Pam Frampton provides déjà vu

Pam Frampton's latest attempt to thwart Muskrat Falls critics who are demanding that the project be shut down while a forensic audit is completed - fails.

If you are feeling a déjà vu - you're not alone.

The majority of media took exactly the same approach when Muskrat Falls was initially talked about and during sanctioning.

From the outset - I can tell you we most certainly won't learn from this "mistake" if we allow this one to be completed. In fact - the more we let this "boondoggle" continue - without a forensic audit being completed - we are watching ourselves - knowingly - make a "mistake".

Frampton titles her government/corporate puff piece, "Inquiring minds want to know" a phrase that is familiar to most people as being used by the gossip rag The National Enquirer (with the exception of I instead of E). The writer - with her first scribbles - attempts to diminish, downplay, and question the Muskrat critics who want the project to stop and a forensic audit commissioned. déjà vu

The first paragraph of her article reads: "While it should never have been started, the hydroelectric project is way beyond the point of no return. With more than 80 per cent of the work finished, the province can’t afford — financially, legally or practically — to stop now."

The serious critics of the project wrote, made public comment, and drew attention in whatever way possible to argue that the project should not start. We didn't wait until it was 50%, 60%, 70% and "80" % completed to pull the fire alarm.

The serious critics of this project know that Frampton's claim "With more than 80 per cent of the work finished, the province can’t afford — financially, legally or practically — to stop now." is not based on fact - but based on politically and corporately produced spin. The spin cannot possibly be backed up unless a forensic audit and financial investigation were completed.

The serious critics of this project know that there are dozens of red flags waving prominently over this damn dam and would lead any knowledgeable person to demand a forensic audit. These red flags could be indicators of fraud, gross negligence, bribery, and other corrupt potentials.

If any of these serious and illegal activities were found - contracts entered into would have to be re-assessed, renegotiated or dismissed - yes people could go to jail - and yes the project could have to be stopped.

It's like saying Enron would have to be continued - resurrected - or reworked because it's too big to fail.

If we are actually in a position where this project is too big to fail - then I expect the Government of Canada to come in pay off the debt on the project and re-work something with Nalcor that leaves the people of Newfoundland and Labrador whole - (as they were before the boondoggle started).

Doing nothing is paramount to knowingly bankrupting the future of our province.

Let me add this for Ms. Frampton - if an engineering investigation found that the North Spur would probably fail at some time in the future - would it be too expensive to stop, not practical to stop, not legally wise to stop?

This continued writing on Muskrat Falls without truly fully understanding what the options are regarding the project - is nothing short of irresponsible at best or a deliberate re-spin at worst. The Tobinesque speech by Ball and dutiful and predictable media fawning over it - is the same old same old technique used to get the project sanctioned.

Spinster used to have a different meaning in Newfoundland and Labrador in days of old. The meaning today is less innocuous.

Then Frampton - inexplicably - goes on to suggest what the Public Inquiry (not yet established) should examine. Ms. Frampton - respectfully but barely - I suggest that you don't possess enough knowledge on the subject to reasonably put perimeters on it.

The "eight main thrusts" that Ms. Frampton articulates can be answered before an inquiry begins. That's the problem.

Value for money? Really? the answer is no!

Good decision making? Really clearly not!

Lessons learned? Come on now. Naive (please read the Economist article again) or if you have the time our history on the development of natural resources)

Financial consequences? Oh my~ They are obvious!

Commercial sensitivity? What where the owner of a company cannot know or see the content of financial remuneration contracts? Surely you jest.

The key motivations? Okay that's just silliness. It's called corporate welfare. It's called idiotic legacies. It's called political pandering.

You see Ms. Frampton - you and many other journalists, columnists, and/or announcers are a very real part of our ongoing and historical record of failure.

One must be knowledgeable enough on a subject to ask the pertinent questions and follow-up. One must be willing to ask critics - why they really hold opinions, express concerns, or continue to put out "warning trouble ahead" information. Particularly when these people have nothing to gain directly. When you base all you opinion on those who have something to gain - then you are likely putting out spin.

This inundation by some media - of late - is EXACTLY the same type of nonsensical rhetoric that got us here to begin with.

Then - finally- indulge me as I review this paragraph of fiction:

"Let’s be clear: no inquiry into Muskrat Falls is going to result in a parade of former politicians being hauled away in shackles, satisfying as that might be. None of the money squandered will be paid back. If we accept those basic facts, then what is it we want an inquiry to accomplish?"

You have no idea what a yet to be established inquiry may or may not result in. Therefore the fact that politicians will not be hauled away on shackles - is not a fact. An inquiry could in fact lead to information that could be used to investigate potentially illegal activity. Remember those trinkets in the House of Assembly. People went to jail there - right? And how much money was that over? I am going to suggest that IF illegal activity were going on - those involved on any level would try to prevent it being discovered.

