Provincial political round-up

1. Early election? Responding to a question from reporters, Premier Danny Williams is quoted in the Saturday edition of the Telegram that he has not ruled out the possibility of an election before the planned date in October.

Williams said he had no intention of catching the opposition parties by surprise and would call the House of Assembly back to amend the elections rules if an early election was needed.

That's an odd statement since the changes Williams introduced in 2004 do two things:

First, they allow an election can be called at any time.

Second, in the event of an election before the planned date, the subsequent election would be fours years later. Given that, if the Premier did seek an election writ before October (likely time: called by the end of February with voting before Easter), the next election after that would be in October 2011, exactly as it would occur anyway.

Liberal leader Gerry Reid and New Democrat leader Lorraine Michael both criticised the idea of an early election. Both said there was no need of going short and that an early election would forestall the Auditor General's review of the House of Assembly. Michael said an early election would go against the spirit of Williams' own amendments in 2004.

2. More AG news on Monday. Auditor General John Noseworthy will hold a news conference on Monday to discuss double billing by members of the House of Assembly.

3. Kennedy will run. St. John's lawyer Jerome Kennedy [left. Photo: cbc.ca] announced this weekend he will be seeking the Tory nomination in Carbonear.

Local political scuttlebutt has it that Kennedy intended all along to run in his old hometown seat but was talked into the Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi by-election by Danny Williams.

As Bond Papers already suggested, don't be surprised to see Kennedy appointed to cabinet well before the next election. A cabinet shuffle could come any time before the end of February as the Premier gears up for the next election.

In related news, the provincial Tories placed newspaper ads over the weekend calling on interested people to contact party election chairman Ross Reid about their potential candidacy in any of the seats currently not held by the Progressive Conservatives. Several other seats are expected to vacated by current members of the legislature who won't be seeking re-election.

How to raise money

Bring in a guest who people will pay big bucks to come hear speak.

Brokeback Mountain of Crap

Bill Rowe's column in this week's weekend Telegram is noteworthy for two reasons:

First of all, he repeats a story not realising that it is actually used by the less enlightened as a backhanded insult to both Loyola Sullivan and others from the Southern Shore. Rhyming off the times tables is not a mark of genius in any part of the world - except Bill Rowe's corner, apparently. The astute people from Da Shore apparently understand that far better than the townie columnist.

Second, Rowe plants so many passionate kisses on Sullivan's penny-pinching arse that one wonders if readers should avert their eyes for having stumbled, innocently but no less embarrassingly on the literary rendering of some school-child's first crush.

Loyola Sullivan was more commonly known as the Rain Man among denizens of the East Block for his ability to recite digits but assign them no deeper meaning than their mathematical value. He was indeed a well-respected politician, as are many and in Sullivan's case the high regard in which he was held was well deserved.

But beyond that and offering us no less than two reminders in two back-to-back sentences that Rowe was once in the same general vicinity as power (As Danny's ambassador to Hy's), Rowe's column gives us absolutely no insight into one of the political events of a year already chock-full of political events that will be long- remembered and oft-pondered.

Why did Sullivan give Danny a political kick in the goolies that evidently sent Danny's teeth a chattering just as it sent tongues wagging across the country? Do not look to Rowe for a possible answer, any more than one might look to him for an explanation of why he voted for the Churchill Falls deal. This is the print version of Rowe's host-talk-caller-listen show.

Such is the sheer inanity of the second half of Rowe's column, that he had the first PIFO Award sewn up until a few mouse clicks revealed the a better work by that other inveterate anony-quoter, Warren Kinsella.

But here's one for William to ponder: if Loyola Sullivan is such a penny-pincher with public funds, how could he sanction overspending $3.2 million of public money through the House of Assembly members accounts from 1998 to 2005, with the bulk of the overspending occurring while he sat both on the house management committee and as finance minister?

Kinsella wins PIFO award for January

We have barely entered the New Year, just languishing in the splendour of Old Christmas Day in fact, and already we have seen the winner of a new award handed out at Bond Papers.

We call it the PIFO. It will be awarded regularly to the person or persons in the media or politics who succeed in telling nothing more than a penetrating insight into the f**king obvious all the while masquerading as deep thoughts.

The recipient of the first PIFO of 2007, the PIFO for January and, indeed the first-ever PIFO:

Warren Kinsella: blogger, racenteur, National Post columnist (the Sun had its token Lib, eh Sheila) for his recent offering: "Why cabinets get shuffled".

Congrats Warren.

Spiderman knew what Danny apparently doesn't

Danny Williams is apparently frustrated by the ongoing scandal in the House of Assembly and information coming supposedly in dribs and drabs.

Danny can only blame himself. He didn't create the problem but - by his own claim from the outset in June 2006 - he has taken full responsibility for how his administration is dealing with the scandal.

From the outset, the Premier endorsed - without reservation - the Auditor General and his work.

If Danny Williams now finds a problem with the system, he has no one to blame but himself.

The Premier and his ministers rejected flatly the appointment of a public inquiry supported by forensic auditors who would have the complete skill-set and the complete legal authority to conduct thorough and proper reviews in a timely manner.

