Dalton McGuinty
Mr. McGuinty has been voicing criticism since last week about the agreement struck between the federal government and the government of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador. Prime Minister Paul Martin has responded:
“We have a responsibility to each other and this country is going to be stronger if every region and every province is stronger. And the great Ontario governments have recognized this and the federal government has always recognized this"…
Mr. Martin argued yesterday that Ontario receives plenty from the federal government…"Transfers to the province of Ontario for the past five years are up by some 40 per cent. When we signed the health-care accord, because of the size of its population, Ontario alone got 39 per cent of the monies that are being transferred,” he said.
Snippets from PM rejects Ontario’s gripes.
McGuinty is speaking up now because he sees an opportunity for his province. I don’t begrudge him this; he’s trying to get more for the people who elected him, and that’s fine (maybe this a smokescreen to distract attention from his government’s own failure to reduce the Ontario deficit — pure speculation). It doesn’t look like he’ll wander again into the minefield of appearing to be unhappy with NL for securing this deal. It’s certainly interesting to note that he didn’t pipe up at the Premier’s gathering last fall, and indeed seemed to indicate to Premier Williams that he fully supported our case.
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To be fair, Kevin, Dalton did speak up against the provincial proposal last October well before the Great Storming.
As for his “support", I’d suggest your readers check my blog or Paul Wells for the link to the original CBC news story. The letter was such an important piece of correspondence, Mr. McGuinty’s office didn’t have a copy of it! We still have seen no evidence of the support of any other premiers - save Ralph Klein - except for Premier Williams claims.
McGuinty won’t “wander into the minefield"? Some wandering. Some minefield. he’s driven a truck into the area and he apparently plans to camp out for a while.
Comment by Ed Hollett — 2/15/2005 @ 8:50 pmI thought that McGuinty did step back a little when he added that “he has nothing against Newfoundland or Nova Scotia” according to the CTV story. A mild back pedaling, indeed, but an attempt to keep his argument between Ontario and Ottawa instead of Ontario and NL…hmmm, interesting dichotomy, that.
Ed, one question for you; should it be the “People’s Liberation Front of Newfoundland and Labrador", or the “Newfoundland and Labrador People’s Liberation Front"? Python imagery in politics has certainly been neglected for too long.
Comment by Kevin — 2/16/2005 @ 8:54 amWith regards to McGuinty’s selfish remarks its nothing new for NL. Upper Canada and federal governments for 50 years have had this modern ‘robber barron’ attitude towards newfoundland and labrador wherein they permit themselves, through passing acts and laws into the constitution, the userous control and benifit of our resources. How would it be to McGuinty if we in NL pulled our switch at Churchill Falls, stopped the billions of tons or raw minerals and oil flowing to the mainland to their smelters and refineries? How many jobs and how much money do you think NL’s resources provide them and how many billions of dollars have the feds made of it?
Comment by phil earle — 2/16/2005 @ 10:40 amWe in NL can understand, and sometimes painfully tolerate, that lack of knowledge and truth leads many in the general public in upper canada to think we are the ungreatful beggars of Canada. To have the political leader of Ontario, who knows that NL has been used to the point of de-humanization, express the same opnions of us is not exceptable. His is the selfish, arrogant manner of the power controling elite, ones who hypocritically use the principles of the consitution to enact their greed while at the same time causing others, in their canadian family, to be denied these same principles of the Bill of Rights and cast out as step-children.
But don’t worry McGuinty we Newfoundlandes and Labradorians are an undaunted lot, and we ain’t going to take another backwards step from anyone. We have been pushed back so far in 50 years of abuse from people with your type of attitude that we got one foot in the north atlantic. Now if we backup another step we’ll drown. And I got news for you and the Canadian government, for us now its drown or fight and we are going to fight. I will to my dying breath. Fact.
What our Premier just finished on our oil is not the ‘beginnng of the end’ of our hard work to get our control and our developement of our resources but just the ‘end of its beginning’. Next we fight for the lower churchill, then our coastal fisheries, then maybe a smelter and a refinery. Hows that for starters? How’s that grab ya ? Huh. phil earle
Phil, I agree with you totally. I am a NLer live in Ontario and McGuinty is really getting a lot of criticism for the way he is running the province. So what does he do? He tries to divert attention by suddenly trying to do a “Mike Harris” and start an anti-NL compaign on the offshore. Only the very ignorant are falling for it, i.e., the Globe and Mail and the Post which are giving him coverage.
McGuinty has broken so many promises that he is unlikely to be re-elected, I hope. The nurses here are the latest group to come out with strong words against him. He promises no new taxes and instituted a so called “health care premium".
