Natural Resources Minister Jerome Kennedy says the Public Utilities Board will no longer play a role in Muskrat Falls.

Kennedy and Nalcor CEO Ed Martin are the featured guests on this week's edition of On Point with David Cochrane, which airs Saturday evening.

During the show, Kennedy says the provincial government has "no confidence" in the P.U.B.

"The way they dealt with it, in my mind, was an abdication of responsibility," said Kennedy. "The premier has clearly indicated that they had their chance, they offered no assistance, they chose not to."

"We're not going back."

When pushed by Cochrane as to why the PCs would leave the government-appointed commissioners in place when the administration no longer has confidence in them, Kennedy said the board still has other duties to fulfill.

"There's rates issues there that they can deal with," said Kennedy, "but when it comes to the issue of Muskrat Falls, no, we're not going back there."

Opposition reacts

Meanwhile, Liberal MHA Yvonne Jones says if the government has no confidence in the Public Utilities Board on such a critical issue, the entire board must go.

"I think it's disgusting when government makes political patronage appointments, and put people in positions that are incapable, and then they come out and say they're incapable of doing their job," charged Jones.

"If they're incapable of doing this, they should be removed from the process altogether and put some people there who can do the job."

Jones notes the government credited the P.U.B. with recommending an assessment of Muskrat Falls by Manitoba Hydro — but now doesn't have enough faith in the board to even review the reports.