1. Public Service Pension Plan. Then-finance minister Loyola Sullivan announced the provincial government borrowed $400 million to address the unfunded liability in the provincial public service pension plan (PSPP). The money was borrowed at 4.5% interest over a 30 year term.
The news release on December 6 mentioned another unspecified amount would be borrowed before the end of the fiscal year (31 March 2007)
It will be interesting to see if the provincial government carries out the planned borrowing and, if so, what the amount will be.
2. Economic development. InTRD minister Trevor Taylor announced money on December 28 for economic development, disbursed from a $5.0 million fund already established.
About $12, 000 will be spent to conduct a test fishery on shark-catching as a tourism venture. This sounds great as a tourism idea but as an environmentally-sensitive project it seems a bit dodgy. Shark fishing may attract anglers, but there is no indication if the sharks are dumped - inevitably dead - back into the ocean or if there has been any thought given to use the shark flesh for any type of subsequent commercial use.
Taylor also announced the province would drop the princely sum of $1875 - yes, that's all the digits, Virginia - into a study on using water from Gisborne Lake as a source for bottled water. As the release put it:
The [local development] association hopes that by making available details of the lake and the surrounding infrastructure, local development officers will be able to use the study as a prospectus to attract businesses to the area to develop a local water bottling industry.Like no one has thought of Gisborne Lake for such a purpose before. The last time out, a private-sector venture foundered over concerns about impact exporting water in bulk from Gisborne Lake would have on water under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The federal government eventually banned bulk exports of water in 1999. The provincial government joined in but talked about lifting its own ban in 2001.
The general characteristics of the lake are well known, so one must wonder why the provincial government must spend any cash at all on this venture. In 1998, then-opposition critic Tom Osborne questioned the bulk export proposal but indicated his party favoured bottling water for export.
Fair enough.
But there just doesn't seem to be a demand for exporting bottled water. If there was, surely someone would have invested in it by now.
If that wasn't enough, there are always the environmental and ethical issues now being raised about bottled drinking water.
Maybe there are good reasons why the provincial government is investing such a paltry sum. Of course, that still wouldn't explain the tardiness of the Williams' bunch from bringing forward the sustainable development act mentioned in the infamous Blue Book. The new legislation was to be a major accomplishment of the first term.
Back in 2003, Danny Williams believed there was "a brief window of opportunity to legislate a balanced development strategy for this Province that protects water resources, assures fair benefits for the Province, and provides a hospitable and competitive environment for investors."
Williams categorically rejected bulk exports but did commit that:
We will legislate a water resource development strategy that adheres to the following principles:
* Sound management and sustainable development of fresh water resources.
* Development of a fully integrated water resource industry, which includes value-added processing in the Province.
* A fair regime for assessing royalties and taxes, procurement of goods and services in the Province, and first consideration for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in employment and related training.
* Promotion of local ownership and local investment in the development of the primary resource and related industries.
When these policies are enshrined in law and their intent expressed in every government-industry agreement to develop our water resources, this Province and businesses in this Province will have the opportunity to become global players in what may well become the most important resource industry in the world.
There is still time. If Danny and his cabinet get busy they have 10 months to deliver.