It's not like people haven't pointed out problems with the Auditor General's reports and the entire process.

It's like Uncle Ben told Peter Parker: with great power comes great responsibility.

Danny Williams has great power. He also has the great responsibility.

Rather than whine about it, Danny Williams should exercise it.

If he can't or won't then, by all means he can stop merely envying Loyola Sullivan and join him in private life.

Most of the people in the province - your humble e-scribbler included - believe that the Premier can do the job.

The only question is: "Will he?"

Rona-vision

Ok, so like while everyone else has been getting on her case, here at Bond Papers, your humble e-scribbler actually kinda liked the diminutive Rona Ambrose in her gig as environment minister.

In this first clip, courtesy of youtube.com, we find Rona playing along good-naturedly with Rick Mercer as they produce a little maple syrup. There are some slightly risque double-entendres, Ambrose plays along nicely and she even makes some self-effacing jokes.




In the second clip, we find Rona participating in a little environment song during the recent international conference in Nairobi. Somehow, it's hard to imagine her replacement being quite as approachable.




Do not lose heart, Rona fans. The real policy nerds among our small but enthusiastic group will get to see more of her dealing with controversial issues in her new position as federal intergovernmental affairs minister.

She'll be knee deep in Equalization, among other things, presumably where she'll go toe to toe at some point with the Mad Mullah of eastern Canada, Danny Williams.

Something suggests that for all her good humour, Rona won't be pushed around by the vertically challenged and ever-dyspeptic Williams.

Nosirree.

Them pointy-toed shoes (left) might not be just for show.

And if nothing else, intergovernmental affairs will suddenly take on all the geek-appeal of Lucy Liu's efficiency expert in the first Charlie's Angels movie.

You know the scene.

Williams punts transport minister to sidelines in audit scandal

Transportation minister John Hickey (PC-Lake Melville) is a serving cabinet minister - collecting full cabinet salary this evening, but stripped of actual ministerial duties in the latest problem in expense claims by members of the House of Assembly.

Premier Danny Williams met with Hickey at sometime this morning, according to CBC television news, but for some incomprehensible reason waited until 3:00 PM to advise news media - and the general public of the latest financial irregularity. The pattern mirrors the day Williams broke the scandal when he waited eight hours to reveal the first problem.

Williams said the province's auditor general had uncovered 20 instances of Hickey filing duplicate claims for miscellaneous expenses under his constituency allowance dating back to his election in October 2003. Some of the claims were for donations to unspecified community groups. The total double-billing amounted to $3700.

While the Premier was quick to encourage people to reserve judgment, his own actions suggest there is more to this latest incident than meets the eye. If the matter was a simple accounting error, as Williams suggested to reporters, then it would be easy to determine and correct without side-lining the minister involved.

Under the provincial Auditor General Act, the AG is required to notify officials of problems if he perceives a breach of legislation, including the Criminal Code of Canada. This presumes that the AG is capable or or has conducted sufficient investigation to make a determination, based on reasonable grounds, that a violation has occurred. To date Noseworthy's investigations have been accepted by news reporters as having included investigations comparable to those carried out by the police.

They haven't.

In each instance, Noseworthy has reported to authorities at the first appearance of an irregularity without determining at all the nature of the alleged irregularity. Some aspects of his investigations - the absence of sworn statements, failure to disclose information while making accusations of criminal wrongdoing - suggest the AG is incompetent.

In the Hickey case however, the amounts are small - $3700 - and the number of claims so small over a limited period that it would ordinarily be extremely easy to make a reasonable conclusion as to whether the double-billing was inadvertent or deliberate. With inadvertent billings - for example by a new assistant who was unsure of the process corrective action far short of firing or suspension would be warranted.

Under those circumstances, Williams' scrum today would have consisted of a simple statement: "We found the problem. Here's what it was. John cut me a cheque. Everything's kosher."

Diligent response and prompt, thorough disclosure would forestall misunderstanding and misrepresentation.

In the case of deliberate acts, those would be apparently criminal. Suspension and an immediate police investigation would be the logical consequence.

Williams' scrum today suggested a response somewhere between the two. That vague, almost contradictory response will lead to further speculation that information is being deliberately withheld or that there is more to the Hickey matter than disclosed or known.

Revelations about Hickey are a reminder than more than half of the inappropriate spending alleged to have occurred in the House of Assembly took place after April 2004. Of the more than $3.2 million overspent by the legislature between 1998 and 2005, less than half has been turned up by the AG before he shut down his investigation. Of the $1.6 million in unexplained spending, about $800,000 was disbursed in 2004 and 2005. In addition, the bulk of questionable payments made to three suppliers occurred after 2003.

Latest worst kept secret; more elec spec

Danny Williams suggests there may be a pre-election cabinet shuffle.

In related news, the number of Tories running to replace Loyola Sullivan is at five and headed to as many as eight according to CBC radio. The words that come to mind are "safe seat".

Spec on Loyola's sudden departure continues to mount. There's the version that he had his office cleaned out either before he told Danny or a handful of hours afterward. That's quick.

