Willderdale Government and Sensational Distractions

Russell Wangersky continues his justified written assault on "tobacco gate" today in the Telegram. He stirs up more questions and comparisons that causes one - who wants to believe in the Willderdale government - to necessarily plug their nose and ears and place a blindfold over their eyes.

Several media outlets have continued to semi-probe the Matthews appointment to the CNLOPB - leaving PC supporters including Ministers like Shawn Skinner to come up with ridiculous excuses to justify the move. Pass out those plugs and blindfolds again.

Since Williams resigned unexpectedly and hurriedly almost immediately after a proposed deal was cut with a publicly traded company (Emera) to develop Muskrat Falls - bits and pieces of sensationalism have cropped up - almost on a weekly basis.

1. The Cabana Fiasco - kept the media hopping for weeks as if somebody really relevant had stepped forward. (That has nothing to do with Brad's CFA status - rather the fact that he is a rookie relative to Newfoundland and Labrador affairs). A guaranteed pass apparently into the "new" Liberals club.

2. The Dumeresque Enlightenment on the resale of Upper Churchill power - pointing an already complicit finger at the PC's - while he himself was involved with a) the attempted privatization b) responsible for a deal that made the already inept Churchill Falls deal with Hydro-Quebec even worse.

3. The almost "pee in one's pants" return of the great one as he inserted himself hypocritically into the Humber West by-election.

4. The awarding of the tobacco lawsuit to Danny's former and maybe current business buddies and former partners in his old law firm - including the Phoenix rising from the ashes piece as the "Firm" moved into new offices - after an investigation found nothing on cause of the fire and rendered it "undetermined".

5. The release of the Fisheries Report - designed apparently to show us the way forward on that Ottawa battered and fried resource. The provincial Minister Clyde Jackman claimed the report was useless and not what they were looking for - particularly in an election year. Then we had everyone from Earl McCurdy to Lorraine Michael to Derek Butler weighing in on it.

 6. The fibre optic deal - with another of Danny's former business buddies - Dean MacDonald got the go over by the Auditor General - and apparently has us left stranded and unlit.

 7. Of course the Elizabeth Matthews nomination by the Willderdale government to be the Vice-Chair of the CNLOPB. That has the whole gang singing her praises - as beautifully and choreographed as if a maestro was hiding behind curtain number one.

 All of these things have kept us a safe distance from the real issue before the people now and one which won't cost us $200,000 a year but may risk the future of several generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians - the proposed deal on the Lower Churchill. These billions and billions of dollars of potential - the hundreds of millions and thousands of hundreds of thousands ... you know what Joey meant - is sitting unprotected - unquestioned - not debated - in hopes of slipping this Legacy of Shame through.

If you really want history to repeat itself - continue your blind journey into this abyss - and while Emera shareholders and likely Hydro-Quebec delight in the folly - your children and grandchildren will have to make the U-Haul journey across the rails to roads ruts and take an inadequate ferry service to the great Canada beyond - and Labradorians will be left still unserviced providing economic nutrition needed to strengthen Atlantic Canada.

The Liberals, the NDP, and the media must stop this unimpeded Williams parade into this devastating energy giveaway - by truly engaging the people in debate and discourse designed to ensure we are not marching ourselves into decades of regret and moaning over what could have been. Those in power in the sixties could have stopped the Upper Churchill and those in power now must stop the Emera deal.