The budget for Muskrat Falls may be going up a fair bit, at least if Shawn Skinner is correct.

Skinner had been Newfoundland and Labrador's natural resources minister before losing his seat in last October's general election.

In a panel discussion on CBC's On Point this weekend, Skinner told guest host Jonathan Crowe that he could see the price tag for the Muskrat Falls megaproject rising to as much as $8.5 billion.

"I certainly think the realm of 8 to 8.5 billion would be a reasonable amount to expect," Skinner said.

Muskrat Falls was unveiled in late 2010 with a budget of $6.2 billion, although many critics said they believe the final estimate could actually be twice as much. Skinner doesn't see that happening, but said it's reasonable that preparation work done over the last two years would cause costs to increase.

The issue is the subject for our latest unscientific measure of public opinion. Cast your vote on the options provided.

In the meantime, you can watch this weekend's edition of On Point by clicking on the video above.