Then there's the version that Sullivan brought back a deal on Equalization that would include a phase in period, with transitional grants for provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador that would see a drop in their Equalization payments under the new scheme.

This one sounds plausible since transitional grants were part of the Connie 2004 election platform. Then they were looking at 12 years of transition; the figure bandied around now would be more like four.

The falling out under that scenario came when Premier Danny Williams rejected any loss of revenue.

Then there's the last explanation of Loyola's abrupt departure which holds that the Rain Man from Ferryland was growing increasingly frustrated with how things run - or sometimes don't run - in the Confederation Building these days. That's plausible too.

Speculation is already growing about who won't be running in the next election. Names tossed around so far include deputy ayatollah Tom Rideout, intergovernmental affairs minister John Ottenheimer and municipal affairs minister Jack Byrne for the Tories. On the Liberal side, the names include Kel Parsons, Judy Foote, Percy Barrett and just about half the caucus.

Names vary depending on who you talk to for both Liberals and Tories looking to quit politics. Only time will tell.

There's no speculation on Ross Reid, formerly the deputy minister to the premier, who resigned today to head up the provincial Tory re-election campaign.

Reid is widely respected and capable. If your humble e-scribbler hasn't said so before, let's make it plain now: Reid would be the finest replacement for Danny when he finally packs it in on the planned departure date in 2010. If Reid ever decides to get back into politics either federally or provincially, he can expect wide support. There simply aren't that many people in the province with Ross' talents.

Of course, that appointment is sure to raise the spectre of an early election call in Newfoundland and Labrador. There are no signs of a quickie writ at all, but Reid's appointment might just start tongues wagging. The Premier could use either a new war with Ottawa over Equalization as the premise or he could seek an endorsement of his energy plan and playing hardball with the oil companies. Either way it would be a jihad against foreign infidels which tends to play well in local politics, especially when led - as in 1982 - by our own version of the Mad Mullah.

If Claudia Cattaneo's Financial Post piece turns out to be accurate in its speculation an energy plan mandating an automatic Crown interest in any offshore field would need a public endorsement to withstand the onslaught of criticism. It would also be an unassailable political issue akin to the January 2005 offshore deal where emotion - and a heckuvalot of sheer political bullshit - trumped reason yet again. Liberal candidates would be falling over themselves to endorse the position, just as they did in 1982.

As for political fall-out, Danny Williams might take a few seconds of heat for not waiting until October but even in the worst case scenario, any criticism of an early election would evaporate well before polling day and would have absolutely nil negative impact on Danny Williams' re-election. The full impact - as in 1982 - wouldn't be felt until after Danny is gone.

Oh.

And for those who think there's no way to go early, recall that the so-called fixed elections date bill didn't really set a fixed date for elections. The 2004 amendments to the House of Assembly Act state clearly:

3. (1) Notwithstanding subsection (2), the Lieutenant-Governor may, by proclamation in Her Majesty’s name, prorogue or dissolve the House of Assembly when the Lieutenant-Governor sees fit.

(2) A polling day at a general election shall be held on the second Tuesday in October, 2007 and afterward on the second Tuesday in October in the fourth calendar year following the polling day at the most recently held general election.

Practically, we wouldn't need an election before October but - just as in 1999 - the Premier's agenda may trump all others'. Way back then, Brian Tobin's eagerness to head back to Ottawa with two election victories led him to plan an election for early September 1998. First signs emerged in April of that year but Tobin's plans were bumped back, at the last minute, by a caucus that was uncomfortable with an election only two years after the previous one. Tobin dropped the writ in January 1999 instead.

Shame: Ignorant oppo parties playing political games with military

In 1993, it was the EH-101. The right helicopter for the mission purchased at a good price.

Used as a scapegoat by Liberal leader Jean Chretien during the federal election campaign, axed unceremoniously once Chretien took office.

The price to Canadians? Lives and hundreds of millions of dollars - if not billions - above what it would have cost to carry on with the EH-101 purchase.

In the end, the air force got the EH-101 for search and rescue but was forced to purchase a second-rate aircraft for its naval requirement in a process that also drove up long-term costs to Canadians through the purchase of a second aircraft (savings from a single aircraft with a single spares requirement went out the window.)

Heck, the American president will be flying in the EH-101; our navy is using an aircraft even the American military hasn't bought, thereby reducing its inter-operability with a key ally and...yet again...driving up our long term costs solely because of political folly.

Watch apologists rush forward to point out the military made the decision on the SH-92.

Then watch the same politicos rush forward to slag the military for having "too much" control over defence procurement, thereby prompting the latest exercise in the cynical, pointless political theatre called defence procurement.

Here's the short answer:

In the tactical lift helicopter procurement, there simply isn't another helicopter worth buying except the CH-47 Chinook.

In the Herc replacement, there simply isn't another capable airframe. The A-400 hasn't even flown yet; we need the aircraft now based on a requirement that sat unaddressed under the Liberals.

In the SAR role, we are buying a decent aircraft that combines the capabilities of two aircraft currently filling the role and doing so with one dedicated to the search and rescue mission. In the current situation, we are flying transport aircraft (Hercules) on SAR missions, thereby taking them away from their primary task. The slight change in airspeed requirements (from a max of 130 knots to 140 knots) should not wipe out competitors - the Globe story on this is sheer bunk.

