Fair Deal Invades Ottawa…Again
Posted by Kevin on 2/27/2005 @ 12:32 am
Thank you to the PC Ontario Party, who seemed generally enthralled with the accomplishments of the Fair Deal for Newfoundland and Labrador campaign.
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Nice T-shirt, eh? Fair Deal invades Parliament Hill….again.
Hey, if any readers out there supported this campaign by purchasing a T-shirt or a mug or sticker or anything, take a photo and send it along to me. I am not responsible for frostbite incurred by those attempting to take photos of themselves in frigid places. Like Ottawa. |
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Kevin, I don’t know if you were responsible for the green white and pink there in the background but if it was I admire you like a brother. This flag, the unoffical flag of the people of Newfoundland holds sacret to all Newfoundlanders and should be expressed more widley.
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 2/27/2005 @ 5:51 pmThanks Frank. Yes I am responsible for the pink white and green flag…part of a power point presentation explaining our effort at the convention. Interesting—no questions about the flag on the screen; I wonder how widespread is the knowledge of our original flag.
Comment by Kevin McCann — 2/27/2005 @ 8:41 pmHello Kevin,
Comment by ZS — 2/28/2005 @ 12:16 pmCould you post your Power Point presentation?
Great effort, keep it up!
ZS, Glovertown
Kevin, just a suggestion from my point of view. It would be nice to see the Pink White and green underneath the provincial flag on the home page of this site. The tri-color is very unique in a way that it expresses our culture,tradition and our distinct society.
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 2/28/2005 @ 7:53 pm“The tri-color is very unique in a way that it expresses our culture,tradition and our distinct society.”
I agree.
The blue-white-and-green is a remarkable flag.
Comment by WJM — 3/1/2005 @ 2:22 pmYes WJM,I agree too. The blue-white-and-green is a remarkable flag,
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 3/1/2005 @ 6:20 pmAd-gate
What happened to interest and discussions on the Provincial Ad-gate? Was it too controversial?
Sheesh, no wonder they do it! Even when we start to scream “accountability” our whole Blog goes quiet. Brenda S. even found the Act! Why are we not holding Loyola accountable? This is why they run amuck. We LET them…
Fred from CBS
Comment by Fred Harris — 3/1/2005 @ 11:14 pm…and I’d like that job for a cool $2.5 million a year that buddy in Quebec had for 5 years!
Kind neat that his wife and kids earned another $2.0 million in bonuses too!
Fred from CBS!
Comment by Fred Harris — 3/1/2005 @ 11:19 pmHay Fred, maybe it’s not that everyone went quite about the AD, maybe their not on the same wave length as you. Alot of people in this province (unlike non-Newfoundlanders or Labradorians who took up residence here)seem to rejoice in the AD and in our government. Our government worked very hard for us and did a good thing for the people of this province. I perfer not to enter into a discussion regarding the provincce’s abused political history from mainland counterparts since 49 but there’s one thing I will say, I don’t appreciate a non-newfoundlander bashing our present day government. Mr.Willliams amd Mr.Sullivan both have my stamp of approval on this Ad
I lived on the mainland for a number of years and listen to to many times how they poke fun at us Newfoundlanders but still for all they like to come here to vacation. Why?
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 3/2/2005 @ 7:33 pmFrank, your comments directed at Fred are unfair and uncalled for. How many generations do you have to live here before you’re intitled to voice your opinion against the government? Fred has made a home in this province and he has every right to express his displeasure. As a born and bred Newfoundlander and Labradorean I share his displeasure. Is that OK?
Comment by Sarah — 3/2/2005 @ 9:05 pmSarah,you must not forget,this is an open fourm.
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 3/2/2005 @ 9:49 pm“I will say, I don’t appreciate a non-newfoundlander bashing our present day government.”
Define “Newfoundlander".
“Mr.Willliams amd Mr.Sullivan both have my stamp of approval on this Ad”
It would be nice if that ad, for the money it cost, provided information instead of platitudes and feel-goodness about Danny and his government.
This is the kind of disgraceful behaviour that Danny, falsely in hindsight, accused Grimes of engaging in, and promising to put an end to.
Comment by WJM — 3/2/2005 @ 11:23 pmFrank, ya just don’t get it! I’m not bashing the AD. I love the AD. Did you hear me that time! I LOVE THE AD!
And I’m accepted and loved by friends and family from St. John’s to St. Anthony’s. (Sorry WJM I’m not very acquainted with many Labradorians, yet.) And while I’m as patriotic (or more so) to the better treatment of N AND L as the next guy (or gal. Thanx Sarah!).
