The politics and challenges of education reform in post-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador (Part III)

by Philip J. Warren

The 1990s – Reforming the Denominational System

For those who don't recall, let me provide a little more detail about the denominational system. When Newfoundland joined Confederation, the Province had the most denominational school system in the Country, a system that had its beginnings over a century earlier. Five separate church systems -- Roman Catholic, Anglican, United Church, Salvation Army, and Seventh Day Adventist – had emerged, four with representatives in the Department of Education. In addition, there was a relatively small Amalgamated system, largely non-Catholic. Individual denominations had the constitutional right to have their own school boards and schools, to hire and fire teachers, to receive provincial funding on a non-discriminatory basis, and to have denominational colleges. Pentecostal schools were officially recognized in 1954.

After Confederation, the system became the subject of growing criticism. Increasing enrolments, fiscal restraint, and demands for improved programs, facilities, and services highlighted the problems of duplication inherent in the system. One result was a further increase in the number of Amalgamated schools and the integration of five denominations mentioned earlier. The Integrated system served nearly 60 per cent of the Province's enrolment. After that, Integrated, Roman Catholic, and Pentecostal school boards established a number of shared or joint services, in an attempt to further improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the system.

A new Government was elected in 1989, with a caucus that included several political activists (Hubert Kitchen, Rex Gibbons, Chris Decker, Pat Cowan, Roger Grimes, myself, and later Ed Roberts). After considering all the options for improving education (and we did consider every option), the Government decided to establish another royal commission, to study, among other things, the denominational system. The Commission's main recommendation was the establishment of a single interdenominational system as the most cost-efficient and effective way of dealing with the demographic changes and educational challenges confronting the schools, while retaining many of the benefits of denominationalism,

The Commission also recommended that, where numbers warranted, children should be provided with opportunities for religious activities and instruction in their own faith; that the 27 denominational school boards be replaced by nine publicly-elected boards; that the three denominational education councils be dissolved; and that school councils be established at the local level to encourage local, collaborative decision-making and site-based management. If implemented, these recommendations would, in effect, end the denominational system as it had existed since the mid-1800s.

In what may have been a bit of wishful thinking, the Commission pointed out that, just as, in 1969, five churches joined together voluntarily to form a single Integrated system, now, in 1992, it was possible for all churches to create a new system which would preserve the valued Christian character of schooling, and, at the same time, recognize the educational, economic, and social advantages of participating in a fully co-operative venture. The churches strongly rejected these denominational recommendations.

For six years, following the release of the Report in 1992, there was extensive lobbying, long periods of negotiations, periods of stalemate, two provincial referendums, a provincial election, a change of Premiers, several court cases, and political threats and counter-threats. In 1998, legislation was finally adopted in the House of Assembly, leading to the abolition of the denominational system. The story of that period in our history is a most interesting one.

Forces Influencing the Reforms of the 1990s

There were many interrelated forces that influenced the denominational reforms of the 1990s. Four of the most important were: (1) the growth of secularization and the declining credibility of the churches, (2) the influence of special interest groups and the media, (3) the Royal Commission, and (4) sustained political leadership.

The Growth of Secularization and the Declining Credibility of the Churches

The reform of the denominational system in the 1990s was influenced by a major ideological transition in the Province – the growth of secularization. Secularization is the process by which traditional religion and religious rituals lose their influence over society as a whole, and other institutions take over their functions. In Newfoundland, religion once permeated all aspects of our way of life, even athletic activities, the selection of many government employees, and even the appointment of cabinet ministers.

While in the early 1990s, many citizens considered themselves religious, and identified with a particular denomination or religion, the extent to which religion influenced their lives had declined. This was reflected in the decline in church attendance in most denominations, the difficulty of raising funds for church use, the shortage of students for the priesthood and the ministry, the significant growth of interfaith marriages, and the unwillingness of an increasing number of people to see the church as the preeminent ethical and moral authority in their daily lives.

This growth of secularization, of course, was associated with urbanization, industrialization, and a higher level of formal education. It was also associated with the controversies surrounding abortion, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, and the role of women in the churches. More important was the impact of the highly-publicized sexual abuse cases involving priests and other clergy, and the subsequent hearings and reports of the Winter Commission and the Hughes Inquiry. Some say that, at that time, the churches lost their moral authority, in a province in which, until the 1960s, they had retained power almost unknown elsewhere in Canada, even in Quebec.

These forces, among others, resulted in a change of public opinion about denominational schools. That change was reflected in many surveys, particularly those by Mark Graessar of Memorial University and my own studies. While the findings were sometimes ambiguous, and even contradictory, we found growing support for a single, interdenominational system, and almost unanimous support for interdenominational sharing, provided religious education was included. More and more people criticized the traditional system because, they believed, it resulted in too many small schools, the duplication of facilities and programs, excessive school busing, the discrimination of non-Christians and non-religious, and the discrimination of teachers in hiring and firing. These survey results were widely debated, as were publications such as Bill McKim's book entitled “The Vexed Question: Denominational Education in a Secular Age.”

The Impact of Special-Interest Groups and the Media

Many special-interest groups supported the school reform movement in the late 1980s and the 1990s. One such group was the Newfoundland Teachers Association (now the NLTA). With the publication of “Exploring New Pathways” in 1986, the Association launched the first major criticism of the denominational system since the 1964 Royal Commission Report. Roger Grimes was the President of the Association at that time. The criticism was based largely on efficiency and economic grounds, rather than ideological ones.

The fact that the NLTA supported the Government in the 1990s was important because the Association was made up of teachers of all denominations. While Pentecostal teachers had a separate voice within the Association, and sometimes disagreed with the Association's stand on denominational issues, such was not the case for other teachers, including Roman Catholics. I've done some research on why that was so, and will report accordingly in the future.

Another association that became increasingly involved in the debates of the 1980s and 1990s was the Newfoundland and Labrador Human Rights Association. During and after the entrenchment of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, that Association strongly criticized the denominational system for limiting (1) the lifestyle rights of teachers, (2) the rights of non-adherents of the system, including non-Christians, and (3) the rights of non-adherent parents to run for election to school boards that educated their children.

Other groups, such as the business community and various coalitions of parents, also played an important role in supporting the reform. The St. John's Board of Trade, for example, echoed the views of the 1986 House Commission on Employment and Unemployment, linking education with economic growth and calling for the reform of denominational education. The NL Home and School Federation and the Education First Group, a diverse coalition containing persons of all religious and political persuasions, were very influential during the referendum campaigns. Change which tapped into that kind of public support was likely to be successful.

And, then, there was the influence of the media. For three or four decades after Confederation, few journalists criticized the denominational system, and those who did received little visible public support. That changed over time, for obvious reasons.

The media played a very significant role in the promotion of the work of the 1990 Royal Commission. They gave extensive coverage to the hearings, the recommendations, the negotiations, the referendums, and the court cases, often supporting the Government's position. Through newspapers, radio, television, and films, the media became a powerful influence on how people saw the denominational issue and how they responded. There was no doubt that they helped to set the reform agenda in education, greatly influencing policies, politics and values. Many supporters of denominational education believe, to this day, that they were unfairly treated by certain journalists and certain media outlets.

The 1990 Royal Commission

The Government believed that having a Royal Commission study the very sensitive denominational issue as part of a more comprehensive review would not only demonstrate the Government's commitment to providing a better education, but also its willingness to provide strong leadership in these challenging times. The Government knew that there were political risks associated with the Commission's appointment, but it was prepared to take that risk, knowing that when the report was completed, it could choose to take no action, some action, or accept the recommendations entirely.

Looking back, perhaps the most important contribution of the 1990 Royal Commission was that it provided, at a very important point in time, a vehicle for the public discussion of educational issues. In the process, the Commission captured a surprising amount of public attention and provoked the most lively debate in years. School boards, teachers, students, parents, and the general public were truly engaged. The Commission conducted a considerable amount of research and traveled widely to examine developments elsewhere. In addition to its recommendation on the denominational system, it made recommendations on improving the operation of school boards, the curriculum, instructional time, teacher education, the education of children with exceptional learning needs, and even the way we fund education. In the end, unfortunately, the implementation of many of these latter recommendations was overshadowed by the debate on reforming the system.