But overall, this sort of nonsense - both from the Globe and from the Liberal, Blochead and New Democrat tag team - is sadly what Canadians get when it comes to defence.

For far too long, defence procurement in this country has been about political pork. Successive Liberal and Conservative regimes have wasted billions - literally billions - solely to satisfy civilian, partisan needs to pay off political supporters or create jobs in underdeveloped regions of the country.

More often than not the equipment purchased - like the LSVW currently squealing its brakes all over Afghanistan - is a second-rate, clapped-out POS that would never have been selected by a process dominated by operational military requirements as the major criteria for selection.

The Liberals reviewed procurement in 1994 and the Liberal dominated committee recommended more off-the-shelf purchases in order to save money and get needed equipment to our soldiers, sailors and air crew.

The result? A weapons-effects simulator (WES) purchase that took 13 years from inception to delivery. WES has been on the market since the early 1980s.

Off-the-shelf doesn't equal a decade and a half.

That's just one. Your humble e-scribbler has been studying this issue for a couple of decades.

There is a need to shake-up up defence-related procurement in Canada but it damn-well isn't a shake-up like the opposition parties are suggesting.

The shake-up needs to be among the grossly irresponsible and grossly ignorant politicians who use defence procurement solely as a means of scoring political points.

Like now.

Sadly, the men and women of the Canadian Forces are the perfect patsy for our pissant politicians.

Their needs offer the chance for billions in public money the politicians can spread at whim among their buddies. The costs - in cash and lives - are borne by someone other than the politician who thinks its a great idea to buy a shovel and a rifle-shield in one combination based on a design by a political secretary all in the name of "civilian oversight".

It's enough to make your humble e-scribbler consider running for public office just to sort out the crap.

Danny's latest pissing match

From the December 19 Financial Post, comes a commentary by Claudia Cattaneo, the Post's Calgary Bureau Chief. There's a link to it, but for posterity, we are reproducing the whole thing below.

After that, you'll find Danny Williams' rejoinder published in the January 3 edition of the venerable Canadian business journal. It's pretty interesting to read Williams' letter since it actually doesn't address the points Cattaneo makes. There are a few Bond Papers' comments in square brackets but don't let those distract you from the main articles.

Or his sentences.

Fragments actually.

Lots of them.

Danny Williams [left, not exactly as illustrated] must have kidneys of superhumanly freakish size for all the pissing he does.

Cattaneo's comments are accurate, reflecting an understanding of Williams' position, recent comments by one of Hydro's senior officials and - to be sure - the view of the oil and gas industry with whom Williams would have to work if offshore oil and gas resources are to be developed. Unfortunately, Cattaneo's understanding doesn't conform to the Premier's year-end puffery. So he claims she is uninformed and in the back pocket of Big Oil.

We've heard it all before.

Anyway, for the record, here's the original article followed by the Premier's comments, all part of the Premier's latest pissing match.

One last thing: Danny Williams' is right about one thing: inaccurate, selective and uniformed commentary is completely unproductive and does a disservice to everyone. Too bad the Premier is most often the one providing such comment.

You could've been a contender
Comment
Claudia Cattaneo, Financial Post
Published: Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Right about now, if Danny Williams, the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador, hadn't played Russian roulette with Big Oil -- and lost -- the Hebron Ben Nevis heavy-oil project would be hiring hundreds of people and writing cheques with nine zeroes.

The Hibernia offshore oil project, Newfoundland's first and mightiest, would be looking forward to many more years of steady production volumes, thanks to the discovery of an extension in the southern edge of the field. [BP note: see, for example, "Waiting for the other shoe".]

Yet partners are facing a rapid decline next year, apparently handcuffed because the Tory Premier wants a better deal on the new reserves.

It's a similar situation with Husky Energy Inc., which were it not for Tory obstinance, would now be beavering away to develop the 2.3 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves associated with the White Rose oil project. [BP note: This comment is a bit overblown. A natural gas royalty regime has been under development since the late 1990s. In April 2006, Husky indicated it would be shelving plans to develop White Rose gas until the gas royalty regime is issued.]

Instead, thousands of Newfoundlanders are leaving to work in oil projects in Alberta. The exodus is so huge the shock to the provincial economy has been compared to the collapse of the cod fishery.

But Mr. Williams continues to stick to his guns. The province is expected to unveil an energy plan early in the new year that will bring back government ownership and control of oil and gas resources in Canada for the first time since the 1980 National Energy Program.

One the greatest fears is that the plan will mandate equity ownership in oil projects by the province without contributing capital. The plan may also include a generic natural-gas royalty regime. Depending on the terms -- and there are few hints on what they may be -- it will either encourage production of vast natural-gas finds, or keep them idle. [BP note: The Premier has stated several times over the past year that the energy plan will include a natural gas royalty regime.]

Mr. Williams' approach has wide appeal in Newfoundland, where bashing arrogant Big Oil garners votes and the common view is that the province got a raw deal on Hibernia, as oil companies underplayed its potential to squeeze the best possible terms.

