Tory questions motives of lawyer from group against Muskrat Falls

Tory MHA Steve Kent is questioning the motives of one member of a group of lawyers who came out this week against Muskrat Falls. Speaking on CBC Television's program On Point, Kent said Cabot Martin may have his own self-interested reasons for opposing the hydro-electric project.

"In the case of Mr. Martin, He certainly is a big proponent of natural gas. For a while he was a proponent of Muskrat Falls. Something must have happened. He's certainly pushing the natural gas interests, perhaps it's because of his own business interests, I don't know, said Kent, who made similar comments on Twitter.

"I believe one of the #5lawyers seems to know a lot about natural gas....," he tweeted Friday morning.

Martin was a policy advisor to premier Brian Peckford, and is one of five outspoken and high-profile lawyers who teamed up and formed a company to protest the Muskrat Falls. The company is called 2041 Energy Incorporated.

The lawyers come from a variety of political backgrounds, and said they don't like the way Muskrat Falls is being pushed forward. They want the province to examine other energy alternatives, including natural gas, smaller dams and energy conservation.

MHAs want apology

Also on this week's episode of On Point, two MHAs called on Kent to apologize for his comments.

"You should apologize to Cabot Martin for the comments you made on Twitter, because this is not about Cabot Martin, said Liberal MHA Eddie Joyce."This is about an expert who's bringing information forward," he added.

"Those are serious accusations," said NDP MHA Gerry Rogers.