While we are rich in natural resources - we are poor in knowledge.
This harms us terribly.
Morris (Maurice) Budgell was on with Randy Simms this morning talking about natural resources - developments - giveaways - and then specifically energy. Morris rightly pointed out the success of Iceland through the use of renewable energy. Randy piped in - yeah but that's a totally different situation. Both of them were referring to geo-thermal power.
The implication was that geo-thermal is the main power source for industry and in general in Iceland. This is wrong.
The only difference between Iceland and Newfoundland and Labrador is we have 5 times the installed capacity of hydro-power - and they have intelligent politicians.
These wannabe and current politicians that block the show with absolute rhetoric - are keeping us back - they are retarding our growth - they are ignoring the real issues. Anybody could listen to us and conclude - treating us as second class citizens is okay - alright.
Here are the basic numbers:
Iceland has less that 1400 MW installed capacity.
Newfoundland and Labrador has over 7000 MW installed capacity.
Iceland exports 0% of it's generated power.
Newfoundland and Labrador exports 76% of our generated power.
Iceland uses 65% of what it produces for Industry
Newfoundland and Labrador uses less that 5% for Industry.
Iceland has 3 aluminum smelters with 2 more in various levels of discussion and or development and 2 of the existing smelters have been or are under expansion. 2 of Iceland's smelters when installed used more that 50% of all the energy Iceland produces.
Over 83% of Iceland's energy is hydro-electric with the remainder being geo-thermal.
All power exported by Newfoundland and Labrador is renewable hydro-electric. Of the 24% that we use ourselves a third of that is non-renewable imported diesel and oil.
Iceland is now the per-capita leader in the world of alumina production.
There are no other truths - this is why we are failing and Iceland is succeeding.
Further export of power from Labrador is the last nail in our coffin.
Randy - I hope you read up on this - but you are not employed to do so- nor am I. But the continued ignorance of our paid politicians should not be allowed to continue.
Next post will be on the "Icelandic Clause". You've got to read that one.
22 comments:
Sue - I really am wondering if Newfoundland and Labrador politicians of the past have had our resources developed for their own benefits? Our past politicians certainly aided and abetted the exporting of our resources out of here to other parts of Canada and we have seen the places to which our resources have landed zoom ahead with regards to maintaining and creating economies.
What the hell is going on when politicians oversee such injustices? Should they be brought to justice? Can the people of this province launch a class action law suit against politicians of the past? I see Ches Crosbie has two class action suits in being at the moment. Maybe we can hire Ches Crosbie to do a class action suit on the Upper Churchill Hydroelectricity, the Fish Quotas and Voisey's Bay Nickel Project? Whatever happened with those resources is nothing short of corruption on the part of our politicians, at least that is my opinion?
So when are you going to explain why Ryan has a hate on for you?
Iceland exports 0% of it's generated power.
Does it have a choice?
Where could an island on the mid-Atlantic Ridge export its power to?
WJM - you speak too fast - that's in the works.
WJM - What does Iceland being in the mid-Atlantic Ridge have to do with Sue and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador not wanting to export their province's hydro-electric energy?
So If Iceland can do it in the mid-Atlantic Ridge, and I suspect you are making that statement because you are saying Iceland has no other choice, your statement should be intprepreted very positively for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. So why should the province have to build a multi-billion dollar pipeline to ship the clean hydro-electric energy off to market for other provinces or the United States to maintain their industries and build new ones? We don't need to get into the big costs and environmental liability of having to build a pipe line to get the power to market thousands of kilometers away, let us in-feed the energy from its orign in Labrador to every part of Labrador and create industries there. The Big Land has a lot of space and the clean and wonderful hydro-energy is right on its doorsteps, and of course Labrador is right on the shipping lanes of the Atlantic Ocean. It can manufacture products from that hydro-electric energy and either ship them to North America, Europe or anywhere in the World.
There is alot of truth being told here today.Why isnt there more money going into Labrador for power development for the province.
Because ,every Newfoundlander from here to St Johns would be heading there for a job thats why.Then what is a Prime Minister from Alberta going to tell his residents when he cant get any "Cheep Newfie" labour anymore.
Its all politics.Screw the familys you've hurt.Just keep the machine going right "Steve."
Just another bastard federalist that doesnt give a shit about a bunch of "Newfies"
WJM - What does Iceland being in the mid-Atlantic Ridge have to do with Sue and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador not wanting to export their province's hydro-electric energy?
Everything.
Iceland has no choice: it either uses its electricity within Iceland, or it doesn't get used at all.
NL has choices, being part of the North American continent.
I wonder do you ever read what you are writing? I guess if Newfoundland did not have the choice Labrador would be enjoying the benefits. Just imagine the industry we could attract with 1/2 cent power? That's what Quebec gets it for - and even less.