Mr. Williams believes the plan will turn his province into an even greater energy producer by putting the government in the driver's seat and ensure it gets a fairer share. Most likely, it will keep Newfoundland an energy wannabe.

A presentation last month by Jim Keating, vice-president of business development at Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro Corp., the provincial Crown corporation through which Mr. Williams is expected to drive his oil-and-gas agenda, is seen by Canada's oil industry as signalling where the Premier is going.

The presentation notes:

- That many other governments get a bigger share from their oil riches than Newfoundland.

- Government-controlled entities are common in the sector globally, with 88% of reserves under government control.

- The global trend is for a greater government take from oil and gas projects and highlights energy- producing countries such as Russia, which has increased royalty and export duty rates; Algeria, which has introduced a windfall profits tax and is increasing state equity; Venezuela, which has increased royalty, tax and state equity rates; Ecuador, which has introduced a windfall profits tax; and Bolivia, which increased the royalty rate and nationalized assets.

The speech, given at Memorial University in St. John's, praises the benefits of government ownership and control, such as ensuring greater knowledge and influence over the industry while ensuring development of long-ignored resources. [BP note: Several people who attended the session and some who heard a similar speech delivered by Hydro chief executive officer Ed Martin at the St. John's Board of Trade offered an observation similar to Cattaneo's.]

It's hardly the type of thinking that makes oil types want to drop what they are doing and flock to the area. Already, their experience with Hebron, and now expectations that a new standoff is brewing with the province over development of Hibernia's south extension, has dampened any enthusiasm they had left.

Global trends such as increased government take and ownership have largely scared off foreign investment, increased government corruption, and frustrated oil-and-gas sector development.

In Canada, past government ownership of oil and gas resources, through entities such as Petro-Canada, is widely seen as failed government policy that cost taxpayers dearly.

With estimated reserves of 2.7 billion barrels of oil and 10.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas buried off its coasts, Newfoundland has significant holdings. Yet they're modest by world standard and hard to get to.

Mr. Williams' confrontational style doesn't make him the type of partner oil companies would welcome.

If Mr. Williams moves forward, the predictable outcome is that exploration activity will remain significantly below potential despite high energy prices, there will be no new projects and current daily production of about 300,000 barrels of oil a day will start to decline next year.

The sad part is that Mr. Williams is so popular that Newfoundlanders -- at least those who haven't left for Alberta -- seem to be buying into his views. He should let them know that his high-risk strategy could cause their oil industry to unravel, and that they would be the big losers, not Exxon Mobil Corp.

Financial Post ccattaneo@nationalpost.com

-30-

We will not be bullied
Financial Post, January 3, 2007


Re: You Could Have Been A Contender, Claudia Cattaneo, Dec. 19.

The uninformed, superior attitude of certain commentators never ceases to amaze me. Claudia Cattaneo's article entitled "You could have been a contender" is condescending to the people of my province, to me personally, and frankly your readers should be equally insulted. Her complete lack of understanding of the facts is somewhat astonishing, especially considering she is generally quite knowledgeable on the facts of the oil-and-gas industry. But perhaps her proximity to the oil companies in Alberta has skewed her objectivity. I certainly hope this is not the case. In any event, let me correct some of the impressions left by her unfortunate commentary.

First of all, I would like for Ms. Cattaneo to explain to me how "Tory obstinance" is blocking the development of Husky Energy's natural gas development. This government is in the process of consulting with industry to implement a fair and reasonable natural gas royalty regime. I make no apologies to her for ensuring we do this in a proper, timely fashion. I do not have the luxury of having no one to answer to -- rather, I have many future generations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians relying upon our government to ensure we get a fair return on our resources. [BP note: The natural gas royalty regime has been under development since the late 1990s. It was supposed to be released, along with the energy plan last year. That would hardly qualify as "proper, timely fashion."]

Furthermore, Ms. Cattaneo's assertion that our government is looking for equity without contributing capital is wrong. During our negotiations on the Hebron development, we were quote willing to pay for our equity position. And a minor equity position at only 4.9%. A very fair and reasonable position, considering some other jurisdictions regulations. [BP Note: Premier Williams deliberately confuses his claims about what was involved in the Hebron discussion with Cattaneo's references to what some people believe may be in the energy plan.] It is ironic that on the very day this "commentary" appeared the news reported the merger of Stat Oil and Norsk Hydro -- the Norwegian government will hold 62.5% of the merged company, and its Prime Minister said he would seek parliament's approval to increase the state's share to 67%. I don't think there will be an exodus of companies leaving the Norwegian shelf as a result of greater government ownership. Fine for Norway, but I guess Ms. Cattaneo doesn't see such benefits as befitting Canada or my province. Which leads to another point.