Sustained Political Leadership

With few exceptions, politicians and political parties in Newfoundland have been careful in their dealings with the churches. Even after Confederation, a political “understanding” between the churches and politicians remained in tact, where one seldom criticized the other. The churches often remained quiet on social and political issues about which they should have been concerned. And few politicians publicly questioned the authority of the churches.

The Governments of Premiers Wells and Tobin were responsible for providing leadership in the reform of the system. As a rationalist in policy development, Wells, like Trudeau, believed that the state should aggressively promote economic and social justice. He saw a modernized school system as the key to our future in a knowledge-based economy. That philosophy was reflected in the Government's newly-developed Strategic Economic Plan. To achieve the new order, the school system had to be made more efficient, more cost-effective, and more responsive to the needs of children.

While Wells preferred the single, unified, interdenominational system proposed by Williams, and wanted to reach a consensus with the recognized denominations, his Government negotiated what he considered a compromise Term 17 amendment, between what the Commission recommended and what the churches were demanding. That proposed Amendment provided for separate denominational schools where it could be demonstrated that such schools had sufficient numbers of students to provide quality education. Under the proposal, the Province would have both uni- and inter-denominational schools, operated by common school boards. The proposal was unacceptable to the churches.

While the constitutional amending formula did not require a referendum for approval of the compromise proposal, the Government decided to hold one in 1995 to give the public an opportunity to debate the issue and decide. Wells refused to aggressively campaign in the referendum. In the end, the proposed Amendment was approved by a narrow majority -- 53 to 47 per cent -- with a relatively low voter turnout. Much more could be said about the Wells Amendment and the referendum, but I'll leave that for another time.

The essence of political leadership is knowing when to think and act quickly and when not. Building on what Wells had accomplished, Tobin (with Minister Roger Grimes) acted quickly and decisively to complete the reform process. After the Barry court case in 1997, which halted the implementation of the Wells proposal, the Premier sensed that the political mood of the Province had changed, and support for the Government had increased. So, he called a second referendum on a fully public system, eliminating denominational rights entirely, with some provision for religious education.

While not being critical of Wells, Tobin sought to distance himself from the first referendum campaign. He presented a clear and straightforward question to the public, and campaigned aggressively, focusing not only on the inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the denominational system, but also the philosophical arguments on which it was based, particularly that Christians should be educated in separate schools. He claimed that the real issue was the correction of a “moral wrong” inherent in the system. By using this argument, he shifted the campaign from primarily economic grounds to the greater welfare of all students and society generally.

With the enthusiastic support of many special interest groups, and individuals of all religious and political persuasions, the referendum was successful, with 73 per cent voting in favour. The Government was assisted by the fact that, unlike the first referendum, the Roman Catholic campaign was not well organized, had few funds, and had lost some of its supporters and enthusiasm.

In my research, I've reviewed the political campaigns of the churches to preserve the system, and the Government to reform it. I will comment on these findings in the future, including the important debate concerning minority rights.

Part 4...

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The politics and challenges of education reform in post-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador (Part II)

by Philip J. Warren

The 1970s – The Equality and Efficiency Agenda

The major changes of the 1960s were followed by more moderate ones in what might be called the “sagging” 1970s. The 1970s were a period of declining birthrates, declining school enrolments, and declining expectations. School enrolments, which had peaked at 163,000 in 1972 (more than double the figure in 1949), declined dramatically. To deal with these declines, the Moore's Government appointed the Crocker/Riggs Task Force, which reported in 1979. That Report made important recommendations, including ones for managing decline instead of managing growth.

The equality issue continued to be an important one throughout the 1970s, influenced by the human rights movement in Canada and the civil rights movement in the United States. In fact, the period saw a change in the meaning of “equal opportunity,” from the “equal-access” version of providing students with the same chance to be educated, to the “affirmative action” version, whereby students would be given unequal help to compensate for differences in their background, their abilities, and even where they lived in the Province.

Another important development during the 1970s was the acquisition of collective bargaining rights by teachers. Collective bargaining granted teachers and their Association more presence and power, not only in matters of teacher welfare, but also in education generally.

The 1980s -- The Quality/Excellence and Accountability Agenda

During what I would label the “sobering” 1980s, increased attention was focused on improving quality and excellence in education. We saw a return to the more traditional philosophy of education, with emphasis on improving instruction in the basics, particularly the areas of language, mathematics and science. The importance of measuring progress through testing and examinations was also stressed.

In Canada as a whole, there were demands for testing at the provincial level to determine how well provinces were doing and how they and the Country ranked internationally. This led to the school indicators project initiated by the Canadian Council of Ministers of Education.

At the high school level in the Province, the curriculum was extended and Grade Twelve added in the early 1980s. One of the criticisms of the extended program was that, while it increased school retention, it did not result in higher academic standards, particularly in challenging the more able students, and better preparing graduates for post-secondary education. It was argued that the new program increased retention at the expense of providing a rigorous and solid academic education.

The breadth of the high school program placed real strain on smaller high schools in particular. Consequently, an Advisory Panel, chaired by Professor Frank Riggs, was appointed to make recommendations to improve the quality of teaching and learning in these schools. In early 1988, a Task Force (the Crocker Task Force) was appointed to examine the teaching of math and science in the Province generally. Its recommendations were important in helping to address some of the problems in these subject areas.

The equality agenda was promoted not only with the expansion of the high school curriculum, but also the introduction in 1987 of a new approach to special education, with student placements and level of service determined by a program planning team which took into account the educational needs of the student and the services available in the school. Under this policy, students would receive some or all of their instruction in a regular class or in a segregated unit, depending on the severity of the students' needs and disabilities. This was the beginning of the ISSP/Pathways program.

There's no doubt that the Premier of the day, Brian Peckford was anxious to modernize education, but, like Mr. Smallwood, he wanted to do it within the existing denominational structure. He was a reformer with a nationalistic bent, advocating more industrialization and greater provincial control of our natural resources, but he refused to challenge the denominational system. In 1982, he enthusiastically supported the efforts of the churches to have Section 29 included in the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, protecting denominational rights against a challenge under the Charter. He spoke strongly in favour of the system when, in 1987, the Pentecostal Assemblies received full recognition by way of an amendment to the Constitution Act.

One of Mr. Peckford's Education Ministers, however, was much more open to reform. Lynn Verge strongly supported all aspects of the equality agenda, particularly equality for women. She believed in the importance of involving all stakeholders in educational decision-making. She was the Minister when the Province increased the proportion of elected school board members from one-third to two-thirds, with elections scheduled to coincide with municipal elections so as to increase public interest and participation. I'm sure she wanted 100 per cent elected, but had to compromise with the churches.

Part 3

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The politics and challenges of education reform in post-Confederation Newfoundland and Labrador (Part I)

by Philip J. Warren

Introduction

It's been argued that education goes through cycles, where periods of heightened public criticism and change alternate with times of stability and calm. Certainly, that's what's happened to education in this Province since Confederation. We've had our share of educational changes and reforms, as well as periods of relative calm and public satisfaction, like the one we're now experiencing.

I plan to discuss some of these post-Confederation reforms and their results, in context. What were the major ones in elementary and secondary education? How did changes in our demographic, social, and economic way of life help to shape them? What was the political context in which they occurred? For my purposes, I've defined a reform as a plan or movement, largely government-directed, which attempts to bring about a systematic improvement in education, province-wide.

Because of time, my comments on the reforms of the 1950s 60s, 70s, and 80s will be brief. I'll discuss the 1990s in more detail, because it was then that the Province experienced one of the most significant educational changes in its history: the reform of the denominational system. While I'll discuss the reforms separately, of course they overlapped and were interactive. I'll conclude with some of the more important challenges with which I believe elementary and secondary education in Newfoundland and Labrador is now faced.

The 50s and 60s – The Access and Equality Agenda

The 1950s and 1960s were decades of dramatic physical growth and expansion in Newfoundland education. Largely because of our high birth rate and heightened expectations as a result of Confederation, enrolments doubled between 1949 and 1964. The numbers of teachers and classrooms more than doubled during that period. (Would you believe that Newfoundland had 1266 schools in 1964-65, compared with 280 today.) The education agenda, then, focused primarily on providing greater access and equality: building more schools, educating more and better teachers, improving school retention, and reducing inequalities between rural and urban schools.

To increase access and enhance equality, the Government developed several new programs, including the construction of regional and central high schools. From the mid-1950s to the mid-1960s, over 100 such schools were constructed and many elementary schools consolidated. These consolidations were made possible by an improved network of roads which had reduced the isolation of many Newfoundland settlements. Programs of scholarships and bursaries were expanded so that many high school students could leave their small communities and attend larger schools elsewhere.