None of the money squandered will be paid back. Not a fact. First you do not know if the money was "squandered" or if it disappeared (illegally) - you don't know if somebody doesn't have a million in their back-pocket from a wink and a nod - you don't know if significant amounts of equipment was stolen or cannot be found - you don't know if somebody has taken a kickback. You do know that the projected cost has doubled.

So to accept those "basic facts" as you call them - is to continue to be fooled. It is a continuation of spoon-feeding the public - information being spoon-fed to you.

I do not have a desire to shut you up as James McLeod might say - but I do have a desire for you to to be really cognizant of the potential damage you may cause by writing facts that are not facts.

My previous blog posts from 6/7 years ago talk about not needing the power, Emera owning the transmission line to the Island, the concern about budget projections and so on - demonstrate that there were a number of us people - who seen through the last round of spin. I for one am seeing through this current onslaught of it.

Maybe we should do an inquiry on how the media plays a role in advancing the "boondoggles" of governments. Perhaps they should be tested on their knowledge of subjects they confidently write about. Perhaps somebody should look at that record. The Johnny Come Lately media questions about the Muskrat fiasco - should probably continue and not get swept under another carpet for historical review.

Next up - James Mcleod and his story on our retiring Auditor General.... does it ever end...

Firing the NL Tories for their own good

Back at it. I've been away from the blog for a while and much has happened since I last posted. While I was not blogging - I was following all the news and happenings both in Newfoundland and Labrador and Canada.

While I must dedicate many posts to particulars - one theme has been prevalent throughout the couple of months. Our democracy is eroding and only we can prevent it from crumbling entirely.

The Conservatives in Ottawa and the Progressive Conservatives here at home appear to be ruling at their own will and ignoring the people who really control their destiny - us.

Our system of democracy places great power in both the Prime Minister's Office and the Premier's Office - and when the governing party has a majority - that precious power - one which they should be humbled by - seems to make them arrogant and dictatorial.

Both Bill 29 here and Bill C-23 in Ottawa demonstrate that arrogance.

Currently we have a Premier in waiting - Frank Coleman who will be handed the position of Party leader and Premier by acclamation in July. The provincial Tories have not had a leadership contested in 20 years. It's been a placing of the hands - however few - and a passing of keys to the office. The only say we as the electorate have is during a general election or some of the electorate in a by-election. Clearly this is a party not too concerned about people getting a choice of leadership candidates. The delegated convention just showed its hand or slight of it - clearly this process is antiquated and open for significant manipulation.

There is a real media story here and certainly our local journalists should show more interest. This would be in the public interest and serve as a great reminder that the people are not prepared to be fed what the self-proclaimed masters have chosen for them.

How many Cabinet and Caucus members ever met Frank Coleman prior to indicating their support for him? Were delegates chosen prior to any debate process for the candidates? Why did Frank Coleman become involved in the leadership process? What evidence is there that Frank Coleman ever held any interest in public office? We went from Lynn Verge to Loyola Sullivan to Ed Byrne to Danny Williams to Kathy Dunderdale to Tom Marshall and now Frank Coleman without once ever having a choice at a party ballot. This is very convincing evidence that people are being chosen by a few without any real consideration of party members.

Surely the PC's must be sent a political message - get your act together on leadership - open up the process so that any Newfoundlander and Labradorian who wants to vote can - and encourage not discourage a robust campaign with many candidates and plenty of open debate.

Remember also the last Tory leadership that was actually contested in 1995 still only had 2 contestants Lynn Verge and Loyola Sullivan. Prior to that it was 1989 when the leadership contest enjoyed 5 candidates - the eventual winner Tom Rideout. After he was beaten in the general election by Clyde Wells - Len Simms was appointed leader.

The PC's in this province and their backroom have not trusted their membership to choose the "right" candidate for two decades. The chameleon support or "big money" have their hands in all parties. The last leadership of the Liberals seen the people - not a chosen few - elect a leader. This of course is also encouraging as it can be said - that Dwight owes his position to the people not a chosen few. When one is prepared as interim leader to open the field wide and welcome 4 others to the race - one is willing to stand on ones own merit. It also demonstrates that debate and other points of view are welcome.

What we have been left with is a bunch of sitting Tories Cabinet and Caucus who sat on the bleachers choosing not leadership but cheer leading and the uncontested Frank Coleman who says he thinks they all did a fine job. Surely the Tories must do better or we might be faced with a Mulroney/Campbell scenario - where the NL PC's are replaced with a Conservative alternative. I'm sure there's a Peter MacKay like sitting on the Newfoundland and Labrador Tory bench waiting to sure up their importance. Or perhaps the Tories will hang on to a couple of seats in the next election - just enough to really start a renewal and hopefully precipitate a real leadership contest. How many of you think Frank Coleman is staying for a gig in Opposition?

