involving Nalcor, from massive cost-overruns involving the Muskrat Falls megaproject to the controversial exit package paid to former CEO Ed Martin.

Such an investigation, Lane said, should look at the Nalcor board and management structure, as well as remuneration paid to executives and employees, and all contracts let through the Muskrat Falls project.

Lane also wants the auditorgeneral to look at "the justification as to why bonuses were paid to the Nalcor executive" followingthe report by Liberty Consulting Group that examined what happened when most of the power in the province was knocked out in January2014.

Lane also asked for a review of "all former board members" which would include Finance Minister Cathy Bennett, a former chair of the board, among others"to verify no conflict of interest existedwhile serving on the board."

Lane added that he wanted the review to include "any other related matters" that Ball and the auditorgeneral "feelnecessary to restore the people's faith in the operations of Nalcor."