In the late 1960s, major changes were made in the governance of Newfoundland education, including changes to the denominational system. The Anglicans, United Church, Salvation Army, and Presbyterians fully integrated their educational services. Religious leaders like Bishop Robert Seaborn, and leading educators such as Cec Roebothan, and John Acreman, were particularly important in that process.

Other structural reforms, including the reorganization of the Department of Education along functional lines, the elimination of literally hundreds of small school boards (we had 270 school boards in 1964), and the further consolidation of schools, were prompted by the work of the 1960s Royal Commission. The primary goal of that Report was to provide greater equality of educational opportunity, particularly for students in rural areas of the Province, and to make more efficient use of our scarce financial resources.

A word about the politics of the times. Premier Smallwood was very passionate about the importance of education, not only for personal development, but also to address social problems and promote economic growth and development. He firmly believed that the real hope of Newfoundland lay in education. Later in life, he described his accomplishments in education, particularly the establishment of Memorial University, as his second most important legacy.

I believe that the Government brought about a virtual transformation of our educational system during the 1960s. Somewhat ironically, Mr. Smallwood later became a victim of the revolution in education over which he presided. The new generation of educated voters became a major force in his political demise.

Part 2...

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Sir Robert Revised

The original idea for the Sir Robert Bond Papers was for an occasion series of academic papers or thought provoking essays along the lines of what comes periodically from some of the country's thin-tanks.

The first in the series was "Which is to be master?", originally available as a pdf and later serialized.  In the event, Bond Papers evolved into something else.

With the Victoria Day weekend now behind us, and with me still on a self-imposed hiatus, Bond Papers returns with a series of posts faithful to the original intent.

Dr. Philip J. Warren is synonymous with education in Newfoundland and Labrador. Born in New Perlican in 1933, Dr. Warren holds a doctorate in education from the University of Alberta. He was chairman of the Royal Commission on Education and Youth (1964) and as minister of education in the first Wells administration, he was part of the drive to further reform in the province's education system.

Few can rightly claim to have had such a profound effect on education in the province. Dr. Warren was a teacher and principal before he joined the faculty of education at Memorial University in 1962.  Countless teachers have been influenced by him both in the classrooms at Memorial and through his writings.

Dr. Warren delivered the opening address at a recent symposium on education sponsored by the Harris Centre and the Faculty of Education. The text of his address will be presented here in a series of four posts beginning on May 20. For those who wish to see the full presentation, the Harris Centre has posted a video.

As noted in the introductory materials from the symposium, Dr. Warren is currently working on a book on education reform which places the efforts at change in a social, political and economic context. If the speech is any indication, Dr. Warren's book will be required reading for anyone seriously interested in the future of our province.

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Suspended animation

The Sir Robert Bond Papers and The Persuasion Business are in suspended animation effective today.

There will be no new posts for the foreseeable future. That's the suspension.

Old material  - in the usual animated style - is still available.  You can find posts through the archives list on the right hand navigation bar (scroll down a bit) or through google searches.

The Bond Store will remain open for those who are looking for great gifts or a way to show your contrarian nature on the beach or the golf course.

The reasons are simple.

First, it is a matter of time.  New projects will consume most of the time available to your humble e-scribbler over the coming months and work takes priority, right after family.

Second is a matter of how Bond Papers has always run. There's never been client business here nor has there been a discussion of issues related to a client. In the projects now starting, it will be difficult if not impossible to maintain the commentary on numerous aspects of public relations and public affairs without impinging on client affairs in one way or another. That's the more important reason behind the change.

Bond Papers is at a peak.  Readership remains high with over 11,500 readers each month and over 18,000 page loads. That's where it has been since early 2007. Readers include opinion leaders across the country but the bulk are opinion leaders within Newfoundland and Labrador. They may not think of themselves in those terms, in many cases, but they are.

It's been humbling to take a look each day at the traffic.  Thanks for your interest and for your feedback over the past three and a half years.

They will find other places to spend a few minutes each day.  Other blogs are available, like nottawa and labradore, to fill their need for a daily dose of pithy commentary and uncomfortable truths. If they want something a little saucier and considerably better written they can try Serious Business. If they like it straight, there are none straighter or more readable than Gary Kelly.

Public Ledger is back, for those who like Craig Westcott's take on things.  For the musings of another bastard, this time a townie, they can check out Craig Welsh's appropriately titled towniebastard. Both Craigs will not take offense at a little name calling.  The appellation is offered with greatest respect; both have earned that regard for different reasons.

Geoff Meeker is still highly recommended for those who prefer some discussion of media issues and some cross over to a discussion of public relations and communications.  Geoff may have inherited some things to get him started in his work but he has given professionalism a new definition both in his life as a journalist and as a public relations practitioner.

Other than that, there are simply too many good public relations blogs out there to recommend one or two over the rest.  Just google search and you'll get hits.

There are plenty of other blogs that focus on different aspects of life.  As much as people have tried to define or categorize blogs, each definition ultimately falls far short of what they are. Blogs are as varied in subject and tone and content as the people who write them. You will find a good sampling in the links to local blogs over there at the right. Blogs take work and thought - despite what some think - and blog writers are always appreciative of visitors. Drop in and check them out.  You may be surprised at what you'll find.

Blogging is a powerful medium and that fact has been proven numerous times across the globe. Influencing public opinion is the stock in trade of public relations practitioners and many have ignored blogs at their peril. The dearth of locally produced blogs on public relations or the dearth of local blogs on any subject that aren't privately and personally generated should give local communications practitioners cause to reconsider what they do. 

With all that said, readers render the final judgment.  If Bond Papers and Persuasion Business have proven valuable, even if  infuriating sometimes  - or every day -  then they hit the target.

The e-mail addresses still work if you need to vent or to make an inquiry. The comments sections will stay open for a short while, but the basic rules still apply:  take responsibility for your words.

Whether or not the suspension turns out to be permanent remains to be seen.

In the meantime, the last words are the simplest and the most heartfelt:

Thank you.

-srbp/tpb-

The other foot

Courtesy of Labradore, a sampling of some of the misinformation and racist attitudes prevalent in the province.

Interestingly enough, the comments posted at vocm.com about Inuit people are the same sorts of things that only a short while ago, these same commenters were likely bristling at when aimed at them by mainlanders.

Now that the shoe is on the other foot, perhaps they'll start to understand. 

Of course some of them will have to take the shoe out of their backside in order to do that, but it's a start.

-srbp-

NAPE's real agenda? Just follow the money.

Public sector union boss Carol Furlong is emotional - shocked and dismayed - at the Liberal and New Democrat opposition for voicing an opinion on public sector collective bargaining.

Labour uber-boss Reg Anstey - head of Federation of Labour - is equally in a snit over the same issue.

The "crime" both the Liberals and New Democrats supposedly committed was to introduce and support a private member's resolution last Wednesday that called for an end to pattern bargaining in the public sector.  That's the practice whereby the first contract negotiated sets the pattern, especially on wages, for everyone else.

Now a couple of things need to be borne in mind here:

First, private member's resolutions have no weight so Furlong's little release looks a bit foolish right on the face of it.  Interference in the collective bargaining process?  What silliness.  A private member's resolution couldn't interfere even if it was approved unanimously every day in the legislature that sat every day for a year.

Second, even if such resolutions weren't largely symbolic anyway, the government party amended the resolution to take all the meaning of the words out anyway.

Usually when someone, either alone or representing some group, decides to get into such a lather, there's something else involved behind the stated reasons.  And when the lede on the news release is about "shock and dismay" then you know something else is up.  People only use those tired cliches because they have nothing else.

Pattern bargaining means that Carol Furlong can deliver a hefty raise to her members this year without lifting a finger or doing a serious tap of collective bargaining on behalf of her members.

The heavy lifting for clerks in the Confed Building, for example, will be done this year by Debbie Forward and her crew.

The pattern this year is being set by the nurses.

Nurses are in high demand.

Wages for nurses are relatively low and there's plenty of pressure on government to give nurses an increase much higher than they might otherwise.

The nurses will set the bar.

And Carol Furlong's members will repeat the benefits.

Oh yes, and when she runs for re-election, Carol will tell her members that under her leadership, her members gained such and such a wage increase.

