As Sue's Blog has already posted - I support and have supported the Premier regarding his position on Hebron.
Now - unfortunately all positive feelings on the MOU for the development - have been removed and replaced by my feelings of contempt of an individual who believes he is above even his own principles.
When Williams stated that this resource development would not be brought to the floor of the House of Assembly for debate and ratification - he and he alone placed himself squarely in the college of Stephen Harper - Paul Martin - Loyola Hearn - and John Efford. Premier you are now misleading your own people.
During the Voisey's Bay negotiations and subsequent Statement of Principles you stated that such deals must go to the peoples House - whether the deal or good or bad - you felt anybody could miss something and maybe the wisdom of 48 could prevent serious errors or loopholes.
You are now saying that because a deal or MOU is brokered by you - the same should not apply. Not only is this arrogant but it borders really close to a dictatorship (one man rule)mentality.
What I can say now is this - neither you or nor Gerry Reid are sincere when stating resource deals should be brought to the HOA for debate and ratification because neither of you tabled legislation during your tenures to assure this.
I will take Lorraine Michael at her word and therefore she stands as the lone voice of democracy and principles of openness and accountability.
Listening to Paul Oram on VOCM open-line this morning was nauseating as he tried to justify Williams being above all others - therefore the checks and balances of our elected institution should not apply. Paul Oram - as an individual grown man - should really stand back and listen to what he actually said this morning - and try to find where he left his common sense - and rethink hero worship of a human being.
Gerry Reid is no better than Williams - both used the concept of bringing resource deals to the HOA for purely political gains as opposed to doing it because it's right.
It is time that government introduced and passed this legislation to ensure that any leader falsely believing they are above error or scrutiny are put back in their place in a thinking democracy.
If this is how Williams is going to respond to openness and accountability - he should have booked a space at the Basilica or the Cathedral for the announcement.
The voter must now really reflect on what or who they vote for. If you elect Williams now - in great majority - we give him the continued right to rule by decree - and worse carry on with the Lower Churchill development in the same atmosphere as the Upper Churchill fiasco. He should not be permitted to hold himself above everybody else or even more scary - believe he actually is.
These Tory Puppets should think long and hard about supporting let alone praising this stance.
What a sad day - following what should have been a celebratory occurrence for the people and the Province.
The Premier by allowing the closure of the Stephenville Mill - changing his mind on the status of the Metis - and now this refusal to place the MOU before the House of Assembly - is choosing to keep company with the Prime Minister (Steve) right Dan?
20 comments:
Could anybody else in the PC Party negotiate such a deal? What if let's say Mrs.Dunderdale was the premier would we have just seen another give away 16 months ago? Or any of the others in the current government for that matter? While most of us are elated at the deal Mr.Williams has struck it is just a little unsettling that there is most likely nobody in his party, or any other party of this generation, that would have prevented yet one more giveaway. We hear so much about the Danny Williams Team. But is there really a team? Team or no team Mr.Williams has done something other than hopefully secure an economic future for the next generation. He will become an example for our youth of how they must do things for Newfoundland and Labrador. BUT only if he brings this to the legislature. He has an amazing opportunity to change the way the next generations will think about their home. Mr.Williams please do the right thing. I hope the youth do learn that they really can be 'masters of their own house'. Of course this all depends if they are tuned in and their 'teachers' will instill it in them.
"What a sad day - following what should have been a celebratory occurrence for the people and the Province."
Kathy Dunderedale's passionate defense notwithstanding, how painfully true!!
Once again the pontiff has donned his frock;
Deigned to speak down to his worshipping flock.
What can we do,
When there are so few,
Not caught in the thrall of that strutting cock.
Still we must give our bishop his due,
For wanting the best for we folk in the pew.
But we can have no say,
It must be his way,
Else we remain stuck in our souring stew.
And there is the blemish that won't permit,
The kind of rejoicing that would befit,
A victory wrought
In a fight well fought ,
With the devils so used to giving us shit.
Lloyd C. Rees
You made your points......now what do you suggest we do about it?
I'd like to hear a plan on how the electorate can influence a decision to bring this issue to the HOA.
Seven weeks to the polls is not enough time to influence within........what do you suggest? Blog entries and chats to VOCM will come across as whinning....
