Shell shelves Sarnia sands refinery

Royal Dutch Shell won't be building a new 200,000 barrel per day refinery in Sarnia, Ontario to process oil from the Alberta tar sands.

The company cited poor market conditions and surging costs, according to Reuters.

In other words, a company with its own guaranteed source of raw material isn't building a greenfield refinery close to both the source of raw material and markets. 

Instead, Shell will be expanding capacity at existing refineries to serve the North American market.

That would be pretty much consistent with this previous Bond Papers post on NLRC's problems with its larger project proposed for Placentia Bay and very much at odds with any suggestion that tight American capital markets due to the subprime crisis are to blame.

-srbp-

Covering Britney is cheaper

Well, it would be, given how little the woman usually wears in public.

A doff of the derby to Lee Hopkins, one of Australia's leading public relations practitioners in the so-called new media, for posting a link to the following video.

It's a presentation from February by Alisa Miller, of Public Radio International.  She was speaking at a TED conference - Technology, Entertainment, Design - and dazzled the audience with her assessment of changes in American coverage of international stories.

We like to think that Canadian news coverage is different, that it's better than what the Americans do.  We cover the world better, are better informed about what goes on beyond our borders.

But is that true?

Is it true when our borders are sometimes the provincial ones politically and in our heads?

-srbp-

Nothing says "election" like politicians and cash, the BC version

Stockwell's wetsuit apparently has a big "S" emblazoned on it.

Well, we presume he wears the wetsuit under his day clothes since there's no other way to explain how  he could be in St. John's propping up a retiring caucus mate and at the same time be announcing $272 million bucks for British Columbia.

Meanwhile,  the Uncaped Crusader, Minister of Public Safety stopped off at some point in the recent past to visit glorious Drayton Valley, unveil a memorial and chat with the locals about important issues of the Day.

Like, for argument's sake, the wonderful benefits of having a fixed election date:

Day said having a scheduled date not only removes power from the governing party to call a snap election, but it also allows voters to weigh the government actions accordingly.

“The people will no longer look at a new tax credit policy and wonder if it has been introduced because an election is going to be called soon,” said Day.

Maybe it is the Summer of Love, federal edition.

The local mayor got in a pitch for some of this decentralization stuff Stockwell and his pals have been musing about.  The local mayor said the town is interested in getting something related to intelligence, the town apparently being a "good fit" for intelligence what with its emphasis on crime prevention.

Tell us, Moe - and that is the mayor's real first name - if there is a burg in this country from one end of 'er to the other that has an emphasis on crime encouragement?

And of course, this movement of intelligence from the National Capital Region into Drayton Valley would occur  - should it occur - in such a manner that no one could possibly confuse the relocation of  those fat federal paycheques with any pending election.

We'll leave aside the obvious joke about transferring intelligence from Ottawa and only note that public tit-sucking is clearly a national pass-time.

Moe might be running Drayton Valley, but Larry's heading up a Great City these days,  Shemp has got a regional borough in Manitoba and another Larry, his brother Daryl and his other Daryl are the reeve, police chief and fire department head in a township in southwestern Ontario.

-srbp-

The challenge of demographic change (3)

Trip, click, stumble or otherwise magically teleport yourself to labradore for a couple of commentaries on the latest population stuff from Statistics Canada.

You'll find gold.

The first one notes that natural population decline - the excess of deaths over births - hit Newfoundland along the northeast coast about 10 years ago, then set in around Stephenville, and went along the south coast before hitting Humber Valley in 2004.

Natural decline is just one of the elements making up the population figures.  Even without outmigration, in other words, only Labrador, St. John's, and the Avalon have sustained  enough births to outpace the number of deaths.

Someone needs to track where the bootie call cheques are going.  Odds are the grand per live one is hitting the Avalon, St. John's and Labrador rather than where there needs to be a change in fertility levels if we want to kill off the natural population decline.

There are two things about that:  first, as a matter of public policy, the bootie call will likely only reinforce existing trends rather than counteract them.  Second, it would be interesting to see what impact the bootie call announcement had on votes last time out.  Heaven knows there were enough people calling from all around bitching about not getting the cheques.

The second post at labradore looks specifically at natural population decline trends over 20 years for four areas.

-srbp-

Nothing says "election" like politicians and public cash, the Nova Scotia version

Nova Scotia's offshore arrangement with Ottawa is a wee bit different in places than the one signed by Brian Mulroney and Brian Peckford for Newfoundland and Labrador.

Last week, an expert panel handed both the federal and Nova Scotia governments a report on how to handle something called "Crown shares".  Nova Scotia is owed cash, it seems dating back to the mid 1980s.

Apparently, the amount the federales are about to cough up is $850 million. 

That's a nice compromise between the $200 million suggested by Ottawa and the $1.8 billion the Nova Scotians were seeking.