Nurses, teachers and doctors haven't been big fans of pattern bargaining for some time.  That's because they see a huge gap getting even wider between salaries their members earn in this province and what they can get elsewhere. Pattern bargaining does that by lumping every single public sector worker into the same pot. The cost implications get pretty significant if one portion of the labour force needs a 10% jump to stay competitive but that 10% has to apply to everyone in the workforce.

Now the problem for Furlong and Anstey is that it isn't really popular to talk about the facts of the matter.  If they did, public opinion might take the side of the doctors and nurses and teachers over the views of their members.  It doesn't matter that Furlong's members do work that is just as important, mind you.  The point is that if the talk was about the real issue then Carol and her fellow NAPE leaders might actually have to do her job:  defend her members based on a cogent, rational, persuasive argument.

It's way easier for Carol to make the news by talking about her emotional condition than to talk about the substantive issues.  Sadly, in this province, that sort of drivel release gets coverage just like it does when cabinet minister tell us they are "shocked and appalled" at some other thing.  Someone should just give them some Tylenol and a cold compress and tell them to lie down until the high dudgeon passes.

In the meanwhile, maybe Carol Furlong and Reg Anstey should be challenged to to explain to taxpayers why pattern bargaining is a good thing. 

We don't care that they get the vapours.

People should hear the real reasons about why pattern bargaining is good.  They deserve to know why Carol and Reg think it is entirely right and proper for people who - as Reg and Carol acknowledge  - aren't even involved in collective bargaining to be gagged, to be prevented from speaking about an issue in the legislature.

That motion angered the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Public and Private Employees (NAPE). In a release on Friday, federation of labour president Reg Anstey said the motion showed a "complete lack of understanding and respect for the bargaining process by both the Liberals and the NDP."

You see, it's really significant for the whole province when union leaders try to muzzle the elected representatives of the people speaking about a public issue.

In an open discussion people will see for themselves whether or not the parties understand and respect collective bargaining.  That is, if that's what Anstey's really worried about.

We might find out, in an open discussion, that they are a bit more concerned about two union leaders and their apparent disregard for free speech.

-srbp-

More police probes into House of Assembly than previously known?

Okay, so Auditor General John Noseworthy doesn't think he's muzzled, but are there more police investigations into the House of Assembly than previously known?

Appearing at the legislature's management committee meeting on Friday, Noseworthy said:

When I issued the report in September, I knew, at that point, that the police were actively investigating that report. I talked with the RNC and asked if it was okay to publicly talk about that now. They said, yes, okay, you can talk about it. I explained I had to come before the Commission and I needed to provide an explanation and they said, that is fine. So I knew - and I do not think the public were generally aware of that - it is ongoing today. So the RNC are actively investigating that report.

The Auditor General comments can also be found at that ram audio file.

Noseworthy said that at the time he issued the report in September 2007, he was aware "that the police were actively investigating that report."  He didn't say the police were investigating some aspects related to other reports already made public;  that is he didn't refer to the investigations that had already resulted in criminal charges being laid against five people.  He indicated clearly on Friday the police were investigating the September report, which covered constituency allowance spending by all members of the House of Assembly dating back to 1989.

In the original order in council establishing Noseworthy's second investigation, the cabinet explicitly established his work as a special assignment under section 16 of the Auditor General Act. The first investigation was conducted as a routine audit of the House of Assembly accounts.

Normally, that sort of special assignment would be reported as such - a section 16 assignment - which is what Noseworthy did with the fibreoptic review. However, in both his 2006 and 2007 annual reports, Noseworthy does not list the work as a special report under s. 16 of his own legislation.

In both instances, he lists the work as falling under s.15 of the AG act, the one dealing with suspected improper retention of public funds and similar matters. Bond Papers noted this earlier in 2008.

The only logical reason for reporting in this way would be if Noseworthy had filed additional reports in suspected importer handling of public funds, as required under section 15 of the Auditor General Act, beyond the ones already known to the public.

While Noseworthy can't discuss it, several people can, including the Premier, the Attorney General, the Minister of Finance and the Speaker.  That's where responsibility rests for such matters under section 45 of the House of Assembly accountability and integrity act otherwise known as the Green bill.  If any reports existed, and they were filed earlier than June 2007 under section 15 of the Auditor General Act, the minister responsible for receiving those reports would be the finance minister.

If there are no reports other than the ones we already know about, the Auditor General and others seem to be going through an awful lot of torture for nothing in their reporting of events.  The evident lack of clear disclosure seems to have led to all sorts of misunderstands, in that case.

Sure, there's no muzzle.  There never was.

But has the Auditor General been absolutely consistent and factual all along?  If so, there may be a much wider police investigation than many previously realized.

-srbp-

Swantanamo Bay?

Animal rights activists are targeting the City of Ottawa's housing for its swans.

Cost for upgrades:  half a million bucks.

h/t to Flacklife and Bob LeDrew.

-srbp-

CKW 4 SCC

The facebook group to join the campaign.

The Toronto Star blog mention.

-srbp-

Changing the face of the news release

Compare this Ontario government news release with this example from the NewfoundlandLabrador government.

The traditional news release evolved from a print format news story. There is still tremendous value in the style, format and content if it is used properly.

The problem comes in situations where, despite drawing most of its communications directors straight out of news rooms, the overwhelming majority of provincial government news release are turgid, boring drek.  They may contain some of the most exciting and innovative ideas on the planet but the format in which the information is conveyed seems calculated to put people to sleep.

Now, sometimes news releases are deliberately written and distributed in a way to avoid telling things, but that's a whole other issue. Burying information is not communications; it's grave digging.

The Ontario approach breaks the conventions but it does deliver the information the government wants to convey in a way which people can take it up quickly and easily.  Reporters will likely find it easier as the starting point for putting their pieces together since it breaks everything down in tidy bundles.  The rest of us will also likely find it easier to scan and, frankly, that's the intention. 

With so much information coming in so many formats and through so many channels, people who want to stay informed have become browsers.

They scan.

Here's a heatmap picture [Source: Jakob Neilson's Alertbox] of how people scan web pages of different types. 

The red bits show areas of most eye activity.  Yellow is less activity and the grey bits are places where people don't look at all.

Some people spend a lot of time looking at these things since it tells us how to present information in a way that people will pick it up. 

Take a look at the web page you're looking at right now.  Notice that the posts - the things you should be reading are presented in the upper left, that is where all the red activity would typically take place. On the right are things that are considerably less important, not by the reckoning of your humble e-scribbler, but by the results of studies into the reading patterns of people just like you.

Don't worry, by the way.  You aren't being monitored, scanned or otherwise probed, at least not by this site.

Since people do learn to look to the right for other useful bits of information.  On the google page on the right of the picture, that's where those google ads appear with links off to some other site.  People spend a lot of time figuring out what attracts google attention in order to get a site into that red zone on the upper left.  Alternately, they just buy space on the upper right.

At Bond Papers, the stuff that the top of the right-hand column gets moved about a bit depending on what needs to be highlighted. The whole idea, though, is to put stuff where you are more likely to look so that you'll be more likely to see it.

The Ontario government news release doesn't really conform to this eye scan approach but it does at least reflect the shifting patterns in how people take in information.

Let's see if this idea catches on.  We shouldn't look locally or expect change any time soon, though, since the local market is fairly conservative.  The provgov's a good example;  the site only recently started posting photographs with releases and it's unimaginable that the provgov or one of its agencies would try youtubing stuff with decent quality video.

Doing more of the same when the environment changes makes it less likely your communication will be successful.

Take, for example, the campaign to promote composting.  Boosting the number of people composting successfully would require a shift in popular culture. The most effective way to do that would be through creation of a support network either within a physical community or through online communities and blogs.

Go find the official government composting blog.

Keep looking.

You won't find one.

That's because the project was approached as a typical flogging project.  We've got these bins and we need to move them out the door.  Therefore, run some advertising.  Print some brochures.  Find a price point at which the bins will move.

The key metric for success should have been the number of people composting successfully which in turn would reduce the amount of food matter heading for landfills.  Now the advertising mentioned the problem and how wonderful things would be if people composted, but nothing created the support system needed to actually have people composting.

The metric for success seems to have been the number of bins moved.

By that record, the project was a success.

Has anyone checked to see how many bins are not just taking up space in the corner of backyards?

Probably not.