MHA Brazil's Oversight - another Red Flag

Tory oversights of which Dave Brazil owns the most recent must cause all people of Newfoundland and Labrador to pause.

In Canada right now we have a Senate mess that has some files referred to the RCMP, Senators repaying hundreds of thousands of dollars, the PM's former Chief of Staff cutting a personal cheque to cover Duffy (a Tory Senator), and hundred's of thousands of tax payer dollars spent to audit the oversights, omissions, falsehoods, half-truths, and possible criminal behavior of some of our Upper Chamber. The House of sober second thought has become the House of drunken spending.

Not too long ago we had Steve Kent apologizing on YouTube for his failure to achieve complete information on the Boy Scouts situation before commenting publicly about what he said were "facts".

Then there is the accidental expropriation of what has been called the entire community of Grand Falls - Windsor under the then Minister now Premier Kathy Dunderdale.

And who can forget the stream of MHA's led away in handcuffs for stealing from the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Peter Penashue fiasco still resonates in the Big Land. Oversight - Oversight - Oversight

So now we have Brazil who violated the Member's Code of Conduct apologizing for yet another OVERSIGHT.

So then ask yourself - is it it any way possible that there has been any oversight in this Muskrat Falls deal. Is it in any way possible that serious mistakes have been made and missed? In ten years will we be hearing yet again that it was just an oversight - I apologize.

Lack of an escalation clause in the Upper Churchill agreement was an oversight - how many billions has that cost?

And last but not least Bill 29 - The oversight Bill. Because we can't see things means Cabinet gets a future pass to claim oversight. 

Sorry - there are too many red flags to proceed with this deal on Muskrat Falls.

Conspiracy Theories and Pillars of our Community

The Pillars of our Community

As you read the post below - remember that all these people were "successful" - "trustworthy" - and some even "heroes". Then remember there were those who tried to do the right thing - tried to stop these things from getting worse and prevent the victim list from getting larger. Those people were not listened to - the perpetrators were protected by society while more and more people suffered.

Never stop asking questions - never stop peeling back the layers of onion - never stop sniffing when there is a stink - never place anybody on a societal pedestal so high as to become untouchable.

Those who plan to or are currently involved in frauds against society or crimes against children and seniors - think again. You ALL get caught.

Below is just a sample of the thousands of pillars that crumbled and fell. The problem is we should be trying to dig out the schemes, the frauds, and the dirt before more and more children are harmed, before more economies of countries fall, and before our children's future is robbed from them.

1. In January 2011, Joe Paterno learned prosecutors were investigating his longtime assistant coach Jerry Sandusky for sexually assaulting young boys. Soon, Mr. Paterno had testified before a grand jury, and the rough outlines of what would become a giant scandal had been published in a local newspaper.

That same month, Mr. Paterno, the football coach at Penn State, began negotiating with his superiors to amend his contract, with the timing something of a surprise because the contract was not set to expire until the end of 2012, according to university documents and people with knowledge of the discussions. By August, Mr. Paterno and the university’s president, both of whom were by then embroiled in the Sandusky investigation, had reached an agreement. Read More Here

Mr. Paterno was to be paid $3 million at the end of the 2011 season if he agreed it would be his last.

2. J P Morgan disclosed on Friday that losses on its botched credit bet could climb to more than $7 billion and that the bank’s traders may have intentionally tried to obscure the full extent of the red ink on the disastrous trades.

Mounting concerns about valuing the trades led the company to announce that its earnings for the first quarter were no longer reliable and would be restated. Federal regulators, who were already examining the trades, are now looking at whether employees of the nation’s biggest bank by assets intended to defraud investors, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Read More Here

3. In September 1988, Fr. James Hickey pled guilty to 20 charges of sexual assault, gross indecency and indecent assault involving teenage boys while he was a parish priest on the Burin Peninsula. He spent five years in prison. Despite Hickey’s criminal conviction the Roman Catholic Church fought the victim’s claims for compensation for over 20 years.

In February 2009, the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador ruled that the Roman Catholic Church in St. John’s was responsible ("vicariously liable") for the sexual abuse of eight former altar boys by disgraced priest, Reverend James Hickey. Read More Here

4. Accounting firm Arthur Andersen had already been found guilty in the court of public opinion, and paid a heavy penalty. Clients deserted; employees fled. In fact the Chicago firm was barely alive, but one question remained: What would its epitaph be, the lesson for others? An answer came last Saturday, when a Houston jury found Andersen guilty of obstructing justice. It provided a moment of vindication for investors who lost more than $60 billion in the spectacular collapse of Enron, whose books had been audited by Andersen. But the verdict held a twist: at first the case seemed to hinge on whether an Andersen employee ordered tons of Enron paperwork to be shredded before investigators arrived. Read More Here

5. A man many people saw as a possible heir to Danny Williams as (Newfoundland & Labrador) premier was handcuffed and escorted to jail Friday (April 17).
Ed Byrne-a former cabinet minister and the first politician named in the constituency spending scandal that rocked the province three years ago-was sentenced to two years less a day in jail in provincial court in St. John's.