Ms. Cattaneo selectively uses excerpts from a presentation made by an official from Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro. In so doing, she tries to paint our government as comparable to Algeria, Bolivia and Russia. What she fails to point out is that in fact we are looking for a greater return on our projects, as other jurisdictions have. Her selective examples are the extremes. She conveniently fails to mention the other examples of increasing fiscal terms that are closer to home-- the United States, the U.K., Norway and, yes, Alberta. We are seeking arrangements on the development of projects on a just and reasonable basis. [BP note: Bond Papers has previously noted the misrepresentations repeated here by the Premier. For example, the American offshore taxation regime on some properties, even after increase, would still not be as lucrative as the Newfoundland and Labrador regime. In Alberta, the province is seeking a modest increase in its royalty on tar sands. For a discussion of some factors affecting Newfoundland and Labrador's economic future see here.]

Inaccurate, selective and uninformed commentary, such as provided by Ms. Cattaneo, is completely unproductive. It does a disservice to the people of my province, and indeed to the people of Canada who as well will all serve to benefit greatly from our offshore development. But I can assure Ms. Cattaneo and the oil companies she so valiantly supports that our government will not be bullied into making decisions that are not in the best interest of our people. We are not unreasonable; we are not selfish or irrational. We are, in fact, looking to work together for everyone's mutual benefit and develop our industry in a manner that returns to the people some of the benefit they so richly deserve.

Danny Williams, QC, Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador.

RCMP Conduct Questioned

Royal Canadian Mounted Police may have apologised to a woman held naked for two days in a detention cell, but media reports today give no indication the national police force understands the gravity of the problem.

Inspector Greg Bursey did apologise, telling CBC:

"I'm sorry she felt that she was mistreated in any way or put through any undue hardship, but certainly there was no intent," Bursey said.

"I'm satisfied that within reason that it shouldn't happen again."

The woman was held in a cell stripped of mattress and bedding pending her court appearance and after the woman had reportedly threatened to harm herself. The secure holding room at the hospital in Happy Valley-Goose Bay was occupied and the RCMP constable involved in the case elected to take the woman back to the RCMP cells rather than admit the woman to hospital.

But take a close look at Inspector Bursey's comment. He is sorry the woman felt she was mistreated; he wasn't sorry she was mistreated even though - on the face of it - she was. It is unconscionable that anyone under any circumstances would be detained by police under such conditions for any period of time, let alone 48 hours.

It is irrelevant that the individual involved was a woman. Being held in custody naked is unacceptable, full stop.

Other means could have been used to ensure the woman could not harm herself while under arrest. It may well be that the constable in question did not intend to cause the arrested woman harm or difficulty however, there seems to have been a complete lack of consideration given to the circumstances in which the woman was being detained.

If there was no intent, as Inspector Bursey states, there was certainly an unacceptable consequence that came as a direct result of the Constable's actions or inactions. The constable's apparent indifference, lack of compassion, thought or insensitivity seems as much a cause for concern as it would have been had she taken a baton and beaten the woman unconscious.

The police have considerable powers and once an individual is taken in custody, police have an equally considerable responsibility to provide for the care of the detained individual.

The people of the province are owed a much more substantive explanation than the one offered thus far by the national police service on this matter.

We are also owed a more detailed accounting of what has occurred and what steps have been taken to ensure police officers employ some common sense when on the job. Your humble e-scribbler knows a goodly number of police officers and has always found them to be competent and professional. The actions here seem highly unusual. Nevertheless, the public are owed a full explanation.

Asked about the potential of such an occurrence two years ago, Inspector Bursey might have said that "within reason" it shouldn't happen at all. Clearly, telling us that "within reason" it is not likely to occur again is no comfort at all.

It is little better than a five dollar surplus army blanket tossed to a naked prisoner in a cell.

When all else fails, start a new blog

Another moment of trying to keep from putting the car in the ditch this morning as Open Line Show host Randy Simms chatted with talk show maven Sue about her new blog.

That would make four at last count, two of which are deader than 286 processors. The rant-fest that seems to have lasted the longest of the lot features heavily-censored comments as part of the great dialogue. Of course no comments get through that criticize her conclusions or point out the wild inaccuracies of some of her claims.

But I digress.

Randy called Sue to talk about her blog which will supposedly focus on the upcoming federal election. Sue claimed one of the big issues will be the so-called fiscal imbalance. As she built her argument, Sue claimed that Stephen Harper was busily trying to placate Ontario and Quebec.

Now that's where things got hilarious and your humbler e-scribbler had to wipe the tears of laughter from his eyes all the while keeping the car on the road.

During the last federal election, Sue was shilling for the Connies, especially Loyola Hearn. She even turned up on Harper's advance bus at one point, but she spent most of her spare time calling every open line show available.

Part of her great rationale for loving Steve Harper was that the Conservatives would not have the bulk of their seats in Ontario and Quebec and therefore provinces like Newfoundland and Labrador would have greater sway.

Here at Bond Papers, we pointed out that this was nonsense.

We also pointed out that Loyola Hearn - currently the federal fish minister - had a nasty habit of saying one thing in order to get elected but would sing a completely different song once he was safely sworn to the Privy Council.

We stand by our observations.

On a completely different note, Simms' latest ratings numbers are worth checking out. His show is solid and he suffers no fools gladly, all of which goes to explain to the high numbers Open Line has been pulling. Liberals claim he's a Tory; Tories claim he's a Liberal.

People who listen to Randy Simms know that he is both knowledgeable and fair.

