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For years, it’s been conventionally accepted that the only way out of this mess is federal financial aid. And so, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government, having already extended access to more cheap debt to keep the project alive, is stepping up once again.

Having consumers pay for this project could end up tanking the Newfoundland economy

But why now? The timing certainly seems influenced by the provincial government’s urgent hunt for “rate mitigation,” in light of news that power costs will soar next year to 23 cents a kilowatt hour, from 13.5 cents today. Rate mitigation is lingo for finding a way to pay for Muskrat Falls that bypasses customers.

There is a dark irony here. It was domestic and export markets for hydropower that supposedly made Muskrat Falls a worthy investment in the first place. Having consumers pay for this project could end up tanking the Newfoundland economy, which is perhaps the biggest judgment of all on the politicians who advocated it.

So is Ottawa right to step in and, with our tax money and AAA national credit rating, send more good money after bad? Not if it doesn’t force Newfoundland to first reckon with its mistake of taking on Muskrat Falls and its excessive public-sector spending.

A bailout without heavy strings attached would reward a province that ignored credible warnings about the project’s bad economics. That the feds share part of the blame for lending their imprimatur to Muskrat Falls isn’t reason to keep digging a deeper hole.

Photo by Adrian Wyld/The Canadian press

But it’s not just about giving away federal money for irresponsible provincial policy — we must also question who benefits. Sudden steep rate hikes would be a shock, but Newfoundlanders aren’t the only Canadians contending with rising electricity prices. Why should they receive federal subsidies (likely to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars each year) to offset their rates? And why should Nova Scotia, the chief export client for Muskrat Falls, benefit from subsidies at the expense of the national taxpayer?