The 45-year-old had pleaded guilty to two fraud charges and was given the prison term for fraud over $5,000. He was also given 18 months in jail for a single count of frauds on the government. Both sentences will be served concurrently. Read More Here

6.  U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Sean Ola-Ojo, 31, of Brooklyn, New York; Angelo Louissaint, 38, of West Babylon, New York; and Jennifer Johnson, 36, of Dix Hills, New York, have been indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with conspiracy, mail fraud, and wire fraud. In addition, Louissaint is charged with money laundering. The defendants are accused of defrauding Flaherty Funding, a mortgage company located in Rochester. The charges carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in jail, a fine up to $500,000 fine, or both.

In one instance, the purported seller of the property did not even own the property that was sold to the straw-buyer. Defendant Johnson prepared fake title insurance for this transaction, creating the appearance of valid title in the property, in order to induce Flaherty Funding to issue a mortgage loan. As a result of this scheme, Flaherty Funding issued three mortgage loans to straw-buyers in the amounts of $533,850, $533,850 and $646,300, totaling $1,714,000. The vast majority of the mortgage loan proceeds went to defendants. In addition, Ola-Ojo, Louissaint, and Johnson submitted two other false applications, but those transactions did not close. Read More Here

7.  U.S. federal agents have arrested a telemarketer who once ran a government-supported call centre operation in Newfoundland. The Department of Homeland Security says in court documents that it has been investigating Michael Mouyal “for running an international telemarketing scheme,” and committing mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Read More Here

8. An independent review of six decades of Scouts Canada records revealed that the organization failed at least 65 times to report allegations of sexual misconduct to authorities. Not all of those are ancient history.

Thirteen of the 65 incidents came to the Scouts' attention since 1992, when it became mandatory to report everything suspicious to police, said the report by investigators at KPMG.
The review was released on Monday. Read More Here

9. The Bank of Montreal is suing hundreds of people in Alberta, including lawyers, mortgage brokers and four of its own employees, in what is one of the largest alleged cases of mortgage fraud in Canadian history. Legal documents obtained exclusively by CBC News allege the bank was the target of a sophisticated fraud operated by 14 inter-connected groups. The documents claim the scheme generated at least $140 million, about $70 million of which was for phoney mortgages.
The bank has estimated it may lose as much as $30 million. Toronto forensic accountant Al Rosen said he has never seen anything like it. Read More Here

10. A Quebec man who got rich at the expense of unsophisticated investors and the federal and provincial tax departments has lost his bid to appeal his case at the Supreme Court. Jacques Gagne, from Longueuil, Que., was sentenced in 2010 by Quebec Court Judge Ellen Pare to 42 months in prison for tax evasion.

Pare said she took into consideration the degree of preparation and premeditation, and the fact that Gagne targeted people who were financially vulnerable. "They were the instruments of his crime," she said. From 1997 to 2000, Gagne used a series of shell companies he created to drain more than $3 million from the RRSPs and locked-in retirement accounts (LIRAs) of 152 people recruited through newspaper ads. Read More Here

Dunderdale NOT a Leader - Just Facilitating a Plan

Last week we seen the end of a record setting filibuster in the House of Assembly.

The debate was cut short by the PC's in the house through closure.

Bill 29 an Act to Amend the Access to Information and Protection of Privacy Act was and is a very controversial piece of House business. The crux of the concern is the reduction of access to information.

The Newfoundland and Labrador electorate is still suffering trust issues from the constituency allowance spending scandal - which ultimately sent 4 former MHA's to jail. One of the convicted was Ed Byrne - a PC MHA who became a Cabinet Minister and Deputy Premier under the Danny Williams administration.

In large part - the entire criminal fiasco was caused by not allowing the Auditor General to review the expenditures of the MHA's. The concept of maximized transparency and access to information was touted by Danny Williams as a hallmark of his government - of which current Premier Kathy Dunderdale served in Cabinet and as the Deputy Premier.

Any changes to law which would diminish - in any way - transparency and access should concern Kathy Dunderdale a great deal. It - however - did not phase her - apparently it did not even interest her.

Instead of being a leader by explaining to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador why her government wants to change the access to information law - she ran away. Dunderdale was here:

The Honourable Kathy Dunderdale, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, will be the keynote speaker at the sixth annual Memorial University Calgary Affinity Dinner tomorrow (Wednesday, June 13) at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in Calgary. The dinner begins at 7:00 p.m. MDT, with the Premier scheduled to speak at approximately 8:30 p.m.

The theme of the keynote address is Bold and Tenacious: Driving Growth and Prosperity in the New Newfoundland and Labrador. 