The fact he pisses everyone off equally is testament to that.

Ultimately, though, who cares since Randy's numbers are such that Harry Steele would be nuts to change the show one bit.

______________________

Update: Keeping track of Sue blogs would be like trying to keep track of which political parties she's supported over the years.

Let's see:

There's Sue's Rant which still raves on. There's the new election blog which may or may not last until the writ is dropped. Since most political commentary happens on established blogs, it would be kinda strange for everyone to suddenly switch to yet another site to discuss things already being discussed somewhere else.

Then there's Sue's News which looked like it was supposed to replace the Rant. That struggled through August, September and October before it finally expired. You can still find it listed on the NL Blogroll.

Shortly after the last election, after she figured out her political prognostication was piffle, Sue tried a recall Harper blog. That died much like the entire recall campaign since, in Canadian politics, there is no recall mechanism for politicians at the federal level. Of course outside, Newfoundland and Labrador, no one had heard of Sue so there was no particular reason for the nonsense to get any traction.

Before that, there was a Lower Churchill blog that died after one extremely long meandering post dated in September 2005. It too still sits out there on the blogroll, collecting comments, mostly anonymous or automated ads. Suitably enough the first comment it received was a spam about gastric bypass.

That would make five, if we have accounted for all the incarnations that have been out there.

That doesn't include the odd anony-blog that looked suspiciously like Sue's style. Like say the Pink, White and Green which has been dead since last September after only a couple of month's of Sue-esque potshots.

Do they think before they speak?

1. Loyola "Rain Man" Sullivan, trying desperately to crush rumours that he and Danny had a tiff: "I haven't had any, you know, pressures or interferences in doing my job from the premier or anybody in there."

A finance minister that just went to work, did his job and never felt any pressure from anyone on anything.

Utter nonsense like that claim can hardly dispel the rumours, caused by Sullivan's own "f u" to Danny on the way out.

How many times have they been on completely opposite sides of issues now, including the day Loyola walked?

2. Liberal party president Danny Dumaresque, commenting on getting ready for the next provincial election. vocm.com attributes this to him: "He says the Districts of Kilbride and Ferryland have been in Tory hands for more than 30 years. Dumaresque says even when the Liberals were in power, there wasn't a lot of interest in those areas."

Even if it was true, you wouldn't admit it.

Since Dumaresque said something completely different only a few weeks ago, this line just fuels the Tories' confidence. It fuels the perception that the Liberals don't stand a chance or worse, that the party executive has already written off a raft of seats.

Look for the Other Danny to quickly move to dispel any misperceptions resulting from comments he shouldn't have made.

'007: Year of Bond

Thanks to Ted Blades of CBC Radio's On the Go for that little gem.

He was referring to James Bond.

Around here, we'd have a different idea.

"Bond. Robert Bond."

But hey, we like the sound of it: The Year of Bond!

Since January 3 marks the second anniversary of Bond Papers (1560 posts later), Ted's observation came just in time.

Christmas money

In December, the provincial government announced cash for a number of projects.

1. Public Service Pension Plan. Then-finance minister Loyola Sullivan announced the provincial government borrowed $400 million to address the unfunded liability in the provincial public service pension plan (PSPP). The money was borrowed at 4.5% interest over a 30 year term.

The news release on December 6 mentioned another unspecified amount would be borrowed before the end of the fiscal year (31 March 2007)

It will be interesting to see if the provincial government carries out the planned borrowing and, if so, what the amount will be.

2. Economic development. InTRD minister Trevor Taylor announced money on December 28 for economic development, disbursed from a $5.0 million fund already established.

About $12, 000 will be spent to conduct a test fishery on shark-catching as a tourism venture. This sounds great as a tourism idea but as an environmentally-sensitive project it seems a bit dodgy. Shark fishing may attract anglers, but there is no indication if the sharks are dumped - inevitably dead - back into the ocean or if there has been any thought given to use the shark flesh for any type of subsequent commercial use.

Taylor also announced the province would drop the princely sum of $1875 - yes, that's all the digits, Virginia - into a study on using water from Gisborne Lake as a source for bottled water. As the release put it:

The [local development] association hopes that by making available details of the lake and the surrounding infrastructure, local development officers will be able to use the study as a prospectus to attract businesses to the area to develop a local water bottling industry.

Like no one has thought of Gisborne Lake for such a purpose before. The last time out, a private-sector venture foundered over concerns about impact exporting water in bulk from Gisborne Lake would have on water under the North American Free Trade Agreement. The federal government eventually banned bulk exports of water in 1999. The provincial government joined in but talked about lifting its own ban in 2001.

The general characteristics of the lake are well known, so one must wonder why the provincial government must spend any cash at all on this venture. In 1998, then-opposition critic Tom Osborne questioned the bulk export proposal but indicated his party favoured bottling water for export.

Fair enough.

But there just doesn't seem to be a demand for exporting bottled water. If there was, surely someone would have invested in it by now.

If that wasn't enough, there are always the environmental and ethical issues now being raised about bottled drinking water.

