Minister Shea wears the shame of her Colleague?

The House of Assembly Hypocrisy

We can all agree that violence against girls, young women, and women must be stopped - and therefore any actions of governments to move that agenda foward is positive. 

The problem is Minister Shea - and it's a big problem - you cannot expect anybody to believe that this effort is sincere - when your colleague the Minister of Finance - stood recently in the House of Assembly and praised a sexual offender - because he happened to win a hockey game. 

You must deal with that issue frankly - this person praised by your colleague was at the time of the praise already convicted of raping two young women and subsequently plead guilty to raping another young woman in her sleep. 

You can't as the Minister responsible for the Status of Women - refuse to address this unacceptable behavior (congratulating Mark Yetman Goalie CeeBees - Sexual Offender) by your colleague. If you do not apologize for these statements in the House of Assembly and apologize to the young women who were victims of Yetman - then your Ministerial Statement today rings hollow. 

I can't single Minister Shea out here - as many others in the House from all sides - sit silently. Shame. 


Here is the Hansard of a Ministerial Statement today by Joan Shea:

MS SHEA: Mr. Speaker, I rise in this hon. House today to provide an update on the progress of Atlantic Canada’s CyberSafe Girl Initiative. 

In August 2010, the Atlantic Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women held their first annual meeting and at this time they shared concerns on cyber-violence. 

Cyber-violence is the use of the Internet to harm or intimidate another person and includes name calling, teasing, threatening, starting rumours, posting embarrassing or degrading pictures, or encouraging violence. Acts of cyber-violence take place through e-mail, social media Web sites such as Facebook or Twitter, blogs and on-line games. 

To address this disturbing issue, the Atlantic ministers committed to creating an initiative that provides educational tools to youth, parents and educators. 

From this commitment, the CyberSafe Girl Initiative was developed. This initiative focuses on creating awareness and preventing cyber-violence being perpetrated against young girls on-line. The Atlantic Ministers Responsible for the Status of Women were pleased to officially launch the CyberSafe Girl Initiative campaign in St. John’s on October 11, 2012 – International Day of the Girl.
Through the CyberSafe Girl Initiative, a Web site and three fact sheets were developed to promote safe Internet usage for young girls. These fact sheets, entitled 10 Tips for Girls, 10 Tips for Parents, and What Everybody Needs to Know, are available throughout Atlantic Canada. In our Province, the Department of Education assisted with the distribution of the CyberSafe Girl fact sheets earlier this month to Newfoundland and Labrador schools with students in Grades 7 to 9. 

The CyberSafe Girl Initiative was also recently showcased during the fifty-seventh session of the Commission on the Status of Women in New York on March 6. During this international event, two of the Atlantic Canadian Status of Women Ministers presented background information on the initiative and highlighted interactive components, including the fact sheets and Web site, to emphasize that ending cyber-violence against girls is a global effort; one that our Province is proud to be part of. 

Mr. Speaker, the Atlantic Ministers will continue to make progress and spread the word with this initiative in the collective effort to end cyber-violence. I encourage all families in Newfoundland and Labrador to join this effort by reviewing these fact sheets and visiting cybersafegirl.ca to learn more about cyber safety. 

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The Almighty Dunderdale - Why are we having an Election?

This election has been the most contrived - the most interfered with poll of the people since Joey Smallwood days.

Polling misinformation, changes midstream at the Electoral office, unknown rules as you go at the Electoral office, threats to public servants, people being approached because they have a particular candidates sign on their line, "discussion" with councils, heads of Government agencies and senior officials quit but remain on the government website, and then of course the issue of the day for PC candidates "you need to be on the government side".

Then there is a review of the Media Coverage - unbalanced in content and choice of coverage.

There is no doubt in this - I have watched television, print and radio news and special items and monitored the social media. I can say without any partisan influence that this has been the worst coverage in a very long time.

The worst I have seen has come from Dave Cochrane CBC - but then again he seems determined to try and promote himself more than the candidates themselves.

Dave - where is Ed Byrne working these days - what are his thoughts on the constituency allowance fiasco? Find Loyola Sullivan - tied up with one of the fisheries companies in the province - as the longest sitting member on the committee - why did he continue to keep the auditor general out. No that question was reserved for Kevin Aylward. Why not ask Kathy Dunderdale about her position when sitting in Opposition? For instance Dunderdale was part of the conversation in the House of Assembly regarding an unelected Premier doing resource deals. Or better yet the position of bringing forth all details of the Muskrat deal with Emera in the same way that was demanded for Voisey's Bay. Further why not bring the whole thing into the House of Assembly? Then there is the position of Dunderdale when in Opposition where the Lower Churchill would not be done without redress on the Upper Churchill. No none of this.

Cochrane should also reveal who the "experts" are that told him the MQO poll was valid. None of that.

On point was a joke - every time a Liberal sat down it was talking about the polls, or something Dumeresque said, and then the presence of Tim Powers on the panel. All a joke - not at all funny. How about we talk about policies being proposed by all parties. Then there was Dave asking Kevin Aylward about the party debt and how he could ask people to vote for him when the fiscal house of the party was not in order. What?

Then VOCM and things like Jerome Kennedy coming on as "Minister of Health", to talk about a platform item in the Blue Book - he even gave the page number that it was on. This is one example.

How many PC candidates have used the line "need to be on the government side" not only on talk shows but in campaign literature. The most disappointing of the candidates using this line is John Noseworthy - the former Auditor General. I'm sorry John but if this is what you have to resort to for a platform - the people of this province need to know you are not the hero of the legislative spending scandal.

Then there's Dennis O'Keefe - who last week when trying to get all parties in line for City promises - said he was not involved in the election. Only to have him come out and start campaigning with PC candidate Shawn Skinner this week. And this is apparently okay when public servants have been "advised" not to participate in the election - not even to stuff envelopes.

What of the head of Newfoundland and Labrador Housing? He quit right? Why is his face and message still on the website? No problem there right?

So do we really wonder why people don't want to vote? Why vote? Media reporting another Tory majority prior to voting day. Why spend the money? Why not just throw 48 appointed PC's in the House of Assembly and let them destroy what little bit we have left. Let Dunderdale tell fishermen and plant workers about "welfare" she better do it because a public servant can't use that word right? Why spend the money on an election? How about we all stop paying tax - and let the lot of them spend their own money. Apparently they have lots they keep telling everybody that they will give this district this amount and this place this service. Oh that's right they are talking about our money. If somebody else formed government would they be allowed to spend it?