Oh I can hear the tapping of partisan twitter characters already. They will suggest that this event was planned for some time and it is an important piece of business for our province.

Let's say we accept this rationale completely.

No problem, the Bill did not have to be called until the Premier returned. Or in the alternate - the debate did not have to be shut down until the Premier returned.

When so many people and media in the province were calling foul on this Bill - Kathy had a choice - she chose to run away. Do you really think she will take any responsibility for soaring power rates and massive debt if the Emera deal proceeds?

Dunderdale is not a leader - she is simply facilitating a plan.

The 2015 Election is Underway - Where's Dunderdale

Both Opposition Parties in Newfoundland and Labrador have made their first 2015 election promise.

The race to replace has begun. 

We - the people will hold them to it.

It is positive to see politicians respond immediately to the people by making a promise that all of us really need right now. A commitment to eliminate this cloak of secrecy - called Bill 29.

Last night Charlene Johnson either lied or demonstrated unfathomable ignorance by blaming the constituency spending allowance on the previous Liberal government.

The statements made - not yet available on Hansard - were beyond irresponsible they were grossly negligent.

The three political parties suffered blame as members of each were trotted off to jail. How did that happen? Read the Green Report. Read the Auditor General's special reports.

The Deputy Premier of Danny Williams - a person he put great trust in was front and centre in the political scandal of our time. His second in command - a Cabinet Minister in control of significant information secret and otherwise. This person who admitted to forging documents and stealing over $100,000 from us the people. This person who the Auditor General said received almost $500,000 over his entitlements.

Do we need a system that is open and transparent? Yes.

Do we need a system that seeks to thwart transparency? No

The government had options.

1. They could have let the debate finish naturally, they did not - they invoked closure.

2. They could have had Bill 29 reviewed by Chief Justice Green, Senator Beth Marshall, or by former Auditor General John Noseworthy (the man who brought the cost of secrecy to light).

3. They could have created an all-party committee to travel the province and consult with the people on the proposed changes.

4. The government could have sincerely considered amendments brought forth and at least pretended to have interest in the process.

5. The government could have killed the Bill - and in doing so appropriately recognized the wisdom of their colleagues, the people, and members of the media who were screaming foul.

Dan Crummell was just now on VOCM open-line suggesting that the media took offence to the Bill more than anybody. He said he believes they want to be in the Cabinet Room.

There is no defence to reducing access to information - yet Dan attempted to do it anyway. Way to trot to the trough there Dan. Fill-er-up. Gotta get a Cabinet Post - gotta get - me - me -me Dan.

Newfoundland and Labrador politicians have absolutely no right to reduce access to information - simply because the wound is too deep and fresh from the constituency allowance scandal. How arrogant must they be to support cloak and dagger legislation - when many of them were there when their colleagues were put in cuffs.

The Opposition parties have now taken a necessary step to rebuild confidence and trust in the electorate. They appear to understand that we are not prepared to "trust" them - on their word - just yet.

What Dunderdale, Collins, Marshall, Kennedy, King, Sullivan, Burke, and Johnson seem not to understand is reducing access now - so soon after the scandal - is like giving a parent giving their teenage son or daughter the car a week after they are convicted of drinking and driving.

Yes it is that serious! Yes it is that condemnable!

Now it is up to the NDP and Liberal MHA's to remind the people and the PC caucus that they will reverse the Bill and will reveal all hidden documents - as soon as practicable after the PC's are defeated.

By the way where is Danny on this? Where is Danny on this? Will this be the issue that excuses Danny away from "his" party and toward Dean? It remains incredible that all these PC backbenchers have not yet figured out that the fix is in.

They play you like a fiddle and in turn you fiddle while your political reputations burn.

Premier Dunderdale - where are you dear?  The 2015 Election Campaign began early this morning. The race to boot the Tories out has begun and you were nowhere to be found.

Bullying, Lying, Cheating, Abusing Power - Our Leaders

To lead people, walk beside them … As for the best leaders, the people do not notice their existence. The next best, the people honor and praise. The next, the people fear; and the next, the people hate … When the best leader’s work is done the people say, ‘We did it ourselves!
Lao-Tzu

Which category do you believe our Premier and our Prime Minister would fall under?

Parents teach their children:

Not to lie - Do our leaders lie?

Don't Bully - Do our leaders bully?

Do not Break the Law - Do our leaders break the law?

Do not Cheat - Do our leaders cheat?

Listen to Others - Do our leaders listen?

Do not Abuse Power - Do our leaders abuse power?

As we review the values we have taught or are teaching our children - do we worry that we are setting them up for failure? It is clear that our leaders do not practice these basic principles and yet they have risen to the top of our society.

Loyola is Conflicted by the Conflict. Wanted - Unemployed Plant Workers

Is it possible for any of these people to remove themselves from the teat of taxpayer dollars or public resources?