But traditional news releases make wonderful fodder for a compost bin when you print them out.

In too many cases, that's about all they are good for.

-tpb/srbp-

Lords of the blog

Some members of the House of Lords are co-operating on a blog.

The official description:

Lords of the Blog is an experimental project to encourage direct dialogue between web users across the world and Members of the House of Lords. Commissioned by the House of Lords, the pilot project is conducted by the Hansard Society who are working directly with Members of the Lords to bring their blogs to the wider online audience.

Views expressed by the authors or ‘bloggers’ are their own and do not represent the views of the House of Lords, its authorities or its other Members (including parties and other groups of Members) or the Hansard Society.

There is a slightly more elaborate description.

If the notoriously conservative if not a tad eccentric crowd known as the British peers are blogging, then surely others will notice the value of frank, informal dialogue for government and business purposes.

-srbp/tpb-

Breast cancer patient receives notice of re-test...this week

All patients have been notified.

Well, maybe not all.

And there was never a need to set up a toll free line for patients to check, just in case the regional health authority records were inaccurate.

Liberal leader Yvonne Jones raised the issue in the legislature on Thursday. Her office issued a news release, as well:

"I was very surprised when I learned that this individual from the west coast was contacted for the first time yesterday," said Ms. Jones. "She has been living a healthy lifestyle for the past several years and had no previous indication that her testing results may have been faulty. I have to question whether any other breast cancer patients affected by the faulty hormone receptor testing have yet to be contacted?"

Eastern Health is reportedly checking into the matter.

-srbp-

Provincial government limits patient use of own health information

Lorraine Michael raised an interesting question in  the legislature today about regulations governing patient records  held by the province's regional health authorities.

The question is interesting not only for what it contains but for the response of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General.

As the New Democratic Party leader noted, the regulation (NLR 18/08, s. 6) regional health authorities may release records to patients - referred to as clients - however under subsection (5):

A person to whom information is provided or who is permitted access under subsection (3) or (4) shall not publish or disclose information obtained from the client records of the regional health authority where the publication or disclosure may or could be detrimental to the personal interest, reputation or privacy of

(a) a client;

(b) a physician;

(c) a member of the staff of the regional health authority; or

(d) a person employed by the regional health authority. [Emphasis added]

That section of the legislation covers not only individuals who may be using patient records for research purposes but also covers the patients themselves.

Justice minister Jerome Kennedy indicated he wasn't aware of the regulation but undertook to look into it:

I am not aware of that amendment or the regulations you are talking about. I certainly will have a look at them and come back. It does strike me as somewhat strange in terms of restricting people’s ability to use their information, but there would have to be an overriding of public interest. So, I certainly will check into that and we can continue this discussion further.

The Minister might note that the regulations start by establishing that records involved do not belong to the patient (client). They are the property of the regional health authority.

The saving grace here is that the access to information act doesn't contain such a restriction and its provisions supercede the regulations involved.  The access act applies to regional health authorities just as it does to all public bodies, with the exception of the Auditor General. It seems he can decide to exempt himself from following the law by his own decision.

-srbp-

Wells for SCC

He turned 70 last fall but he's still in great shape and his mind is as sharp as ever.

Who better for the Supreme Court of Canada than Clyde Wells, currently Chief Justice of the appellate division of the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador?  He can take the seat vacated by Mr. Justice Bastarache.

We'd suggest in the alternative Madame Justice Margaret Cameron but she's got more valuable things to do right now sorting out yet another major problem in the provincial government. 

Besides, since the mandatory retirement age for justices is 75, Madame Justice Cameron can take the spot when Wells steps down in three or four years.

I'll start working on the tee-shirt design and we'll have them at the Bond Store ASAP.

-srbp-

BondFlash: Memo to National Media

Today's best scrum opportunity.

-srbp-

Timely blog discoveries

Comprehension, the Public Relations Society of America blog.

crisisblogger, the blog for crisis managers and communicators.

-tpb/srbp-

The Potemkin Cabinet

Newfoundlanders and Labradorians must surely be wondering about the government which they support through their tax dollars.

It does not function according to law, apparently.

Ross Wiseman, currently holding the title Minister of Health and Community Services told the Cameron Inquiry on Thursday that deputy ministers are appointed by the Premier. Wiseman said he was not consulted by the Premier and, indeed, had no knowledge of the appointment of a new deputy minister in his department in May 2007 until the deed was done.

Wiseman is misinformed.

All Canadian provinces operate according to the rule of law and Newfoundland and Labrador is no exception. Laws are approved by the elected representatives of the people in the House of Assembly and all people, including cabinet ministers are obliged to follow the rules established by law.

Wiseman would do well to check the statute books to see what his powers, duties and responsibilities are.

Under the Executive Council Act, deputy ministers and assistant deputy ministers are appointed by the Lieutenant Governor in Council.  As with the conventions long established in Westminster style governments, the first minister recommends the appointments to these positions but it is the Lieutenant Governor, on the advice of his or her council that approves the recommendations.

This is no small matter.

While the first minister may have the sole right to make the recommendations, it is not the first minister who holds the authority to make the appointments. Constitutional lawyers may now begin to quibble but the distinction is important.

Deputy ministers, after all, are supposed to be accountable for their management of the department to the minister appointed to the department. There are several lines of accountability for both the minister and especially for the deputy minister, but there is not supposed to be a situation in which the deputy minister does not, de facto, have to answer to the minister.

The federal approach is typical:

Because deputy ministers are appointed on the recommendation of the prime minister (usually with the advice of the clerk of the Privy Council), a minister who is not satisfied with the administration of his or her department by the deputy minister and who is unable to resolve matters directly with the deputy may bring these concerns to the clerk or, ultimately, to the prime minister.

Those words have great importance for the matters currently the subject of the Cameron Inquiry. Former health minister Tom Osborne has testified under oath that officials of his department did not provide him with a copy of an important briefing note prepared in late 2006 for the Premier. Osborne's predecessor, John Ottenheimer, has described a similar situation, one in which he was not sure of his own authority - that is, his power under law, to direct certain actions within his own department.

Both Osborne and Ottenheimer appeared to have been sidelined in the management of this very significant issue and there are other signs that this is so. There is some evidence to suggest that departmental staff reported to central agencies, i.e. those directly responsible to the Premier, before they passed information to the minister. It appears so at this stage, but there is much more testimony to come.  Final judgment will have to be reserved but even at this relatively early stage, we may sketch in the outline of how this particular administration appears to function.

And it is a most peculiar functioning indeed.  It is a government which has all the external trappings of cabinet government but which, in practice, holds that everyone is accountable directly to the Premier. If this sketch holds true, cabinet government and collective responsibility  - and collective authority - has been replaced by one large organization with notional subdivisions all reporting to a single individual.

A deputy minister would only ignore his minister   - such as by withholding crucial information - if he or she believed, rightly or wrongly,  that authority rested somewhere other than in the minister's office. In a world where the deputy minister's job tenure is solely the prerogative of the Premier and where the most senior public servant has only irregular meetings with the first minister, there is no value in keeping happy a minister who asks inconvenient questions.  Why bother to do anything but humour the poor minister when the person or people who count have offices on the eighth floor of the East Block?

As noted already, this is a sketch -  a hypothesis if you will allow  - based on a portion of the total evidence to be received by Madame Justice Cameron.

Sometimes, the outline of the mosaic can be seen, though, even if one hasn't finished pulling back to see the whole thing. You just have to look at the individual tiles and see how they fit together.

-srbp-

And on the fourth day, he headed out of the province...

The announcement from the Premier's Office is old news for people who read Bond Papers.

-srbp-

Math tudors beware

A blog and a mission to stamp out typos in America.

Readers know there are a few typos around these parts.  With any luck, they don't distract from the rest of the content.

One local blog author seems to have missed the spell check button orientation briefing, hence one of the more hilarious phrases lately about two people who teach arithmetic.  Unfortunately, it came out as a couple who run about doing ye olde sums in codpiece, tights and puffed collar.

Then there was Gary Cake [note only one "r"]  - assistant secretary to cabinet for social policy - who in the rendering became Garry Cake, morphed to Carry Cake but never quite made it through the typo evolution to the anthropomorphized Cherry Cake.

Suddenly people are feeling a bit peckish, no doubt. A delicious treat with tea or coffee that can route e-mails using a blackberry.  Coat the letters with flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the page while they are being typed or baked or whatever.