Having the NDP take the charge, would be a joke
What's next??
call me a skeptic but there sure is something unsettling about 'Danny' not wanting to make public his glorious MOU. i truly hope this is as good a deal as is been touted by williams and his flock. i really want to believe that he really has everything he wanted 18 months ago when talks broke off. but i cant help thinking something is 'rotten' underneath it all. the huge oil companies just buckled and gave williams everything he asked for and he gave them nothing in return? sounds too good to be true and you know the old cliche, if it sounds too good to be true.......
quote: "...changing his mind on the status of the Metis...'unquote!
Are you so sure he changed his mind on the status of the Metis? Or did the desperate fight for the Melville seat require desperate measures?
That's also sort of like saying Harper changed his mind on the equalization question - WITH ONE MAJOR DIFFERENCE - Williams made a promise he could have, and in fact still can keep (if honour is worth anything these days). Harper made a promise where he needed to have the majority of premiers onside in order to keep (in other words, very likely he couldn't keep and probably should have known he couldn't keep).
thanks,
Lloyd
1) Actually, as a federal program, Harper didn't, and doesn't, need the approval of any Premier to change equalization.
2) Danny Williams, technically, kept his promise on the Labrador Metis. He said that the Powley decision applies to all the Metis in Labrador. It's just that, by his reckoning, the number of Metis in Labrador is zero! Oh that Danny, he's such a clever liar! I mean, lawyer!
Don't people realize there is a good chance he is not allowed to talk about the deal yet. Most of these deals come with confidentiality agreements that extend for a certain time until the official document is prepared which will definitely take a while since lawyers are involved. I'd say he is hiding nothing, just trying to prevent getting sued.
"Danny' not wanting to make public his glorious MOU." - Sue ,i really hope that you can and will back me up on this.I've said it a hundred times befor this day and yesterday.I am not a Danny Williams supportter and never have been.
That MOU,cannot be opened because it is a Legal binding agreement held between two or more partys.Thats no line thats just plain common knowledge.Look over and listemn to what he has gotten out of the deal.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070821.whebron0821/BNStory/National/home
Im sorry ,but some here should use what resources they have to relise that this deal is world re-nowned.Plain and simple,the man can walk the walk,as well as talk the talk.
After announcing the Hebron project Wednesday, Williams told reporters that soon, Newfoundland and Labrador will have more work than people to do it.
"There's more work here possibly than we can accommodate, quite frankly," Williams said.
He added that there will be more fabrication work with the Hebron project than there was with the White Rose oilfield project.
He said that the question now is making sure construction yards in the province are available to do the work. If there isn't a large enough workforce, then workers will be brought in from other parts of Canada and the world.
- I really dont want to start becoming a Fan ,but,I think that its time to buy a Lot of Property back Home.This is for all you ex-pats out there that read the Blog!!!!WATCH OUT!!!!
Thanks WJM and of course technically he can, and did, unilaterally change the equalization scheme but for sure if he changed it to NO ONE's satisfaction he would have probably created even more political opposition from more populous provinces than he has if he had upset say Ontario, Alberta, BC?
I agree he clearly has no use for such a small voting group as the Metis (at least not this time around). I believe that at the time the promises were made, the Metis could have made that small, critical difference in the Melville vote? And I believe Clyde Wells was the first premier who said there are no Metis in Labrador.
thanks,
Lloyd
Oh that Danny, he's such a clever liar! I mean, lawyer!
August 23, 2007 8:53 PM - Sue ,this is what makes us as Newfoundlanders and Labradorians around the world look like a bunch of whiney ,thumbsucking ,complaining whiners.
For the love of God Guys ,I dont thik that anyone here relises what this man has accomplished.This deal will influence Deals not just in Canada ,but around the world.And,all we can do is say s%$#@ and do nothing but bitch about how the deal got done.
OH, Danny Williams didnt shack my hand at the last Campaign stop in Trout Cove.
I would just like to point out Sue ,that this is were some people would say that we as a nation have a culture of defeat.For the Love of God Folks,this is a great day in our History.It doesnt mean that we have to take fifty steps back-wards.It just proves our point even more.
That if it were not for canada ,how great would our province be.And ,Sue ,while Im at it,I have a question for WJM.
