Two degrees of separation, masters of our domain version

Via nottawa, the curious connection between French president Nicolas Sarkozy,  seal bashing and a recent government decision to drop $20 million of public money on three onshore exploration licenses.

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The Bi-coastal Difference

Justin Trudeau, popular fundraising draw.

The townie version, courtesy of the guy who used to help bag Brian Tobin’s political cash, this time helping to bag some donors on someone else’s behalf: $100 bucks a pop at a private residence in a very exclusive part of St. John’s.

The west coast version, courtesy of the guy who sometimes carried Tobin’s bags before he got a better job:

The event, which is open to the general public for an admission fee, will be held at the Family Adventure Park on Lundrigan Drive from 2:30 to 5 p.m. June 21.

As Justin himself put it about the Corner Brook event:

“People always want to hear what I have to say, but not nearly as much as I want to hear what they have to say,” said Trudeau. “So, having a more casual format like this family barbecue and a number of other meetings with different people will allow me to make sure people have the chance to get their message out there and across.”

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"Holy Carpet-Bombing," Batman Update: Since originally posting on this on Wednesday, your humble e-scribbler has received no fewer than three separate e-mails with the invitation to the St. John's event at SuperDean's house attached.

Amazing.

Either, I am on someone's mailing list and the thing is being mass mailed everywhere - my guess - or there is some worry about attendence. (Not my guess and hopefully not the outcome for Siobhan's sake.)

Let's not even consider that the people e-mailing aren't regular Bond Papers readers.

Hmmm.

Then again, since it is a Liberal fundraiser that might not be surprising.

Some of the most loyal BP readers are local Tories trying to stay in tune with what's happening within their own administration or people with provincial government IP addresses who presumably are getting paid to keep an eye on things.

Liberals seem have better things to to do, apparently.

Meanwhile in a phone booth in St. John's...‏

there’s a fundraiser for Siobhan Coady, member of parliament for St. John’s South- Mount Pearl.

Well, actually the thing isn’t being held in a phone booth but it is being held at SuperDean’s house.

Hundred bucks a plate.

Guest: Justin Trudeau.

Invite only.

Wonder who’s on the guest list?

We can cross Roger Grimes and any of his friends off, most likely.

Maybe there’ll be some new faces, the ones that make some of us consider doing another round of Two Degrees of Separation.

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Fart-in-Church Update: And then in ye olde inbox appears an e-mail from an official party source with the invite to the SuperDean/Justin event. Perhaps your humble e-scribbler is supposed to be on the invite list.

While Siobhan is certainly worthy of support and Trudeau is a sure-fire draw, the venue leaves so much to be desired that it pretty much cancels out the positives.

Maybe someone in the media or one of the attendees should ask the host if he shares his old buddy's jaundiced view of Confederation and the Liberal Party.

After all, this is part of the philosophy of Dannyism and Dannyism is something that SuperDean apparently thinks we need to keep going for a couple of decades more:

The way that our people and our region have been treated by one arrogant federal Liberal government after another is disgusting. The legacy that the late Prime Minister Trudeau and Jean Chrétien will leave in Atlantic Canada is one of dependence on Mother Ottawa, which has been orchestrated for political motives for the sole purpose of maintaining power.

Yep. There is a Great Liberal Conspiracy afoot to oppress the people of Atlantic Canada solely for the benefit of Les Rouges.

Not only that but the Great Liberal Conspiracy was perpetrated by none other than Justin's father, he being "the late Prime Minister Trudeau".

Such sentiment would surely go over like a fart in church among Liberals or even a fair-minded non-partisan with some passable knowledge of the facts of the matter.

Two degrees of separation

Around these parts, we’ve always joked that you can play six degrees of separation everywhere else but in Newfoundland and Labrador you can likely only get to two, at best.

Here’s a case in point:

1.   Engineering firm SNC-Lavalin just bought Spectrol Energy Services for an undisclosed sum.

2.   SNC-Lavalin is a contractor on the Lower Churchill project according to the project’s website.  Its boss is a strong proponent of the project.

If you google “SNC-Lavalin + lower churchill” or look in the upper right hand corner of your browser, the website still reads Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, incidentally, just to emphasise the interconnected nature of these ventures. The Lower Churchill project used to be run by Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro, but is now another subsidiary of NALCOR Energy, the provincial government’s umbrella energy corporation.

3.  In February, 2009, SNC Lavalin was one of six firms invited to express interest in a piece of work on the project.

4.  Danny Williams used to be a director  - some report it as president - of Spectrol Energy Services;  his interest in the company was placed in a blind trust after he became premier.  In his 2008 filing with the legislature’s members’ interest commissioner, Williams listed a loan guarantee to Spectrol as one of his liabilities.

5.  Spectrol is an oil and gas industry service company that has done work for, among others,  ExxonMobil and the Hibernia project as well as Husky and the White Rose project (starting in 2005). 

6.  The provincial government owns a 4.9% interest in White Rose, which it manages through a subsidiary of NALCOR.  It acquired the interest last year.

7.  Bill Fanning, Spectrol’s chief executive was appointed to the Bull Arm Corporation by the Williams cabinet in 2006.  Questions were raised about the appointment at the time but the government brushed them aside.

8.  Last year, the Bull Arm Corporation was made a subsidiary of NALCOR Energy.

9.  Fanning still sits on the Bull Arm board right alongside directors who also sit on the boards of the other NALCOR subsidiaries in the true fashion of interlocking directorates.

10.  SNC-Lavalin subsidiary BAE Newplan is suing the proponents of a refinery project in Placentia Bay.  In a trip to the Middle East in 2008, Danny Williams reportedly promoted the project unsuccessfully to overseas investors.

How many degrees of separation does all that add up to?

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