Loyola does not believe he is in a conflict of interest - and - yep - I'm sure he doesn't. That's because he comes from a "fishing" family and community.

Come on people the Sullivan boys are only trying to keep themselves afloat. They are worried just like plant workers and fishers that they might not be able to pay the mortgage or help their children with college.

Come on people - remember all the good things Loyola accomplished as the most continuous sitting member on the Commission of Internal Economy. Look at the oversight. He sat there for years while our tax dollars were being fraudulently withdrawn by several of his colleagues - and he did not know or see a thing. In 2002 the Commission was offended by the Auditor General, Beth Marshall and a News Release in part stated,

The members of the Commission of Internal Economy are both surprised and disappointed by the report of the Auditor General with respect to her comments on the accountability of MHAs’ Constituency Allowances.
The Auditor General stated that she is unable to fulfill her responsibility under the Auditor General Act to complete the audit of payments made to members from public monies. The Auditor General has left the impression that the Auditor General Act and the Financial Administration Act have in some way been violated and that there is no accountability for members’district allowances. This is simply not true. An audit must take place. The Auditor General Act has not been violated.
 
Yes Loyola - and then you took a cushy position from Prime Minister Stephen the Liar - after just sitting in a provincial Cabinet under Danny Williams that deemed him untrustworthy and an enemy of Newfoundland and Labrador. But what the heck - right Loyola? A little lie here and there never hurt anybody. Reminds me about the time you were concerned that people would talk a little bit about your colleague Charlie Power - when he reneged on giving up one pension.

What is your thinking Loyola? Do the people owe you a living? Do they owe you natural resources to ship out as you please? You Loyola asking to ship out raw fish! You who turned purple in the face at the thought of one ounce of Voisey's Bay nickel leaving the province - unprocessed. Remember?

WANTED

A group of unemployed fisherman and plant workers to buy some fish quotas - real cheap - land at $300 dollars an acre - and to seek water rights on a few dozen rivers in Newfoundland and Labrador to dam off and produce power. Not hard to become a multi-millionaire if the deal is right. While we are waiting - let's pave a few kilometers over and over and over.

Muskrat Words - Have we been Duped by Danny?

 Have we been duped by Danny?

 Danny 2006

"Never before has such serious consideration been given to the province leading the development of this resource," added Premier Williams. "Previous development was always contemplated in the context of an external partner joining with the province. This typically resulted in Newfoundland and Labrador being left with less than acceptable benefits and profits from the development of our own resource. Today marks a turning point in our history as we acknowledge that we as a province are capable of leading and having full control of this process."

Comment by Sue Interpretation by any reasonably minded person - we don't need or want an external partner to develop the Lower Churchill.

Danny November 18-2010

Signalling the commencement of the long-awaited Lower Churchill River hydroelectric development, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador today announced a partnership between Nalcor Energy and Emera Inc.

Comment by Sue Interpretation by any reasonably minded person - we have now got an external partner to develop the Lower Churchill.

Danny November 25-2010

The Honourable Danny Williams, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, will be making a statement today (Thursday, November 25) at 11:30 a.m. regarding his political future.

Comment by Sue Interpretation by any reasonably minded person - oops Gotta Go Now. 

Let's look back at Loyola Sullivan Archives - before we vote

Below you will find a post from 2007 - It should help us to remember our history so we do not repeat our mistakes.

Sue's Blog hopes you find it informative as part of the election process. Meanwhile I am working on a special report on the Muskrat Falls deal with Emera.

 
Danny surrounds himself with the best people. That's what he says.

When the PC's were in Opposition Ed Byrne and Loyola Sullivan were like Danny's pit bulls - attack when they were tormented or challenged.

Sullivan would go on and on about financial mismanagement - bad deals - inappropriate spending like travelling with spouses. Sullivan would speak endlessly to budgets and publicly review the Auditor General's reports.

Do you remember when the House of Assembly fired Frasier March? These holier than thou MHA's passing judgement on others and their poor accounting methods.

Then Loyola's party won and they were government. He ended up with his dream job - Minister of Finance. He then began the "preach" of fiscal management - accrual accounting - tightening the belt - spend only what we have to spend.

He tortured citizens with decade old school tax accounts - with compounding interest. He was holding the Premier's fiscal hand when public servants hit the streets and then threatened to legislate them back. We just don't have the money he'd say - we are almost bankrupt.

That's when Loyola should have brought in a Chartered Accountant and asked - if we are almost bankrupt what should we spend the little money we have on. I bet he/she would not have said Seasons Tickets to the St. John's Maple Leafs.

Then there was the Premier - going off his head at the mere mention that Loyola Sullivan might appear to be in conflict of interest when Cabinet discussed the RMS system for the fishery or the sale of FPI (parts of which did end up under a couple of his brothers). Do you remember Danny saying - how dare you question the integrity of somebody like Loyola Sullivan. The man's reputation is impeccable.