So while I’d like you to agree with me, I don’t really need your approval rating. If your political stance is that you wear a blue jacket to cocktail parties Frank, go for it. (WJM will be up the street at a red jacket cocktail party.)
It is my responsibility voter and proud constituent of Newfoundland to best watchdog ANY government that bends the rules.
And now that I’m to the crux of the issue again Frank,
IT IS AGAINST THE RULES TO SPEND OVER $20K WITHOUT GOING TO A TENDER/BIDDING PROCESS!
Did you hear me that time in the “open forum” buddy?
Fred from CBS
Comment by Fred Harris — 3/3/2005 @ 8:02 amWJM, so what your telling me is you do not know what defines a Newfoundlander? Hmmmm have to make you work for this one. How about the same that defines a Labradorian, now was that to hard for ya?
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 3/3/2005 @ 7:51 pmOk Fred I get it now, your not bashing the ad and you don’t agree with the absence of the tendering process but do any of us really know why there wasn’t a tendering process. Most people (even myself at times) usually and naturally respond with with a negative foot forward when it comes to something we immediately disagree with. Sometimes we have to stop and think - is there a legitimate reason? In this case I personally think there was. I believe Dannny Williams felt that M5 (no type-o this time)was the only company that had the level of professionalism to produce an ad up to a standard he was looking for, for the money they wanted to spend.
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 3/3/2005 @ 8:32 pmOh by the way Fred, I wear neither a blue jacket nor a red jacket and I’ll never wear an orange jacket. I wear my own jacket!
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 3/3/2005 @ 8:35 pmRight on Frank! I too am a NON-Partisan voter with the best interest of MY newly chosen province (NL) at heart. It’s up to all of us to keep an eye on all these party “politickers".
I mean seriously, the big two party titles, Liberal and Conservative, are only terms that seem to relate to how they treat our money in respect to how much of it they can spend at their friends businesses. It was Liberal when golf courses and monuments were put in Shawinigan Quebec and here in Newfoundland it is Conservative because they only spent $150K instead of $250K, I guess… I guess it was also Conservative when NAPE was ordered back to work with so much as a how-do-ya-do. (And that doesn’t mean I’m orange or any other colour, either!)
That is why I’m not willing to give up on this topic of tendering proposals yet. Nobody from our elected officials seems to want to provide an answer as to how this could legally happen. We don’t really know, and just because our elected representatives do ONE thing that we like (or even LOVE, in the case of the “Fair Deal Accord” and the CONTENT of a Commercial) they then slide back into tactics and policies that contravene the rules, regulations and acts; we must call out for proper accountability. I guess I’ll soon hafta write Terry and Danny personally…
Unless we are directed to a better reference than the one Brenda S. quoted in an earlier blog heading, called Ad-Gate, we should be demanding the reason why M5 was just chosen rather than having the prescribed bidding process followed. (ie Prove to us that M5 was the only company capable of doing the AD.)
Would I perhaps receive a quicker response if I asked the other AD companies in the province?
Hey Kevin, perhaps now that you and the Premiere are doing photo ops, you could get someone from his office to answer this?
Or are we just a rah, rah squad for the good stuff? Just wondering…
Fred from CBS
Comment by Fred Harris — 3/3/2005 @ 10:46 pmI wouldn’t call this a photo-op in the media sense Fred, and I think I’ve proven that my purpose here is not to be a cheerleader. Williams was in town and and wanted to personally say thanks to the Fair Deal guy, and reiterate thanks to the campaign as a whole. I applaud him for that.
No cameras, no media, just a conversation. I asked to take the picture because frankly I thought it was fantastic to meet the Premier of NL down in my adopted city.
Comment by Kevin McCann — 3/3/2005 @ 11:01 pmSorry if it felt that way Kevin, I didn’t mean to suggest that you were. I was merely returning to discussions we had about keeping all of our politicians accountable to us with this “It’s about time” forum.
It was meant to sling more at the governement about responding to a controversial question regarding tendering and bidding processes rather than just allowing us to be used as support for the popular projects.
I would never intentionally question your motives but politicians even if they do one good thing need constant babysitting and when they don’t answer the tough questions, it makes it look like they’re hiding something.
Be it true or not…
Fred from CBS
Comment by Fred Harris — 3/4/2005 @ 12:03 pm“WJM, so what your telling me is you do not know what defines a Newfoundlander?”
No, I’m asking you whether the only people who can consider themselves Newfoundlanders are the born-and-bred.