So your argument is - if only we did not have a choice it would have been used for Labrador. Now there's a thought.
WJM - what do you want done with Labrador power?
Wow! Great stuff Sue and you are so right about our politicians when you said;
"These wannabe and current politicians that block the show with absolute rhetoric - are keeping us back - they are retarding our growth - they are ignoring the real issues. Anybody could listen to us and conclude - treating us as second class citizens is okay - alright."
How can it be explained any other way? Either we always end up with the dumbest politicians in the whole wide world or there are some powerful forces at work pulling their strings. I wonder who or what those forces are, don't you?
I would like to hear you on Randy's show explaining this about Iceland to him, the bare facts of the matter.
Keep up the good work Sue. You are a true asset to our province.
Would that external force pulling on the strings of the Newfoundland and Labrador politicians be Ottawa, given Ottawa's insatiable desire to feed the appetite of the heartland.????????
For the 'commenters':
I honestly believe that the government(s), past and especially present are absolutely NOT interested in having good development in Labrador. It surely does appear they are intent on continuing the old colonistic approach of just taking and selling of raw material out of here. If they can't take it to their island then they would rather sell it off to some other buyer and, grab the money and bring it on home. What? Develop Labrador? It surely does appear they'd rather see their thousands of ambitious, energetic and educated young go off to other places (most will never return)than to put them to work and rationally, intelligently develop Labrador.
Oh, and that brings us to the point of NL vs Iceland. Well, maybe another view would be that Iceland is and island country. Nfld and Labrador is NOT and island, it is just governed by an Island and it seems those who govern cannot see past the water that surrounds them to understand that really really simple fact. Seventy odd percent, at present, seem to support that status quo. Sort of like the island country of Britain and its many continental colonies of times past.
That will never change unless the people demand it, insist upon it. Until then our leaders will play to the polls, their egos and 'stardom'.
We seriously need the vision to build something NEW.
Is it not true that we get the government we deserve. These people are you and I after all. We keep voting the same people full of empty rhetoric. This situation will not change any time soon because there does not seem to be an educated or motivated youth group coming through to totally change the guard. If in the First World War we lost the cream of the crop of our future leaders, then today the same is happening through outmigration. But even if they stayed it would not be enough to simply jump in with the same old political parties.
Bonavista North mourner,I do believe that if there were a nail to hit on the head,I would say that you have hit it .
No it is not an island as I have pointed out many times before. The geographic location of Labrador and Iceland are very comparable and the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador with its population base and economy coupled with resource options is also comparable to Iceland.
As you point out we need vision and there is plenty of it in our people - just not the puppets we elect.
We just don't have the guts of Icelanders.
Yes, Sue, and that is why I addressed my post to 'Commenters'.
Kalvinovich, unfortunatly we here in Labrador do not elect governments, no matter how much we would love to be able to do just that. The remainder of 'the Province' does that no matter what we do.
You know we here (Labrador) don't share the same apparent distrust of Canada, nor do we blame them for our problems. Unfortunately, as was said here what might be lacking is the determination and the intent to change things, first by taking responsibility for the problems (no, not just blame Ottawa) and genuinely look for the best solutions. And yes I believe they'd be found if we first and foremost stopped being St John's centric, then less island centric.
And above all things, as one pointed out that would first be accomplished by not supporting those whose motives are questionable and who lie to us. Because if you lie to some of us, you're still a liar no matter who supports it.
LP here is the problem - I for one am not St. John's centric - however I cannot imagine how I would stop blaming confederation - not Canada for the majority of the mess.
Canada begat the Upper Churchill - the circumstances of a "con"federation primarily aimed at Labrador resources and the fishery.
The federation is designed to fail. Just as you sit there and say we can't elect the government provincially - the province cannot elect the federal government.
We must fix the federal and provincial situation - leaving Canada would be great - and let Labrador name her terms in a new country.
I agree with you Sue Ottawa caused the mess, and I agree with IP as well, but it is the ordinary Jack and Jane from the electorate of Newfoundland and Labrador, who will have to stand up to our politicians both Federally and Provincially and say "Enough is Enough, Not one other Resource will be exported out of Newfoundland and Labrador for development of industry in any other part of Canada or the World"; and the Adjacency Clause should apply as it relates to the resources of any area of the province.
IP - the people of Bonavista North, as do the people of the others areas of the Newfoundland portion of the province will have to take a stand for their perspective area; AND, also, the people of Labrador will have to stand up for their area and make their voices heard LOUD and CLEAR . Our voices must be heard LOUD and CLEAR collectively that the status quo cannot continue to happen with our resources either from Labrador or Newfoundland.We have to look after each other. I have to encourage people from my dying area in Newfoundland to take a stand and you have to encourage people from your area in Labrador to do the same. It appears to me that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians are not catching on to this idea so we will have to provoke them into doing so. There is a big need for that to happen and together in making positive things occur, we will make the province of Newfoundland and Labrador much stronger economically. We have suffered at the hands of Ottawa for far too long.