Then we move to Loyola "knockout punch" Sullivan who took on the feds over equalization and won. He took on the mean old Liberals and brought home the bacon. Remember him standing next to Williams - puffed up with pride. Well that fellow has ended up taking an appointment from Newfoundland and Labrador's mortal enemy - Stephen Harper - while running away from the FPI fiasco - the Auditor General's latest expose and yet to come report on the fibre-optical illusion. Where is Loyola now that Harper has lied to us about equalization? Not a peep from Sullivan.

To top it all off - the big spending scandal - the one which resulted in criminal charges - took place during a time where Sullivan was the longest continuous sitting member of the Internal Economy Committee.

Where is he now? He's now named in the latest AG's report as being one of only 9 MHA's who had not paid back or made arrangements to pay back the $2875 special payment - by August 16 of this year.

He is named for buying season hockey tickets for the St. John's Maple Leafs from his constituency allowance. $4800 + $1000 to Mile One.

Now can those of you looking for potential life saving drugs - or a house without mold - or a retired public servant looking for indexing really blame the "scrooge" for wanting some hockey tickets? As you pay back your thousands of dollars in interest on a school tax bill of a couple of hundred - remember the drop of the puck at Mile One.

Note to the above story - Danny then added Kathy to his list of chosen people - not a good track record. 

Reason for Apathy in Politics

Senator Lavigne guilty of fraud, breach of trust

11/03/2011 1:28:51 PM

CBC News
An Ontario Superior Court judge has found Senator Raymond Lavigne guilty of fraud related to false travel expenses and breach of trust for having his staff do work at his home.

On the fraud charge, Judge Robert Smith found Lavigne guilty of defrauding the government of $10,120.50.

He determined that Lavigne "knowingly submitted false claims" for reimbursement of expenses for car travel between Ottawa and Montreal. Smith found that Lavigne made claims for costs he had not incurred.

He was overpaid in some reimbursement claims, "thereby affecting the government's pecuniary interest."

Since he was barred from the Senate in 2007, Lavigne has cost taxpayers more than $700,000. 

Bev Oda et al

There's a case against the government for breach of privilege after it refused to hand over detailed cost estimates of its anti-crime agenda, and a minister may have misled MPs, House of Commons Speaker Peter Milliken said Wednesday in a ruling reasserting Parliament's authority.

Milliken ruled there was a "prima facie breach of privilege" -- in other words, enough evidence to send two separate motions back to MPs to decide the next step.

One motion complained the government is refusing to give financial information to the House and the other alleged International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda may have misled a Commons committee.

For the first time dealmaker Karlheinz Schreiber sits down in front of television cameras to answer questions about his secretive past and about his relationship with former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Schreiber goes on the record to tell Linden MacIntyre about the $300,000 the former Prime Minister received from him, where that money came from and the fallout, both public and private, that ensued from it.

The program illustrates why their relationship was so controversial and why numerous questions about it have remained unanswered until now.  

The sponsorship scandal tainted members of the Liberal Party and politics in Quebec. In its aftermath, there have been a few convictions and in Parliament, there came a call for the politicians to find ways to govern with accountability.

It all started with rumours and whispers about a fund that had been set up in the wake of the 1995 referendum on Quebec sovereignty to help promote federalism. The money was supposed to be used to raise Canada's profile in Quebec.

• DETAILS: Gomery Report's major findings

But it wasn't clear how the money was handed out: there were no application forms for this fund that was supposed to help pay the costs of social and cultural events and programs. There were rumours that the money was little more than a vehicle to reward loyal Liberal supporters.

By the early spring of 2002, then prime minister Jean Chrétien was forced to address the issue. The Globe and Mail – under the Access to Information Act – tried to find out why the government paid $550,000 to advertising firm Groupaction Marketing for a report that could not be found. No one at Public Works or the company could explain it.

No evidence of remorse: prosecutor CBC

Jim Walsh, a former Liberal cabinet minister in Newfoundland and Labrador, has been sentenced to 22 months in jail for his part in a spending scandal that rocked the province.  

The other former politicians who have already been convicted of fraud-related charges in the spending scandal include:

• Wally Andersen, former Liberal, who received 15 months jail time.
• Randy Collins, former New Democrat, who will be sentenced Jan. 15.
• Ed Byrne, former Progressive Conservative, who was sentenced to two years, less a day.

One member of the Nova Scotia legislature and three former provincial politicians face criminal charges following an investigation into constituency expenses. 

Independent MLA Trevor Zinck and former members Richard Hurlburt, Russell MacKinnon and David Wilson all face charges of fraud over $5,000 and breach of trust. 

Zinck also faces two counts of theft over $5,000. 

British Columbia's premier was fined $913 US (about $1,350 Cdn) Monday after pleading no contest to a drunk driving charge in Hawaii. 

