1. Lana Payne, head of the province’s labour federation, writes a Saturday column in the Telegram accusing Iggy and Harper of playing the politics of fear and accusing Iggy of “caving” on the federal budget.
Caving would be the head of the province’s labour federation who joins the Premier in the latest Equalization dog and pony show without so much as batting an eyelid, let alone asking the Premier what he planned to do to public sector employees given the record huge deficit he has anyways.
Like maybe he’d stomp on collective bargaining again and re-write laws to strip unions of rights.
She apparently was nonplussed by that labour unions nonsense but gi-normously concerned about whatever it was Danny was talking about. He was angry, that’s good enough for Lana.
And playing crass budget politics?
That would be the entire lot of them, Payne included.
2. Pam Frampton on government unaccountability and the whole ongoing university fiasco. It’s worth the read form a number of reasons, not the least of which is proof that the current administration knows only one way to deal with the problem of being in a political hole: keep digging.
Pam nails it in one place:
In a Dec. 12, 2006 news release announcing the appointment of Jeanette Lundrigan and others to the board of regents for a three-year term that would have ended Oct. 27 this year, Burke wrote: “It is important we have a team that has the skills, dedication and enthusiasm to lead the university in the coming years.”
Removed from post
But on Jan. 15, 2009, Lundrigan was summarily replaced by Kathleen Roul.
In announcing Roul’s appointment, Burke wrote: “I am pleased we have a team in place that has the skills, dedication and enthusiasm to lead the university in the coming years. …”
Perhaps Burke is right, that renewal is sometimes necessary.
Incidentally, further to the freedom from information story, the Telly went looking for some briefing notes on the NAFTA implications of the Abitibi expropriation. None exist, comes back the answer from the freedom from information co-ordinator. Minister was briefed in many ways but no documentary record exists of any of it. The story isn’t online, unfortunately.
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