Coffee and cake.

Cake and Coffey. 

Words are pesky things.

Others, meanwhile, may be having visions of Cherry Cake, the stripper.

Pole-dancing at the Cabinet Secretariat.

The Clerk must be doing something besides keeping his boss up to speed, and watching strippers or eating  are as likely as anything else.

The thought of Gary - by the by, as thorough a professional as one might find in his job -  in pasties and garters prancing about the 9th Floor to some raunchy concertina version of "Star of Logy Bay", is an image that those who know Gary may find arresting, if not downright disturbing. 

It is an incongruity to trump all other incongruities even if it is placed in a suitably folky context for the current crowd of nationalists, courtesy of the squeezebox grinding away in time to the flicking of hips.

Or maybe the Clerk's boss is the one who finds distractions that keep him from keeping up on what he gets paid to do.

But anyway, said typo farm raised even more puzzled stares the other day by ending a comment with three words:

"Your obsessed boy."

It gave the comment the feel of a haiku but without the adherence to form, at least in the front bit of the comment.

The sentence fragment remains curious since the preoccupations of my eldest child were totally unconnected to the discussion at hand.

Typos can be fun.

Feel free to share your favourites.

-srbp-

and on the third day, the Premier had no control of anything...

Wednesday turned out to be a day of bizarre contradictions.

Consider, for example, that on Monday the Premier insisted he took full responsibility for what was done or not done by anyone involved in the breast cancer debacle. He spoke consistent with principles of modern, public sector administration.

By Wednesday, as questions swirled around why a briefing note prepared for him was not sent to the minister at the time, he had a different view of control and responsibility:

So, you know I cannot attribute any blame. I cannot pass my own personal opinion on it. What we have seen is we have seen instances where Eastern Health had omitted and deleted information from briefing notes that were being released under ATTIP requests, and that was done. They have gone off - they have actually had press conferences where, in fact, all of the information was not revealed. Those are actions that are beyond the control of the minister. The minister cannot be responsible for every single person all the way down the line in the health care system because they have no possible, tangible means of doing it.

"Those are actions that are beyond the control of the minister. "  How odd. 

The Premier makes this comment after claiming that officials of Eastern Health had edited documents being released under the province's access to information laws. This is certainly news on the order of the allegations of forged documents that led to the Somalia Inquiry.  It's a curious parallel for the Premier to draw, even implicitly, since Somalia was a tale, in part, of great intrigue including the destruction of documents and problems in presenting documents to an inquiry.

But even if this allegation about the production of false documents were true - and there doesn't appear to be any evidence thus far that it is - the subsequent part of the Premier's comment undermines any notion of ministerial responsibility and ministerial accountability which he laid claim to on Monday.

Legally, ministers are indeed responsible for the actions of the department and the people within the department.  They are accountable to the public through the legislature for those actions.  They have tangible means of directing action and of monitoring activities within the department.  Departments are organized specifically to provide direction and control from the minister through to the front line workers of a given agency.

If there is no "possible, tangible means of doing it", i.e. of being responsible, then the department cannot function and government would grind to a halt.  think about it for a minute.  If a minister cannot direct action within a department there is no need for the legislature to pass laws directing a program to be implemented.  If a problem is detected, as in the breast cancer case, then it will be impossible to ensure it never happens again nor is it possible to produce the "best system in the country."  An absence of control and accountability - the essence of the Premier's comment - makes it impossible for government to function.

A minister cannot micro-manage, of course, if that is what the Premier meant.  It is impossible for anyone to direct the specific, detailed actions of every person in any organization, irrespective of its size.  Only fools try to do it and those fools that do usually create a dysfunctional organization full of unpleasant, unhappy and unhealthy people in the process.

The Premier's contention is, on the face of it, sheer nonsense.  Ministers can and do control their departments in a variety of ways. One of them is through the simple issuing of direction on what will be done in a given instance or, when something is not done, to have it sorted out and done to the satisfaction of the minister.

One of the enduring unanswered questions in the breast cancer debacle thus far relates to this simple notion.  Once ministers - including the Premier - became aware of certain issues, such as a failure by Eastern Health to disclose information, they failed to direct other action instead.  For example, if the Premier was aware - as he clearly was - that Eastern Health was no disclosing certain information - he failed to issue instructions to correct the situation. 

That is, by his own account he failed to exercise his legal responsibilities as first minister to direct the actions of government officials or those of Crown agencies.

With regard to the minister’s comment on, if he had it, he would have gone public. Well, I do not know what he had or what he did not have. He did not have that briefing note. The following month there was a press conference whereby Eastern Health disclosed information, even though they did not disclose all of it, and I have no control over that, that was in the public domain. Why the minister at that point did not decide to come to me or go public with it, he is the only one who can answer that. [Emphasis added]

Contrast that with the Premier's words and actions as the House of Assembly scandal broke in June 2006.  He took action.  He issued instructions.  He took credit for bringing the Auditor General into the House of Assembly. He had no executive authority to do so - the House is not a government department -  but he claimed credit for it anyway.

Yet, on a far more serious matter in a department over which he, as first minister had executive control through cabinet and successive ministers, the Premier had "no control over that." One wonders why, if that were the case, he would request a briefing note on a matter over which he had no control. Idle curiosity?  Why would he have bothered to give up the life of a successful lawyer to take on a job where he had no control over anything of substance? How is it that he can be consumed with trivialities enough to threaten legal action against your humble e-scribbler for some still incomprehensible reason and yet he cannot control the actions of government officials nor recall whether or not he received briefings on key issues?

The answer to these questions is, of course, that the Premier's comments in the House today are sheer nonsense.

Some of his other comments though may not be nonsense and, if true, raise far more significant implications for the conduct of government business.  A 1998 description of the executive functioning of the provincial government describes a typical relationship of the Premier and his two chief advisors, his political chief of staff and the Clerk of the Executive Council.

A close working relationship involving the Office of the Premier, Cabinet Secretariat and the other secretariats within the Office of the Executive Council is essential. The Premier meets daily with both his Chief of Staff and the Clerk of the Executive Council. The Premier’s Chief of Staff and the Clerk of the Executive Council work in close collaboration, keeping the other apprised of political, policy, communications and administrative considerations.

At the head of the Office of the Executive Council (other than the Office of the Premier) is the Clerk of the Executive Council and Secretary to the Cabinet. This position encompasses three related roles. As Deputy Minister to the Premier, the Clerk is the senior official reporting to the Premier on all governmental matters. The Clerk receives and transmits instructions from the Premier, and, as the senior official in the Office of the Executive Council, the Clerk coordinates the operation of the secretariats.

The Clerk assists the Premier in setting the Cabinet agenda, arranges meetings of Cabinet, oversees the preparation of briefing materials for the Premier, ensures the records of Cabinet are properly maintained and, under the Premier’s guidance, plans Cabinet retreats. The Clerk is also responsible for process in the conduct of Cabinet business and, from time to time, works with Ministers and senior officials on substantive matters on Cabinet’s agenda.

It would not be unusual for the Clerk of the Executive Council to meet with the premier daily on a variety of issues.  The Clerk is after all, the deputy minister to the Premier and typically reports to the Premier on all matters of government especially those involving the administration of government.

With that as background, consider the following comment by the Premier in response to a question about whether the Clerk of the Council had mentioned to him the serious problem at Eastern Health when the Clerk became aware of it in July 2005:

Mr. Speaker, I cannot recall a conversation with Mr. Thompson on that particular issue. Mr. Thompson would brief me, not on a daily basis. It was sometimes on an extended basis, sometimes it could be as long as a month when we sat down for briefings. Mr. Thompson and his staff, I have not made a direct question to Mr. Thompson as to whether I did have it, but it has been requested as to whether there were any conversations with Mr. Thompson, and to my knowledge there were none.

A month between briefings from his own deputy minister? Those familiar with the operations of government would find such a statement leads to only a handful of conclusions none of which are good either for the province or the Premier.

The most obvious conclusion is that he is suffering from pinocchiosis but it would be rash to assume this. He may well be stating his own view of the job and of the reality of how this administration functions or dysfunctions. The Premier may well not bother himself with many of demands of his job, leaving responsibility to his unelected staff and to such cabinet ministers as Tom Rideout.