Maybe there are good reasons why the provincial government is investing such a paltry sum. Of course, that still wouldn't explain the tardiness of the Williams' bunch from bringing forward the sustainable development act mentioned in the infamous Blue Book. The new legislation was to be a major accomplishment of the first term.

Back in 2003, Danny Williams believed there was "a brief window of opportunity to legislate a balanced development strategy for this Province that protects water resources, assures fair benefits for the Province, and provides a hospitable and competitive environment for investors."

Williams categorically rejected bulk exports but did commit that:

We will legislate a water resource development strategy that adheres to the following principles:

* Sound management and sustainable development of fresh water resources.

* Development of a fully integrated water resource industry, which includes value-added processing in the Province.

* A fair regime for assessing royalties and taxes, procurement of goods and services in the Province, and first consideration for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians in employment and related training.

* Promotion of local ownership and local investment in the development of the primary resource and related industries.

When these policies are enshrined in law and their intent expressed in every government-industry agreement to develop our water resources, this Province and businesses in this Province will have the opportunity to become global players in what may well become the most important resource industry in the world.

There is still time. If Danny and his cabinet get busy they have 10 months to deliver.

Sullivan spec update

As one might expect, New Year's parties across the province were abuzz with speculation about Loyola Sullivan's surprise resignation on Friday.

The one thing everyone agreed on: his official reasons are bogus.

The weekend spec ranged from Loyola is running to replace Norm Doyle as Connie member of parliament in St. John's North to spec that Loyola will be replacing the Other Loyola in St. John's South Mount Pearl.

Possibly... but there was no reason to resign so abruptly if that was the goal. If - and it is a big if - Rain Man wants to head for Ottawa, he'll do that as a separate issue from his surprising resignation from cabinet and the House of Assembly.

Some other speculation held that Loyola's name will turn up prominently in future House of Assembly reports.

Again, possibly.

But that issue wouldn't require his resignation in the middle of the holidays.

Nope.

So far, the speculation hasn't been able to come up with a plausible explanation for the dramatic departure which even Danny Williams admitted caught him by surprise. Yes, the man who stated relentlessly that he respected Loyola got one up the political back passage. And on the other side, the guy who insisted his relationship with the Boss was great, managed to leave office in the way calculated to fuck up The Boss big time.

Yessirree. A phone call at 10 o'clock the night before to say little more than: "Danny, boy... I am blowin' this popsicle stand and you have less than 12 hours to figure out how to cope with it".

Sod you, mate.

Surprised Loyola didn't flip Dan the electronic finger via crackberry, in the manner common among young people these days who find their current relationship has lost its pizazz.

"Deer D, f u. Luv Rnmn"

Handful of characters.

Broadband, so it would appeal to the fibre-optician in The Man.

Instantly delivered.

Around Bond Papers, where we consider a five year old cell phone to be cutting edge technology, the stories making the rounds - including the ones offered by "The Panel" on Into the Fog Here and Now - just didn't cut it.

Maybe it was what Loyola said it was?

Yeah. Right.

New address

To start the New Year,a new e-mail address for Bond Papers.

Predictably, it is bondpapers@hotmail.com.

Don't be surprised

if Danny spends the weekend persuading Jerome Kennedy to join cabinet as the unelected minister of justice and attorney general.

Danny did muse today about attracting "new blood" into politics. Kennedy is the only blood coming forward to indicate an interest in joining Williams' team. Constitutionally, Kennedy can take on a job in cabinet without a seat.

Kennedy could wait until the October general election to seek a seat in Carbonear where he reputedly had wanted to run instead of Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi.

Williams spreads thin, thinner

In the wake of Loyola Sullivan's sudden resignation, Premier Danny Williams issued:

- this short political good-bye note; and,

- this announcement of changes to the ministry.

Tom Marshall moves to head finance and treasury board.

Tom Rideout [left] becomes acting minister of justice and attorney general in addition to being deputy premier, minister responsible for aboriginal affairs and minister of fisheries and aquaculture. The deputy premier thing got left out of the release.

The Canadian Press version of the Sullivan story doesn't shed much light on Sullivan's motivation. No fault of CP; Sullivan was pretty cryptic. The CBC online story has a bit of added information but it, too, doesn't shed light on Sullivan's motivation beyond the unusual answers Sullivan offered.

The explanation Sullivan offered is unusual since none of the points he made necessitated an immediate resignation today.

In a scrum today, Williams apparently spoke of his looking forward to injecting new blood into his party and cabinet. Sullivan didn't really leave him much of a chance to do that; Williams learned of the resignation on Thursday night around 9:00 PM, according to Sullivan.

The hurried departure means Williams will have to call two by-elections early in the new year. One will be to find a replacement for Ed Byrne in Kilbride. The other will now be held to replace Sullivan whose old seat in the legislature abutts Byrne's riding.

Breaking: Sullivan surprise resignation

Loyola "Rain Man" Sullivan stunned Newfoundland and Labrador today by announcing his immediate departure from politics.

Sullivan - who was minister of finance and president of treasury board - submitted his resignation this morning. Premier Danny Williams will be available to meet with reporters at 1300 hours today. No word yet on a cabinet shuffle

Bond Papers will update, as information becomes available.