21 May 2015

TBT: a cabinet divided #nlpoli

The latest case of the Premier and one of his ministers saying different things can’t be put down to brain farts.

You also cannot dismiss this because fisheries minister Vaughan Granter can’t speak in short spurts or whatever the heck that line was from last weekend’s On Point.

This one is a case of two cabinet ministers saying two different things.

The fisheries minister says Ocean Choice International is not living up to its deal with the provincial government.  Hence, as VOCM reported, the fisheries ministers said government “will hold OCI accountable to its commitment to provide jobs in Fortune. In an 2012 agreement, government gave up minimum processing requirements in exchange for the company providing 110 jobs. But since then there's been little work.”

Premier Paul Davis has a completely different story, again via VOCM.

Despite not providing full time work, the Premier says Ocean Choice International is living up to its 2012 agreement with the province. Paul Davis points to investments in the Fortune plant and the purchase of another vessel as evidence of that. But he says the company has had to change its business plan to reflect lower catches.

The problem here is not that the ministers can’t speak in whole sentences or that Davis ‘s staff forgot to tell Granter what was going on.

These guys are saying two contradictory things.

Just like Dunderdale and Dalley about the European trade talks.  Talk about your throwback Thursday.

-srbp-