Thank God for Premier Williams. Hopefully, once the offshore deal passes Parliament, Danny will commence action on other matters like the fishery and the Upper Churchill.
One thing for sure, for the things I am hearing here in Ontario from ordinary people, NL is the envy of Canada because NL has Danny Williams and now all the rest of Canada wants the same kind of leadership.
Thanks for reading this.
Comment by Anne — 2/16/2005 @ 11:33 amMcGuinty is basically pointing to the recent offshore deals and saying: “Now it’s my turn".
The support Premier Williams enjoys in Ontario is purely in relation to that idea - we need someone who will now get Ontario its fair share - it reflects dissatisfaction with McGuinty as much as anything else. That goes back to a point I made previously here about a certain columnist who shall remain nameless.
Kevin:
I always liked “Popular People’s Front” which of course would be distinct from the Popular Front and the People’s Front, the Free Newfoundland Army, and various sub groups like the Fogo Liberation Front.
In an effort to be all inclusive, and with a tip of the hat to WJM, there would of course be the Shining Path for Labrador Liberation (Maoist), the “People’s Revolutionary Army for the Liberation of Newfoundland, Labrador, Connaigre, Corner Brook, Fogo and some specific bits of the Great Northern Peninsula to be determined by popular, non-binding referendum", and the National Army for the People (Marxist) and its splinter group the NAP (Marxist-Leninist).
Each of these would have a parallel political party which, like Sinn Fein denies any connection with the various armed revolutionary movements.
On the other end of the spectrum, there might well emerge the National Socialist Newfoundland Workers’ Party which would advocate the banning of intermarriage between Newfoundlanders and others not from here, including Labradorians. The NSNWP would also advocate annexation of St. Pierre, Cape Breton and the Quebec North Shore, Fort MacMurray, bits around Boston and Cambridge Ontario.
Locally, these guys would likely favour the creation of certain groupings of foreigners, although these would not be called ghettos or concentration camps.
People would have to carry identity chips embedded in their arms that give basic information including a heritage chart to clearly show that by birth one is a pure Newfoundlander. Only racially pure Newfoundlanders would be eligible for jobs.
At this point, Graham Chapman’s ghost is screaming “Stop that! it is silly". If this offends anyone, I apologize in advance. If we can’t laugh at ourselves, there isn’t much odds. If any of the policies described here reflect your views, then maybe you ought to think a bit further.
And Kevin, can Miller expect his inbox to be flooded?
Comment by Ed Hollett — 2/16/2005 @ 12:00 pmMiller’s inbox is safe – for now. The post you refer to has been brewing in the back of my mind now for about 2 years. Had to have my say. Perhaps I’m alone in this view of Telegram newsletters. Perhaps I’m also a moron for biting the media hand. I couldn’t hold back.
I wonder if my complaints will amount to more than a dead parrot.
Comment by Kevin McCann — 2/16/2005 @ 12:57 pmThank you Anne. Re: Globe & mail.
Comment by phil earle — 2/16/2005 @ 1:06 pmA program was aired sat night feb 5 on i channel named ‘i on media’. There was a panel of three experts on journalism, a professor of journalism from a Toronto University and two other bright men of the industry who have worked a life time at various major news papers and who now are independent of news paper employers and government.
They said that for the most part journalism at the globe and mail is controlled by their accountants and the bottom line and that their biggest and most important customer is the federal government. The feds (and now it seems the Ont. govenment) use this paper to promote their opinions and do not hesitate to use this medium at times with deceptive propaganda to sway the vote of the people. It is now easier to understand why the Prime Minister only made a mild criticism of Wente’s globe and mail front page slanderous and racist remarks about nfld (which was also allowed by that papers board of directors and chief editors), and why John Efford speaks on TV quoting the “Globe and Mail", “the globe and mail"……."the Globe…” They don’t want to offend the hand that helps giving them influence in the media and thus sway with the people. This is most disturbing.
It is an abuse of position and power by the federal government in collusion with Canada’s leading news paper the Globe and Mail. A relationship who’s purpose and final destination is the enactment of laws into our constitution, laws that give Ottawa the control over the provinces and their people. Laws, therefore in these situations, who’s manner of winning favor and exceptance into the constitution is in direct violation of the principals of the Canadian bill of rights.. This type of misuse of power is similar to what Joey did in 1949 by dropping ‘propaganda fliers’ from planes. The few % extra votes gotten this way, not available to responsible government at the time, won him the 1% majority vote for confederation.
Though Democracy places us, in this country, in a much better situation then many other countries of the world it does not preclude the fact that at times our democracy provides a potential venue for corruption of the elite few who have mastered it. phil earle, carbonear.
