Judge rules against single-handed bid to stop Muskrat Falls hydro project

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A provincial Supreme Court judge has ruled against a Newfoundland man’s single-handed bid to stop the $7.7-billion Muskrat Falls hydro project in Labrador.

Judge Gillian Butler says Brad Cabana wholly failed to establish a serious issue to be tried at a later date.

She says Cabana also failed to successfully argue that the project on Labrador’s Churchill River would cause him irreparable harm.

In fact, Butler found that defendant Nalcor Energy, the Crown-owned provincial utility, would be at risk of major losses if construction ceased.

Cabana, a political blogger and small businessman who represented himself, argued various constitutional violations that he said could spell disaster for the project.

He suggested through his social media Twitter account that he intends to appeal Butler’s decision, which imposes unspecified court costs.