It has been stated here on this Blog and others .According to some of your rants ,WJM,that if not for Ottawa ,there would be no Trans-Labrador Highway.
Ottawa makes 1 Million a day from Hibernia,how much Highway did the feds build last year in the Big-Land.Excactly my point is made.Off of Hebron we are giving Canada ,7-8 Billion Dollars.How much highway is there.
Why not state the truth and turn your attention to the real issuses guys and stop killing our own.Lets look at the thief that slips in thru the back door and quitely leaves.In other words WJM,clean-up your own back yard buddy befor you bitch about mine.If this was gerry reid i would be stating the same.
We as a Province are going to need thease incomes when this country does fall apart.look at the bigger scheme of things folks.We are still going to need all this cash when we become our own state.
The final announcement today of the brutal dispatching of FPI sure takes the shine off Danny's Hebron MOU. I wonder what portion of the $300 million money grab will be returned to its rightful owners, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador???
Lloyd C. Rees
Calvin, I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean that it's NOT alright for Harper to make and break promises to you but that it is alright for your leader to make and break promises to Labradorians, including Metis? Isn't a broken promise a broken promise, no matter to whom it is made? Does honour and principle mean anything?
Lloyd
Lp said...
"Calvin, I'm not sure what you mean. Do you mean that it's NOT alright for Harper to make and break promises to you but that it is alright for your leader to make and break promises to Labradorians, including Metis"
To be honest Lp ,I havent read the whole story on that matter.I can only comment on what I am aware of and I havent read anything on this story to be truthful.But ,I can say that "NO" I dont agree with any politician breaking promises to any ctizen of our province.And if such promise is broken then the people know what to do in the next election.
Personally I was hoping that the people of Labrador would have been smarter on the last By-election and would have elected members from the Labrador Party.Thats Provincal and Federal.The Labrador is being rapped by the Federal Government and it seems to me that it is being done by Provincal Politicans that want to gain favour with Ottawa.There if you want the Meat and Potatoes of the situation there you go.What has made me such a strong Nationalist is how Labrador is treated in this Federation.
Some in Labrador would say that its all because of St Johns.But,if you want the truth of the matter guys your being used to keep Ontario and Quebec going.
While this is happening your getting drunk ,on your own Kool-Aid,about St Johns.Getting angery at the Island Portion of the Province,while Ottawa laughs at the Provincal Governement for taking the flack.
Does labrador have the right to be so Angery ,"Damb Right You Do",but just a little hint guys.Your shouting at the wrong people if you ask me.Dont trun east and yell ,I think you should point your anger west,towards Ottawa.
Alot of folks here bitch about Williams ,and praise Ottawa .But the truth is Williams is treating labrador like Ottawa treats The Province as a whole.So you praise Ottawa for being so good to you,mean while, all they are doing is giving you the scraps from your own table.
1)Joey Smallwood - Liberial - The Biggest giveaway in the Provinces History.
2)Brain Tobin - Liberial - Voisey's Bay.Yet another giveaway.
Do I have to keep this going.Well guys ,what has our short love fest with canada shown you.There you go .Keep sending all those fresh happy faces to Ottawa so we can all be friendly Happy Canadains.But ,on the same hand if labrador thinks for a minute that being cozy and warm to Canada is going to make the situation better ,by all means ,do it yourself.Go and see what closer ties to Quebec and Canada is going to give you.
LOL,some people jusy have to learn the hardway.
Well, if you believe in the things you say you want for Labrador, why don't you read the whole story. While you're at it why not bone up on all the history. I can tell you that Labradorians really really are certain they became better off with Canada, both in the past and now. Almost all of our infrastructure in the form of roads (the few that there are), airports, port facilities, even some schools came from Ottawa money while our resource dollar was being taken away, with no return, by the province. So, if you are not aware of the Metis situation, I doubt that you are aware of any of those other things either. Take some time, find out the history and so on. And no, my son, Ottawa just can't waltz in here and remove stuff for the benefit of other Canadians without the full consent and assistance of this Provincial government. All those resources you talk about are under the control of the Province. Yes, Ottawa is far from perfect but they are not at the root of the problems here in Labrador.
Oh, and the Labrador Party was formed awhile back to address exactly that kind of sentiment and it is strictly a Provincial party and apparently has no Federal intentions whatsoever.