Danny’s Speech at Atlantic signing. Feb 14/05
I was at the signing of the agreement Monday morning. Go to www.gov.nl.ca/atlanticaccord and click on premiers speech. In particular note the last part of page two and most of page three about our forefathers…."we shall draw from the heart of suffering itself the means for inspiration and survival"….. my heart was in his speech. I had tears in my eyes and it was all I could do not to go up on the stage and give 3 cheers for Danny and NL..
Comment by phil earle — 2/16/2005 @ 1:57 pmI am Self-Reliance, I am Undaunted, I am Indomitable, I am the Persevering Spirit of my forefathers. I am the embodiment and spirit of this marvelous, wild, inebriate and beautiful place of Newfoundland and Labrador.. I declare it to myself and the world…and only when I die will the energy of this spirit leave my mind and body and return to the cliffs, coast and Sea from whence it came.
phil earle
Phil, Confederation won the referendum for many reasons but it was never ever because of an abuse of any power.
As for the Globe, all papers are controlled by the bottom line. Every single one bar none. The news media also reflect their audiences and the Globe is a Toronto establishment newspaper.
But ultimately Ottawa does not control the provinces or the people any more than Danny does. They only have the power you give them and clearly you are prepared to give a local politican all the power you have. That’s all fine and good.
We need to make changes to how the federal government operates but we in this province also need to take a very different attitude to the place and the government if we are to fundamentally change things.
What you wrote of Danny could have been written by the same people who supported Smallwood and Tobin and Peckford. Appeals to raw emotion - as in the Premier’s speech - without any anchoring in reality reduces everything to mere wisps of air. And in the process, nothing fundamentally changes either locally or nationally.
Comment by Ed Hollett — 2/16/2005 @ 3:49 pmEarl, thank you for printing some of Danny Williams’ speech. I did not see it but just reading the lines brought tears to my eyes, as it would any true NL who wants only the best for our beautiful place of birth.
Ed, you wrote: McGuinty is basically pointing to the recent offshore deals and saying: “Now it’s my turn". Please, as though Ontario does not already get everything it wants. Like McGuinty needs “his turn". Ontario gets its “turn” every day of the week every week of the year. Who do you think controls Canada, if not Ontario and Quebec.
Re your comments on the support Premier Williams enjoys in Ontario: Well, you know why he has support, it is because he is a leader, pure and simple. Your explanation that Ontario needs a Danny Williams to get Ontario its fair share is laughable!!! You are killing me with those comments, I am double-overed with hilarity.
Regards from Ontario.
Comment by Anne Marie — 2/16/2005 @ 6:28 pmEd, Thank you. Ottawa uses more than the power we give them This power,and the manner used, is supposed to be out lined in our constitution but on many occasions it is mis- and dis-used. All news paper are not run by the bottom line just talk to ryan cleary chief editor of ‘the independent’. Joey was given money by the big three to fly around Nfld dropping letters, the other side didn’t have the same opertunity and this was significant in winning the vote for CONfederation.
Comment by phil earle — 2/17/2005 @ 2:41 amBy the way most ideas and thoughts are based on illusions because memory is based on the asumptions, half truths and many incorrect facts that are taken by us to be correct. This pocess, for a large part, is sub-conscious and this further adds to our confusion. Thats why one should never take their knowledge as ‘all knowing’. Some who have good insights in general sometimes can’t see this fact about their own tool, the reasoning and logic of their own brain. Thus problems like not being able ‘to see the forrst because of the treees’. Or as the brillant Danish philosopher and theologian Kierkegaard said in the early 19th century “I have seen my enemy and it is myself".
I repeat a quote danny used in his speech, from Pearson.."I reject the views of those men of little faith and mean spirit who by their pessimism about our future, diminish our present and betray our past. Rather all canadians as individuals must support policies designed to promote national confidence, national unity, natioal identity and national purpose- a national purpose which does not betray our past, but does not permit our past always to determine our future".
God bless nfld & lab and her people. Let others do their worst, but I, I will try to do my best. phil earle, carbonear.
Thanks again Anne. If you are referring to the words printed in the last paragraph above they were not in Danny’s speech they are mine…it is who this newfoundlnder is. p e
Comment by phil earle — 2/17/2005 @ 2:45 amIsn’t that McGuinty something else! Words aren’t a sufficient medium to express my disgust at his attitude and our deal has yet to get through the House! I sure hope that the ratification happens soon. The pampered child is indeed pouting and holding his breath and kicking his heels as he lies on his back on the floor. While Ontario gorges on the fruits of confederation, it still has the nerve to shout “gimme, gimme, gimme, more, more, more". Shame, shame, shame!
Comment by a-emc@nl.rogers.com — 2/17/2005 @ 2:40 pm