If you don’t think that a “newcomer” can be a Newfoundlander, then you are no better than the Quebec nationalists who discount the views of anyone in that province who isn’t pure-laine-de-souche-Québécois.
I hope that’s not your point of view.
“How about the same that defines a Labradorian, now was that to hard for ya?”
Someone who has any sort of personal attachment to Labrador that makes the place part of them and vice-versa.
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 3/3/2005 @ 7:51 pm
Comment by WJM — 3/4/2005 @ 12:55 pmRight on, WJM!
Comment by ZS — 3/4/2005 @ 3:14 pmZS, Glovertown
WJM, you said “I’m asking you whether the only people who can consider themselves Newfoundlanders are the born-and-bred.”
YES! that’s exactly right! It doesn’t matter how long I live in Ontario, Quebec, Alberta or Tim Buk Too,I’ll forever be a Newfoundlander, born and bred. Nothing wrong with being Irish b’y. And yes, that’s my point of view!
“How about the same that defines a Labradorian”
“Someone who has any sort of personal attachment to Labrador that makes the place part of them and vice-versa.”
You got it!!
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 3/4/2005 @ 8:12 pmFred, maybe I was a little critical in some responses but may I ask a personal question? Why did you choose Newfoundland? Like I said before, most mainlanders like to poke fun but vacation here at the same time,a little irony maybe!
Comment by Frank Hollahan — 3/4/2005 @ 8:21 pmFrank, I can take a bashing like anybody else but I think you may not fully realize how many ex-military people “retire” here in Newfoundland and Labrador.
Just because my entire lineage from the “old country” didn’t set up shop on the Rock doesn’t mean some of them didn’t stop for a bit… (Me Mudders, Mudder was a Murphy.)
I guess my crowd just realized that, in a bunch of years, there wouldn’t be any jobs…
Bad joke but I too have been looking for work since October but don’t qualify for pogey, so I have some rights to complain. My wife’s extended family is here. She’s got two older kids and we’ve got 2 granddaughters here. (See www.donna@donnaramsay.com )
I’m bitching (and building a future) for them.
As for poking fun, hey, my family from southern Ontario and I have been poking fun at ourselves and each other for my whole life. Then when I joined the Air Force my friends and I used to constantly bash each other. Most of my best buds were Newfs. 3 of my best friends (2 of them from St. John’s) died in a car crash in the summer (June 21, 1982). I had made a trip to St John’s in summer of ‘81 with them and a crew of fun loving partiers!
I guess that’s part of the reason I fell in love with the Rock. My drinking buddies and best friends ended up being Newfoundlanders. So it only made sense to me to marry one so that the Rock would hafta adopt me…lol
Whatever, you asked for personal… Yer stuck with me now and I’m sorry that I won’t ever be a softie when it comes to fleshing out accountability in government. Some people may like my style and some may think I’m an idiot. I don’t really care either way as long as the people I vote for (or will vote for) perform their duties ethically and in the best interest and future of my family and adopted community/province. I feel it to be my responsibility to act with due diligence and assist/torment any crew that works for me (us) in the big blue and tan buildings on Prince Phillip Drive… or does it change over to MacDonald St. there? Who the heck put up the street signs anyways? I’d guess in was one night after the George St. Festival the way roads get named and restart somewhere else around the corner… City Planners might be soon to land on my list of folks to annoy.
If you’d like more about who I am and how dedicated I am to helping/watchdoging, check back in previous blogs where there are hours of fascinating reading… Well maybe not if you think government gets a free ride for one high profile job. Don’t get me wrong. They did pull off a wicked victory that is in the best interest of this abused province. And as much respect as I have for Mr. Williams, I still think that as humans (and especially as a cluster of government elected official humans) who lose sight of things that piss us off when they get to close to an issue, we gotta stay vigilant and remind them when we feel that they have fouled things up.
Remember, I’m helping to protect the futures of the children on that website I posted above!
Fred from CBS
Comment by Fred Harris — 3/4/2005 @ 11:07 pmFred,
Comment by ZS — 3/5/2005 @ 7:21 pmI believe your URL is mistyped. Shouldn’t it be
www.donaramsay.com? Thet’s the URL I used. Nice pictures, but tiny thumbnails can’t be enlarged (at least not with Firefox browser)
ZS, Glovertown
Thanks ZS you’re almost correct too. Her work is also in this month’s Downhomer. It’s:
www.donnaramsay.com
I tangled the e-mail with the URL and you skipped an “n”. I think we got it now!
I believe the site works best with MS Explorer or Netscape. They enlarge for me…
Fred from CBS
Comment by Fred Harris — 3/5/2005 @ 10:10 pm