Metis and other things;
A copy of the Williams letter to the Metis was hand delivered to The Labrador Party HQ and placed in my hand by a member of the Conservative Party campaign team in Goose Bay during the last election, so you can be sure it had pretty strong election purpose!
Dear Calvin-
Closer ties to Quebec and Canada cannot be any worse than having resources controlled and decided on by any other outside interest. Those resources are gone out of Labrador at no benefit to Labrador regardless of who's doing the taking. My point is...it couldn't be any worse than it now is. Labradorians don't even get the choice on whether they share or not. We've already learned the hard way by being part of this province, and even that affiliation wasn't our choice to begin with! We are presently being raped by the provincial government in spite of the help that Ottawa would try to impart. Our 'provincial' government not only gets to decide when and how much of Ottawa's 'gifts' we get but IF we get any at all - after the money has been placed in provincial 'trust'. Why do you think Rideout jumped up and down in excitement over the prospect of more transportation money for Labrador? Is it because he likes us? Or was it because some of that Labrador transportation money was spent in his riding of Lewisporte? The province not only witholds from us provincially but robs our federal help...
"So, if you are not aware of the Metis situation, I doubt that you are aware of any of those other things either." - OK so now that you have put me in a category and have me labeled because Im off topic on one situation dealing with the province.Its OK that you have someone other then St Johns to be angery with.
You talk about resources being stolen and no money to build infastructure ,Its St Johns thats at Fault.Well,I have to ask you this Lp.Where do you think that the money is supposed to come from when your living in a resource based economy like Newfoundland and Labrador.
"Almost all of our infrastructure in the form of roads (the few that there are), airports, port facilities, even some schools came from Ottawa money while our resource dollar was being taken away, with no return, by the province." - "You have the Be-Jesus Confused Outta Me" my friend.Your Contradicting yourself to the point that its making me confused.Of course your infastructure money should come from Ottawa .Who else is getting anymoney from that part of the province,except Ottawa.
I really think that you should open your mind to what most people are saying here."The Province" wants control over its resources.The last time I looked ,Labrador was part of the Provincve.And ,this is were I get confused again.We seem to agree that Ottawa is doing the right thing by giving you money for your infastructure,and that Ottawa is all-knowing and Blissfull,so why are you angery when we play by thier rules in regards to representation in Governement and money being spent.You blame St Johns for not giving you a say in the way that thease moneys are spent ,yet the rest of the province has to use thier money to get the Lower ChurchHill going.For the benefit of who,Labrador.
Hebron is goin to pay for that"NOT OTTAWA."
Why dont you ask WJM,why we had to give 7-8 Billion to Canada in regards to Hebron.You wonder why we have no money to develop the Labrador anymore.I have a question,how much did Quebec get from the ChurchHill last year and why didnt Ottawa give Labrador that much for infstructure.
You have my mind in a tail spin.I just dont understand your mentality.Sorry ,maybe I dont understand what point you are trying to make here.That Im ignorant to Labrador becuase Im a Nationalist.
Stick with your Love fest Guys,the last 58 years hasnt proven anything to you.But learn to read were the cheque is cashed bud befor you point your finger at a Supposedly False Prophet.
PS, .....Lp.In regards to Newfoundlad and labrador "History" what would you like to know ,or if I can please feel free to ask for the lend of a Good Book."My Library" only has a couple hundred books.I will see if I can get eBooks to mail to you if you would like .
http://www.rattlingbooks.com/ - this store isnt to bad and they do ship in the Province as well as out of it.
GOD BLESS Newfoundland ,and "LABRADOR"
"Better our kids move to St. John’s than Fort McMurray, I suppose." - Better mine should have moved to the labrador then to Ontario.Complain all you want.
I agree he clearly has no use for such a small voting group as the Metis (at least not this time around). I believe that at the time the promises were made, the Metis could have made that small, critical difference in the Melville vote?
And can, yet again, too, given the numbers...
And I believe Clyde Wells was the first premier who said there are no Metis in Labrador.
Yip.
Clyde Wells - Liberial - Another failure as Premier.What was it Again that he Actually Accomplished for the betterment of his people.Im confused,could Anybody reading this Blog answer that question for me ,Please.!!!!
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