Gordon Campbell was not in the court for the hearing. He was represented by a lawyer, who paid the penalty on his behalf. 

"Mr. Campbell is sufficiently embarrassed and ashamed for what he did, as well he should be," said Maui District Judge Reinette Cooper.

The premier was also ordered to take part in a 14-hour substance abuse program, and undergo an assessment for alcoholism. His lawyer said Campbell has already completed both in Canada. 

Maui police arrested Campbell Jan. 10 as he returned from the home of friends. They said he was speeding and swerving on the highway. Campbell's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit, according to court records. 

The federal Opposition Liberals are condemning the hundreds of patronage  

appointments handed out by the Conservative government over the past two years.

Liberal MPs Wayne Easter and Alexandra Mendes handed out "patronage awards" to various Conservative MPs, ministers and senators during a news conference in Ottawa on Tuesday.

The MPs said Prime Minister Stephen Harper keeps appointing Tory insiders to plum positions despite his campaign pledge to end such practices.

"The message is clear: If you run for the Conservatives, work for the Conservatives and give to the Conservatives, they will reward you with paid gigs backed by taxpayer dollars," Easter said.

Easter cited 386 job appointments since 2008 that went to Tories, which he said represented about a fifth of federal appointments since the last election. 

Premier David Alward's Progressive Conservative government is courting trouble unless it halts the growing numbers of patronage appointments, according to a political scientist.

It's been a steady parade of Progressive Conservatives getting provincial government appointments since the Alward government took power last fall.

Don Desserud, a political scientist at the University of New Brunswick in Saint John, said the Tories should put a halt to all the patronage appointments.

"In terms of the public's expectations this is not exactly what they thought was going to happen and therefore there is going to be disappointment," Desserud said. 

When the Tories were on the opposition benches, Alward and his senior MLAs hammered the Liberals for their patronage appointments.

But the Alward government has not backed away from the trend.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government is being accused of old-style patronage for naming an aide to ex-premier Danny Williams to the offshore oil and gas regulator.

Natural Resources Minister Shawn Skinner shrugged off the criticism Thursday, saying Elizabeth Matthews, former communications director for Williams, is a "great" choice for vice-chairperson of the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board.

Opposition parties and environmental observers pounced on the fact Matthews has no obvious environmental or offshore qualifications.

Skinner didn´t deny that lack of experience. Instead, he stressed that Matthews is a communicator who understands the inner workings of government policy.

A former Newfoundland and Labrador cabinet minister has vowed to repay tens of thousands of dollars used to pay for wine, art and other items.

Paul Dicks, a finance and justice minister in former Liberal governments, said in a statement Thursday he will voluntarily pay back sums cited last month in a scathing report by Auditor General John Noseworthy.

Noseworthy found that Dicks had claimed $59,753 in artwork during the 1998 and 2000 fiscal years, and had also claimed over a number of years alcohol purchases — including imported wine — totalling $34,145. 

Dicks's alcohol purchases, none of which involved meals, were by far the largest charges of their kind in Noseworthy's review of 15 years of constituency allowance claims.

The audit found Dicks claimed jewelry, books and a Cartier pen through his allowance. Dicks was one of nine politicians found to have used constituency allowance funds on personal items.

May 31, 2005

---

Premier announces establishment of Business Advisory Board

Identifying the challenges and optimizing the opportunities in the business community are key to the future success of Newfoundland and Labrador, said Premier Danny Williams today as he announced the establishment of the Business Advisory Board. The board will provide advice to the Premier and government regarding matters of economic development and business in the province.

"The establishment of this board will complement the Department of Business and will perform the important function of advising government of the trends of today’s economy and the future possibilities for our economy," said Premier Williams. "I am very pleased that some of Newfoundland and Labrador’s most dynamic, experienced and successful business people have agreed to participate on the Business Advisory Board. Membership consists of a wide cross-section of regions and industries such as IT, tourism, communications and the service industry."

The newly established Business Advisory Board will report to the Department of Business and will meet throughout the year and provide advice and recommendations to government.

 (one of the appointments)  

Dean MacDonald
In August 2004, Mr. MacDonald became President and Chief Executive Officer of Persona Communications Corp., a privately-held company with national outlets in cablevision and Internet services. In the past, Mr. MacDonald has served in the capacity of Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Rogers Cable Inc. and President of Cable Atlantic Inc., where he was a Director and minority shareholder for 18 years.

So then what happened - well there was the fibre-optic cash - that the Auditor General just questioned. That was after the two, Dean and Danny under Cable Atlantic benefitted from another government contract when Brian Tobin was in office. 

After both contracts the companies were sold/merged with mainland firms.

Then there are the lies and lies - broken promises etc.

Harper - equalization

Williams - paper mills

Harper - Income Trusts 

Williams - redress the Upper Churchill

Harper - elected senate

Williams - openness and accountability resource developments

Harper - no more patronage

Williams - transparency