Of course, that is not the picture which has been described to date nor is it the basis on which he has received such overwhelming popular support. That's one of the political landmines Danny Williams faces:  the Cameron Inquiry may reveal much of how his administration has actually functioned.

If he continues to claim he has no control of anything and attempts to shift responsibility for action and inaction onto other people, the public may well start to wonder why they elected him and his associates in the first place.

No wonder cabinet is trying desperately to find an excuse to stop questions in the House of Assembly on the breast cancer debacle. 

-srbp-

Civics 101 for government employees

Given the layers of approval provincial government news releases go through, the glaring error in this one speaks to a problem with what public servants know about the political system in our province.

The Provincial Government has passed a new act respecting architects which replaces the previous Architects Act of 1995.

The Provincial Government?

Forget that, strictly speaking, those two words don't get capitalized in this context.

What's noticeable here is that the very first statement makes a fundamental mistake about which authority approves legislation.

The provincial government is the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador.  In other words, the provincial government is the administrative body that delivers programs and services under the constitution.  The executive power - the administrative decision making power belongs to the Lieutenant Governor in Council.  That's the cabinet by another name and while the Lieutenant Governor is largely a ceremonial position, the Council, or cabinet happens to be the executive officers of the the government.

But in order to spend money or indeed to even carry out its administrative functions, the government needs to get approval from another body.  That body is the House of Assembly and the approval comes from laws approved by a majority of the elected representatives of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Following so far?

It's really pretty simple.  The Government didn't pass this new act.  The House of Assembly did.

And to be absolutely strict about it, this new law isn't even a law with full force until the Lieutenant Governor nods his head - quite literally - or signs the legal document approving it.

According to the House of Assembly website, that nod hasn't been given.  Check the progress of bills page and scan across to the column marked Royal Assent. It's blank.  While it's possible that the thing just hasn't been updated, it's actually more likely given parliamentary tradition that this bill is not law until His Honour attends the House at the end of the current session and nods after the title of each bill is read.

Aside from the capitalization thing, this news release is fundamentally wrong.  It misidentifies where the legal authority for the new bill comes from and it has been issued before the bill has completed the legal process.

Talk about contempt of the Crown, the legislature and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and displaying a complete ignorance of how our democracy works.

Some may toss this off as a trivial issue. 

Well, those are people who likely also don't have any regard for how our democracy works both in theory and in practice. The more we minimise and trivialise the roles different people play in our democracy, the weaker our democracy becomes.

Next thing you know, some newly elected member of the legislature will be thanking his party leader for the privilege of being allowed to join the leader's team.

Or a briefing note on a major issue will skip past the office of the minister responsible and head straight to the leader's suite.

Oh wait.

Those things already happened.

[Almost immediate update:  Same minister, same department, same deputy minister, same communications director, same mistake, done a day earlier.

Same problem:  This is not legally enforceable today, but the release suggests it is.]

-srbp-

And on the second day, it was more of the same...

[Update:  CBC has provided audio of Question Period in the House of Assembly.  This one is a ram file for Monday's QP. The Hansard transcript can be found at the House of Assembly website, in case you want to follow along.]

According to vocm.com, the Premier developed a concern today about the propriety of asking questions related to the Cameron Inquiry:

Following questioning from Opposition House Leader Kelvin Parsons on what other government officials may have already been subpoenaed, Williams asked the Department of Justice to seek guidance from the Cameron Inquiry as to whether questions pertaining to the ongoing inquiry should be answered in the House.

Other media have reported the same basic idea.

That conversion on the road to Damascus lasted only long enough for the Premier to turn up on Out of the Fog on Tuesday evening to discuss...wait for it...the Inquiry and, among other things related to it, the testimony of some of his former ministers. 

Out of the Fog is the local Rogers community access channel show.

No word so far on what Madame Justice Margaret Cameron's answer to the query or if the query has even been relayed.

As with Day One, the Premier played many parts and displayed different moods.  He displayed agitation when asked about the number of people with government who have received subpoenas to testify at the Cameron Inquiry.

The Premier also got a bit annoyed with suggestions that the head of the Cameron Inquiry liaison team (CILT) might be in a conflict of interest since he was involved in handling the issue in his capacity as Clerk of the Executive Council up to last year when he was appointed to head the liaison team and serve as acting deputy health minister.

It will be interesting to see what Madame Justice Cameron responds to the question about public comment on her inquiry.  After all, if she says nothing or declines to direct the Premier, he will take that as a green light to say what he wishes. If she points out that ministers should be restrained in their comments, that will be an excuse to say little if anything in answer to questions that the Cameron Inquiry may not ask.

Then again, the Premier reminded everyone yesterday he is a lawyer and tends to think of these issues differently from other people.  If that was really the case, then he would have refrained from commenting much earlier  - like say before Day One - and kept his ministers in check much earlier.  If the gags go on now, people might wonder why it is that he suddenly remembered legal niceties only after he'd finished saying what he wanted to say.

-srbp-

And on the first day, he was highly agitated...

Premier Danny Williams didn't look very refreshed from his extended southern vacation when he faced questions in the House of Assembly.

In fact, he looked as pinched an angry as he usually does when he doesn't have absolute control over an issue.

Monday's Hansard is online and it makes fascinating reading.  Too bad there isn't video to go with it. overall, Danny Williams played two roles, that of defence lawyer to government and as witness.

He's done the defence lawyer thing before on other scandals and crises.  The big difference in this case is that he's also acting as his own lawyer for some of it.  you can tell those parts because they contain lots of explanations of how tough the job is, how many messages they get in the run of a day - this will be important in a second -  all the righteous indignation and the best rage he can muster.

That's the bit where he raised what is colloquial known as a red herring.  Others may know it as a non sequitur, an unrelated bit of stuff.  Ross Wiseman did it last week, likely on direction from the senior Crown counsel in Florida.  The counsel took up the line himself yesterday talking about an internal memo on the health labs that we know from the evidence presented thus far, never made it out of Eastern Health. 

The two are completely different, though.  Williams ties that earlier situation with his own situation where his office knew about the problems apparently before the minister did.  The idea of such a tactic  - the non sequitur - is to muddy the waters a bit, to raise reasonable doubt where there may not be reasonable doubt on the face of it. Defence lawyers are good at raising doubt and Williams gave it his best shot yesterday.

The lawyer/premier portion of the pre-inquiry testimony also included the now-standard "Get Out of jail Free" card:  Danny Williams will take personal responsibility for anything done or undone, except for illegal acts.  In other words, your job is safe.  Don't worry about the public criticism of your actions or anything else, for that matter,  you will have a job.  He used it when Tom Rideout was revealed to have been renting a house in Lewisporte contrary to House spending rules at the time.  It reminds people, though, that the ethical benchmark for the Williams administration is far as far can be from what they thought they were voting for in 2003.

In other places, Williams is giving evidence, as a witness.  It's sort of like pre-discovery since Williams is speaking on the public record but before he testifies for real, under oath before the Cameron Inquiry.  That's the part where Williams' memory of a very significant event fails utterly.

It's a problem that seems evident already with John Ottenheimer. 

"I cannot remember...".  I have no recollection.

That doesn't mean it didn't happen, he reassures;  it only means he can't recall.

And that's where the busy-ness of the office comes in.  In the sequence, it came after the failed memory, but the purpose is obvious:  it sets up the explanation for the failed memory in a fashion which is plausible even if some are already dismissing it as improbable.

It is context, to be sure and potentially relevant context, but it is a form of defence that is bound to come back again and again right up until the time the Premier responds to the subpoena he'll almost surely receive to give evidence at the inquiry.

It also reduces serious government business to the same status as other less serious stuff.  Likening the first word of the breast cancer thing to remembering on what specific day he attended the swearing-in of a back bench MHA is an example of that. Clayton Forsey - the guy who got mentioned likely because he won Roger Grimes' old seat - is not a routine thing but compared to the scandal, we pretty much all are.

There's plausible denial and plausible explanation and reasonable doubt.

Then there's beggaring credulity, let alone the imagination.

For those who do not know, your humble e-scribbler worked for seven years in the Premier's Office.  It is a busy place. The pressure can be intense at times. But the huge volume of information flowing through the office and the busy nature of the place is why the Premier has a staff.  Not just two or three people but a dozen or more, depending on the administration. There are others in the government offices, especially in the Executive Council, who are busy too but whose job is, in part, to assist the Premier in discharging his responsibilities.

