The Overpass Syndrome in Reverse - Rural NL taking back the Power

This election is starting to get real interesting. The Overpass syndrome is starting to reverse. Rural Newfoundland and Labrador is starting to move toward "it's our turn", and so it is.

You see the PC's and NDP can fight it out in St. John's Metro while rural districts can win the day by voting Liberal. The platforms are gearing up and policies are coming out. For rural communities and districts the message from the Liberals and leader Kevin Aylward is that it's time for oil wealth to be used to revitalize the rest of the province. It's time to deal with the fishery, the paper-mills, mining, renewable energy, and tourism.

If rural Newfoundland and Labrador wants to reverse the trend of outmigration, chronic unemployment, loss of industry, and diminishing services in health and education - then they vote Liberal and invest the oil wealth outside of St. John's Metro. With six percent unemployment in St. John's Metro and over twenty-five per cent in other regions there are plenty of reasons to take control of the seats in the House of Assembly.

From a Labrador perspective, the Lower Churchill could be focused on industrial development and clean hydro for all the Big Land with revenues generated to be spent primarily on an adjacent basis.
Labrador could reach it's real potential and not continually be hearing - we'll get you next time around. When one thinks that Muskrat Falls is being developed to remove Holyrood and provide Nova Scotia with cheaper power - Labradorians are hard pressed to see that anything has changed. The truth is Labrador should not allow anymore development of its hydro resources unless they get at least 10 permanent jobs a megawatt. Labrador will get the temporary construction jobs regardless of what the deal is - they need a longer term agenda. This is something they might get under the Liberals this time around.

The Tories cannot demonstrate the need for Muskrat - at least not for the need they suggest. The Tories are routinely telling people and groups to go away, stop getting on talk-show programs, stop protesting, do as we say, do not oppose, and if you want anything do not speak against us. The Tories are pointing accusatory fingers when the Liberals promise a needed increase for public service pensioners but do not at all question how they spend and on what. The Tories have abandoned the fishery, abandoned the paper towns, abandoned rural communities, abandoned ordinary Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, abandoned the Big Land, and increased cronyism and the public service by 20 per cent.

Yes the time for the overpass syndrome to be reversed is now - and I believe it may just happen. There's nothing better for arrogance than a swift kick by rural Newfoundland and the Big Land.