The “Ontario Way”
Posted by Kevin on 2/17/2005 @ 11:24 am
From the CBC:
“We will not lower the Canadian flag,” McGuinty told reporters.
It seems McGuinty’s Ontario way is not fully appreciating the Newfoundland and Labrador situation. We’ve got a non-renewable resource here that could possibly reverse our dismal economic performance and change the trend of squandering the resources that we were lucky enough to have. This is entirely different from Ontario’s situation.
“We will not stamp our feet and hold our breath. We will do this in the Ontario way,” McGuinty said.
Lowering the flag, on its surface, was a political move to get a better deal and get recognition. Fine.
But it became more than that — whether you like it or not — and Williams’ defiant act came to symbolize, for many, an historic statement 55 years in the making. There’s an awful lot of people in Newfoundland and Labrador who are unhappy with our place in Canada, and McGuinty’s chide clearly shows his complete dismissal of this history. I doubt that many from Ontario would view their provincial history in the same light.
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Isn’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 @ 2:34 pmMcGuinty is not to bright and the people of Ontario must now realize the mistake they made to have him as their Premier. With the above statements he is trying to portray that Ontario’s government has a better way of doing things and in particular, here, better than the way of Newfoundland and Labrador. But he is in direct contradiction within him self of the integrity that he thinks he has and the true integrity, which he doesn’t have.
To use ‘lowering of the flag’ and ’stomping of feet and holding our breath’ in the way he has is to make it appear that he, and his government, are above such actions while at the same time belittling our Williams lead government for having done so. This is his way to address the issue and it therefore must be the Ontario way, not the ‘lowering of the flag and stomping of feet’ but throwing back into the face of our canadian family the manner that we had to resort to in our cry of desperation and indignation.
It must then be the Ontario government’s way to wring, for themselves, any and every drop of use out of NL’s situation, and any other province of our great country, no matter that we are being dehumanized and fighting for, and clinging to, the last vestige of our great maritime culture.
This is a nice way for one of our brothers in the canadian family to act towards us. Maybe he’s not satisfied that billions of dollars and thousands of jobs are produced in Ontario on the raw minerals and Oil that flows every year out of our province to Ontario, and the vitality, ability and productivity that thousands of working ex-patriot NLers gives to his provence. We have been used and taken for granted for so long that its just natural for him prop himself up once again at our expense.
As Danta said 500 yeras ago “One who fails to act in times of crisis is doomed and destine for hell". God bless danny for acting the way he did, no other premier in our 55 years has. Maybe this will halt NL’s decent into hell!
As for McGuinty it comes to mind what E.T. Bell said in his great book ‘Men of Mathematics’, published in 1937. When considering the character of men, he said the merits of a man(and government)is inversely proportional to his pretentions. (The smaller your pretentions the greater your character, the greater your pretentions the smaller the goodness or merits of your character.) McGuinty’s pretention is that NLers are wimpering babies and his pretention of himself and his beloved Ontario government is the way of class, the just and the noble. But accoding to Dr. Bell thats a lot of pretention, enough Im afarid to classify McGuinty, and his cronies, with the Meritless.
phil earle, crbonear
Comment by phil earle — 2/17/2005 @ 2:43 pmPhil,
When are you going to convince some of your MD friends in the states to come practice in our great Province and, possibly even better, in Carbonear?
John
Comment by John Kent — 2/17/2005 @ 7:57 pm“We will do this in the Ontario way.”
Seems the Ontario way is to get things done riding the backs of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.
Comment by Walter — 2/18/2005 @ 6:46 amJohn
Comment by phil earle — 2/18/2005 @ 11:25 amFirst of all Americans make three times the money, plus the % exchange rate and in half the working hours than canadian doc’s do.
Secondly the federal government, in its policy to correct its financial situatuion, has much to strong a tendency to treat our medical system as a bottom line business. They won’t put more money into medicine thus there are not enough doctors, nurses, good and sufficient medical equipment. The upshot of this as you know is hours of waiting in ER’s, months to see specialists and a lack of modern investagative equiment.
A further consequence of this ‘tight fist’ is that Hospitals such as ours in this area, which handles or is available to 40-50,000 people, do not have, or are short of, some specialists; Pediatricians, neonatetoligists, endocrinologist, neurologists, nephrologists..etc. and therefore GP’s and family doctors are put in the position of not having , close at their disposal, the full, quick, easy and important backup of these specialties. Of course Dr’s have axcess to st johns but its 100 kms away and at times the communication is protracted.
I have never practiced medicine here therefore my knowledge of the situation in NL is not from first hand experience. I don’t claim to be representing our doctors but rather from what I imagine it must be like for manny physicans from my knowledge of 25 yrs of practicing medicine in the US. In this light I can tell you if I were practicing here it would be most stressful on me, as a doctor, to be put in the situation of being responsible for conditions in my patients with out having the full breath of specialists at immediate hand. This is why, in my opnion its so difficult to get and keep doctors in our provience.
I apologize to Kevin for using his site in this manner. phil earle
As a Newfoundland & Labradorian I’ve never been more proud to have taken part in and supported, such a movement as the Fair Deal for Newfoundland and Labrador.
Although I am medically retired, my prior career was within the financial and banking industry. Many a time I had witnessed the ignorance, arrogance, and stupidity of “upper management” who were adamant that their policies and procedures were the correct way in doing business on the “Rock”. Many a time I had to swallow my pride and administer “their” policies in Newfoundland & Labrador, their way. Even then, as is the case now [so I’m led to believe]. Those policies and procedures needed a “Newfoundland” twist [behind the scene] in order to be truly successful.
I totally support Premier Williams and endorse his “management” way of handling the accord negotiations. It’s going to be interesting to watch the ignorance, arrogance and stupidity of those who “had”. Copy the determination and rightful stubbornness of the precedence which has been set by one determined Newfoundlander.
This experience has educated me far beyond what I had already learned through the school of hard knocks. What’s next on the adjenda???
Comment by Geoff Brinston — 2/22/2005 @ 5:35 pm