Their job is to filter information and any competent Premier relies on a competent staff, a staff that can tell the difference between the request for a birthday message for Aunt Minnie who just turned 100 years of age or a congrats letter for the local basketball team from  word that as many as 1500 people may be affected by something going on in the local health authority.  The first two wouldn't cross the premier's desk, typically. 

The last one?  It would cross his desk, flash on his e-mail screen, come through the telephone, or be subject to a verbal briefing from the senior staff - chief of staff and director of communications - if not all three.  Given the evidence presented thus far at the Cameron Inquiry, the Eastern Health issue was certainly at that level of concern.  Otherwise, it wouldn't have been flashed to the most senior bureaucrat in the government and, around the same time, to the two most senior officials in the Premier's Office.  People passing that information - senior and with Queen's Park experience, like say Carolyn Chaplin  - would expect that the information was passed to The Boss without undue delay.

Those e-mails, entered already as evidence, are warnings of a significant issue.  They are both understandable and evidence of people who know their jobs well.

A subsequent e-mail from Chaplin warned that the issue was now not as urgent as earlier understood. It is most emphatically not - and let us be absolutely clear on this -  a direction to stand down.  The afternoon e-mail from Chaplin is not an Emily Litella admonition to "never mind".

To be clear on the point, let's quote two e-mails in their entirety.  First, there is one from the assistant secretary to cabinet for social policy to the Clerk of the Executive Council:

»> Gary Cake 7/19/2005 10:32 AM »>
Robert!
Carolyn Chaplin just called from RCS to provide a heads up that a major story will break from the Eastern Health Board as early as this Thursday! but more likely next Monday.

The Eastern Health Board has recently discovered errors in its breast cancer testing program. This matter affects clients who were subject to breast cancer testing from 1997 to April! 2004. I understand that an estimated 1200 to 1500 clients will need to be retested. The Eastern Health Board is currently working on a strategy for communicating this news to affected clients and the public at large. Legal advice is being engaged in this process.

HCS will be advised of the communications strategy.

briefing note is currently being prepared.

Carolyn has also alerted Elizabeth to this matter.

The first sentence conveys the urgency of the issue:  this is significant and may become public a mere two days hence.  19 July was a Tuesday.  He then describes the issue, concisely, as it was then understood. He also discusses the standard responses:  drafting of a communications strategy, engagement of legal counsel and preparation of a briefing note for the minister and presumably the whole cabinet including the Premier.  The last sentence advises that the Premier's communications director was also aware.

Now, let's look at Chaplin's e-mail about four hours later:

From: Chaplin, Carolyn
Sent: Tuesday, July 19, 2005 2:37 PM
To: Cake, Gary
Cc: Abbott, John G. [deputy health minister]
Subject: Re: Update - Eastern Health Matter

Further to this morning and incoming information this afternoon, no action is required at
this time. We have arranged a briefing with the health authority for the latter part of
this week and will be in a better position to forward relevant briefing materials at that
time. No public announcement will be forthcoming this week and there is a possibility that
the significance of any announcement will be minimized.

Carolyn Chaplin
Director of Communications
Health and Community Services

The first sentence advises that no action is required, but only "at this time."  It then describes, generally, the reason for the reduced urgency.  Not eliminated urgency - as in "stand down" - but reduced urgency:  "No public announcement will be forthcoming this week...", but more information will follow.

In other words, things are not going to happen on Thursday.  Instead, action has been delayed pending a briefing from the health authority at which time the department would be better able to advise higher authorities of the issue and possible actions.

Take a look at the actual words and you see something dramatically different from the way the Premier has characterised it and the way other officials have described it.

Danny Williams' performance in the House of Assembly yesterday was of the type we've come to expect of him when he's under pressure:  excited, full of threats and admonitions of caution. He played many roles, consistent with the varied roles he has in this matter.  He covered many bases, some of them quite well.

The political problem for Williams is that for the first time in his administration, he cannot control the flow of information and the interpretation of events. That is the major political problem he faces.  If he is as agitated on the first day, it will be fascinating to see if he can sustain that intensity and if his version of events stands up to scrutiny.

That will determine the future of his tenure as Premier.

-srbp-

Some uncomfortable truths

Some years ago, as the story goes, one crowd of local political staffers branded some of the crowd from another party that ousted them as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

It's all fun because no one lost an eye.

And it's also funny to see someone else make a crack about your humble e-scribbler and a local posse.

Well, you don't have to ride a horse to recognize the stuff that comes out of the back end of one.
Take, for example, this comment from another corner of cyberspace:

However the federal government still reaped the main share of revenues from provincial resource developments through a combination of federal tax increases and equalization savings. As well for a couple of years the feds lifted the equalization ceiling (2000-2002). The introduction of equalization protection mechanisms acknowledge the issue but it did not address the fact that more had to be done to ensure equitable sharing of our resources. Notwithstanding this, the Province did not recieve [sic] the full benefit of the government revenue from these offshore resources as equalization offsets resulted in the lionshare [sic] of the fiscal benefits going to Ottawa. That did not change from 1990 to 2005 and the campaign for fairness failed as well. [Emphasis added.]

Let's tackle the nonsense in order. 

First there's the claim that the "main share" of revenues, from oil development incidentally, supposedly go to the Government of Canada.  Related to that is the idea that the "lionshare" of fiscal benefits go there as well.

To find the facts, one need look no further than Wade Locke's assessment of net cash flows accruing from offshore development. 

The slide at right came from Locke's public presentation about a year ago on what constituted a "fair share" for the provincial government of offshore cash.
Take a hard look. 

Of all cash flows, the federal government takes the smallest in each case, except Hibernia.  In that case, it is only 1% above the provincial share and then only by virtue of the 8.5% invested to keep the project alive in the first place.

As a share of government cash flows, the provincial government takes 72% of Terra Nova flows and 73% of White Rose flows.  That doesn't include any revenues from the White Rose extensions. In Hibernia, and leaving out the federal equity stake's 4% of cash flows, the provincial government takes 53% of government's share.

By no measure is the the federal share the "main share" or the "lion's share."

Second, let's take the comment about "the full benefit" of the government revenue.

That is a reference to the idea that by gaining more of its own revenues, a provincial government loses money under the Equalization top up scheme. Of course, that is exactly the way Equalization works. Gaining more own-source revenues is exactly what Clyde Wells was referring to in a 1990 interview with the Sunday Express:

By doing this, and by having equalization cut this way, we are coming closer to looking after our own needs and we are coming closer to recovering some of the dignity and self-respect you lose when you depend on the federal government for 47 percent of the revenue [in the provincial budget]. 

I can't wait to see the day when we don't get a dollar.

The problem in 1990 was that the best estimates of experts was that the offset formula contained in the 1985 Accord, coupled with the Hibernia project's royalty regime and the price of oil at the time wouldn't produce any improvement in the provincial government's overall financial position. 

In two Sunday Express stories in the fall of 1990, both Wells and then energy minister Rex Gibbons referred to a net gain in provincial revenues of only 30%, as Equalization payments declined.  That was at a time when the economy was otherwise in severe recession and the provincial debt and the economic output were the same number.

The analysis used by Wells and Gibbons wasn't the bleakest, either.  Wade Locke's assessment at the time was that the net gain to the provincial treasury was a mere three cents of each dollar.

We need to compare those assessments made before first oil with the actual experience.  In practice, the situation was substantively different.  Far from merely staying in the same financial place, the provincial government today is bordering on being a so-called "have" province for the first time since 1949 solely due to the revenues flowing from offshore oil projects due to the provincial royalty regimes.

The facts are uncomfortable, but only for those who insist on making arguments that simply ignore the facts altogether.

NSDQ.

-srbp-

Food for thought on LNG: a matter of supply

There are 60 liquid natural gas regasification projects proposed for North America, while the market will likely support only 10 to 12.

One of the major challenges facing the projects, according to Calgary-based consultant Angela Tu Weissenberger, is secure supply of sufficient quantities of natural gas at commercially competitive prices.

Interestingly enough, Weissenberger's latest assessment of the opportunities in north eastern North America doesn't include any reference to Newfoundland and Labrador.  That might have less to do with her knowledge of the project proposed for Placentia Bay as it does about the project's development timeline. 

Proposing something is one thing.  In a market where one in six proposed projects is likely to make it through to construction, maybe the Placentia Bay project doesn't enter the realm of being probable.

-srbp-