IP - Please do not think for one moment that with the Upper Churchill Hydro Electric Power Contract that Ottawa had no say into Quebec being the beneficiary of that wonderful energy, nor the Voisey's Bay Nickel where we saw the Nickel Ore going to maintain existing operations in Sudbury, Ontario and Thompson, Manitoba, or the Iron Ore that has been going out of Labrador to create industry in Ontario for all those years. Last year the Labrador Iron Ore Corporation celebrated its 1 (One)Billionth Ton of Iron Ore Extraction. Now that enabled many cars to be manufactured in Ontario.
IP - Have you heard anybody west of Newfoundland and Labrador signing the praises of this province for all the resources that they have gotten out of this province for their economic development? I have to say I have not heard one word but MUM was the word.
The only thing we received was a lot of scorn and hate talk.
I agree Sue, Nfld cannot elect a Federal government BUT there the parallell ends. This province DID IN FACT vote to join Canada at around 51% (around 80 or so percent in Labrador). The first time Labrador was ever given a vote in fact was in the Confederation Referendum. There was never the choice to be part of what is now the province - that was a decision largely made elsewhere. And NOT MATTER WHAT else can be said - we do not now, nor have we had in the past any government of our own to speak for us, as Labrador. So, in fact, there is a huge huge difference. Also, make sure you are under no illusions, Labradorians have been better treated as Canadians since 1949 than they were before that. Absolutely unquestionable.
For bonavista: maybe there was designs or dreams on Grand River/Hamilton River/Mista Shipu power and/or other resources before and/or after Confederation but there is NO WAY it could have been just taken. The Province of Newfoundland did have, and now the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador holds control of those resources. There is no way they can just waltz in here and take it. The Government of this fair place had to sign it away.
Pressure to do so? Unquestionably. But they had a choice... just as Mulroney said.... 'you had a choice'... and like Nancy Reagan suggested (on a different matter, of course) "Just say NO".
Thanks, Sue and that will probably be all from me.
Lloyd
Thanks LP for the input - I am not sure what choice we had - I was not born. There have been many stories about the "choice" we had. Unfortunately with the Upper Churchill St. John's is not beneficiary Quebec is. I support Labrador power for Labrador industry - what I don't get is anybody Island or Labrador wanting to ship it out of province.
That just does not make any sense given the global situation and environmental issues.
And on the pressure to do it in the past - I agree the people (I was 5 years old or so) should have said no. Now that we have people willing to challenge - let's do it right.
Iknow, I know,I said probably my last comment on this subject but anyway....
Regarding shipping the power out of Labrador, or for that matter any resource. You've said you don't understand anyone being in support of shipping our raw resource. A common thought around Labrador is that if it is to be simply taken out with no benefit to Labrador then it matters absolutely zilch where it goes - whether to Nfld or to the the rest of Canada, or anywhere in the world for that matter. In fact simply levying a royalty on anything is the same as being gone as far as Labrador is concerned. That's the part where our resource converts to dollars which we never see a fair share of again (at the hands of the Province).
Now it really is my last word. thanks.
Lloyd
Thanks LP - I appreciate your sentiments - so are people in Labrador going to block the development unless the power is used there?
You know Sue I agree with LP. Our province had the last word in the Upper Churchill Hydroelectricity Energy Project and our province should have turned down the Contract immediately when it saw it didn't have transmission rights across Quebec. OR DID THE PROVINCE HAVE ANY SAY, I AM NOT 100 PER CENT SURE ON THAT MATTER! The province knew that contract would be tied up for 72 years and it should have known that would have been a killer economically for the province, since we would be left in a state of inertia with regard to that particular large block of wonderfully clean energy, especially Labrador with regard to creating industry from an adjacancy resource in Labrador.
Also if our Premier is even contemplating the exporting of the energy from the tentative development of the Lower Churchill Hydroelectricity Energy, that will make the people of this province even more vulnerable to a lack of economies, especially in Labrador.
Can we not learn from the past? What is the matter with us? Are we, the electorate, going to do anything about this? Let us open our mouths all of us, for once in our lives. We need to be vigilant every second until we know what is really going to happen to that resource which every jurisdiction on Earth would love to have on their doorstep! The people of Labrador as well as the Newfoundland section need to have their voices heard.
But Sue really, I do not think our highly adored and capable Premier will ever let that happen. I bet you at this very moment even, he and his staff are looking for industry to come to Labrador to utilize that resource.
Post a Comment