Hearn’s Response: Party Fealty Before Provincial Reality
A online campaign that started with a few dozen now has a personal response from Ralph Goodale, Finance Minister of Canada, and the Honourable Loyola Hearn. Not to mention Premier Williams’ thank you to the Fair Deal community. I mention this now because everyone who took part in this effort, either now or last January, should see this as a small victory. It shows that (1) our elected leaders have read and listened to our concerns and (2) they have considered them enough to respond. Responding was a good move by Mr. Hearn.
On to addressing the response: A vote for the budget won’t guarantee the Atlantic accord but it will move it along considerably. A vote against the budget bill, on the other hand, will guarantee the death of the accord as we know it. If the Accord dies on Thursday, then the show is over, and to beat a cliche´ to death: all bets are off. Neither Mr. Hearn nor anyone else can predict the face of Parliament – and the likelihood of passing new Accord legislation – should the current government fall. Our covenant is with the party in power; we are back to square-one under new leadership. I do not think that such a risk is justifiable for this province, and I believe that anyone who does is putting party fealty before provincial reality.
Hearn’s letter goes on to ask “What is the quickest way now to get the Atlantic Accord?” Predictably, the answer is “Defeat the Liberals.” Well, I’m tired of predictability. Nine times out of ten you can predict the line a politician will take by the colour that they wear. Breaking ranks is a hard thing to do, but when it happens, it’s a refreshing moment of honesty in a world of memorized talking points. It’s a spark of rebellion in a forgone conclusion. It’s what I’m asking Hearn and Doyle to do, as are thousands more. Step off the party bandwagon, look to the people who put you in power, and act first on behalf of their needs.
All that said, I believe that Mr. Hearn and Mr. Doyle are sincere in their belief that they will be doing the right thing by defeating the budget – if they still choose to do so. However, the St. John’s Board of Trade disagrees with them, as does Premier Danny Williams, as do I, as do many other Newfoundlanders and Labradorians living in the province and away. Too often the needs of our resource-rich land have taken a back seat to political maneuvering in Canada’s capital. Norm Doyle and Loyola Hearn shouldn’t let it happen again.
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I think the present bandwagon that you’re trying to build is very much one designed with ridiculous levels of faith in the Martin government.
What I can’t figure out is where it comes from. This very webiste exists precisely because Paul Martin told NL to F#$%k off after her made a promise.
Your assumptions about what will happen is the government is defeated are based on your experiences with the federal leader who had to travel the furthest from his original position in order to arrive just at an oral promise of the accord. The NDP AND the Conservatives put their promises for 100% on the offshore in writing back in the days when Paul Martin was dead set against it. They have consistently supported at least as good if not a better deal.
If anything, the only uncertainty we have ever had is with one group – the Liberal Party of Canada. Dismissing this as simply “partisan” ignores the fact that there is an actual Liberal record here that speaks for itself. There is also a comparatively better Conservative and NDP record.
The only uncertainty here was created when we quite foolishly chose to trust a phone message from Paul Martin to be equal to a written and explained promise from Stephen Harper and Jack Layton. The only delays have been caused squarely by one caucus.
I fail to see why Newfoundlanders are now willing to bow en mass and lick the scraps from Paul Martin’s table and help preserve a government that put us through hell from start to finish.
A vote for this budget is a complete cave-in to the very political manouverings in Canada’s capital. It would be a checkmate for the only party with a documented political culture of preferring to keep power in the centre and scold provinces like ours for our demands.
Loyola Hearn and Norman Doyle greatly assisted the cause of trying to get Paul Martin to keep his promise. But his promise was always the worst anyways.
The fastest way to get the best deal fro Newfoundland and Labrador is to defeat this government. If you don’t like Harper, vote Layton.
I can’t believe what has come to be passed-off as “normal” these days…. The Newfoundlanders who rioted on Military Road in 1932 because of a corrupt bastard who stole their money and pilfered what was theirs would likely bow their heads in shame at the sight of us pandering to a Prime Minister who lashed our deal onto the back of a rhinoceros whores ransom of a budget and held it hostage. They’d be ashamed at seeing so many Newfoundlanders reduced to saying “well, b’y it’s master Martin’s way or no way… we’re just too weak to get it how we deserved to have it…”
Sorry. No Dice.
Paul Martin should Apologize to Danny Williams, John Hamm, and all the NS and NL Representatives of all stripes for what he has done to them. He certainly shouldn’t be able to continue to use us as human shields.
Comment by Liam O’Brien — 5/17/2005 @ 8:29 pm