-srbp-

Nothing says "election" like politicians and public cash

Stockwell came to town today.

Along for the ride were Loyola Hearn, the federal fisheries minister, Conservative member of parliament Fabian Manning, and Norm Doyle, soon-to-be double pensioned. 

Stockwell, a minister in the federal government,  took a few moments from traipsing around a provincial prison and a few other choice spots not featured in the usual tourist itinerary to pass out some federal dough with the local boys. 

$279, 349 in money from the federal disaster fund, f'rinstance.

For a disaster that happened in 2000.

The merry band handed out another cheque;   280-odd thousand to let communities tally up crime numbers.

Local reporters asked the moneybags about the $150 million in cash for a federal prison.  Some enterprising souls, you see, are one step ahead of the local daily.  They have hit on another island on which to model for our future, this time Alcatraz, using an election goodie floated out before the last time the Tories held power in Ottawa.

Stockwell assured the reporters that no decision had been made yet on the future of the provincially-owned and operated Lakeside Hilton,  a.k.a Her Majesty's Penitentiary.  

You can tell there's an election coming, can't you? 

It's not quite the Summer of Love, but then again it hasn't been much like summer this summer in St. John's so it all fits.

There's another announcement scheduled for tomorrow with Stockwell and Norm.  More public cash, no doubt, for something called "flood recovery".

-srbp-

Yes, Virginia, it's torture

Christopher Hitchens discovered recently that his earlier assessment of torture was correct.

Hot on the heels of having tried to argue a distinction between something called extreme interrogation and torture, he agreed to experience waterboarding.

For those who don't know, waterboarding is a technique whereby the victim is bound to an inclined board, head down,  so that he so she cannot move.  Heavy towels are then placed over the victims face.  Water is then poured on the towels.

Hitchens lasted 10 seconds - by his own account - before he dropped the weights he was holding as part of the safety procedures.

The waterboarding stopped.

There were safety procedures in Hitchen's case simply because he wasn't a prisoner who had been rendered  - as the phrase goes - into the hands of the people who do this sort of thing for a living.

His demonstration was run by American special forces veterans.

10 seconds.

At least that's what he told an interview with CBC's As it happens.

The full account, in Hitchens own words, can be found in the August issue of Vanity Fair.

-srbp-

Going it alone, the federal version

The year:   1983.

The issue:  restructuring three bankrupt private fish companies into what would eventually become Fishery Products International.

The solution:  the federal government decided in late June 1983 to bypass the provincial government and invest $75 million in federal cash.  The resulting company was supposed to be entirely in the private sector with the federal government owning shares along with other investors.

The source:  A Globe and Mail story - left -  by Michael Harris. [Note:  To read the article, click on the picture and you can open it in a larger version.]

The previous May, the federal and provincial governments had a memorandum of understanding - according to the story signed by then fish minister Jim Morgan - but after a series of changes and further disagreements, federal fisheries minister Pierre de Bane turned up in St. John's to announce the "go-it-alone" option.

This is offered only as a curiosity since there are plenty of more clippings and many more details to the fishery restructuring in the mid-1980s and the eventual creation of FPI.

Still, it is interesting to see the federal and provincial governments in a disagreement.

It's even more interesting to see the willingness of the feds to go it alone on a fisheries issue.

Doesn't sound like the story you get from the usual sources, does it?

-srbp-

Update:  The story appeared on the front page of the Globe and Mail.  There's another little thing the local myth-mongers won't like.  The paper they love to hate as the read it every day actually put a major story about this province on the front page.

His own private Gene Krupa

Oram says there are a lot of companies inquiring about the potential to do business here, especially with the economy booming as it is now.

The Oram in this quotation from the Great Oracle of the Valley would be the disciple Paul Oram, minister of business.

Look at his news release pile and that of his predecessor and we might conclude he is the "minister-of-traveling-around-giving-speeches-to-anyone-who-will-listen", but that's another issue.

Now back to the quote.

The Quote.

Now presumably the G.O.V. got the quote right and Paul actually did say that the economy is booming right now. And presumably he was talking about the economy in this province, it being the economy which a business minister in this province would be concerned about.

'Cause if he did say the economy is booming,  you got to wonder if the disciples talk among themselves.

The disciple Tom delivered his budget earlier this year with predictions for economic growth across the province that were not booming. Indeed no economic oracle  - public sector or private - has been predicting a booming economy in Newfoundland and Labrador since at least the Summer of Love last year.

In fact, they aren't predicting a booming economy next year, either.

And even if all that weren't true, we need only look to last week's provincial forecast issued by RBC Economics. 

They issue these things quarterly and Bond Papers has posted more than a few from the major banks. Here's the RBC one from June 25 2007.

The forecast for Newfoundland and Labrador and it has been consisten since last year - is for the province to go from leading the country in growth to trailing badly.  They've refined their forecast of "trailing" to say that the economy will grow at the blistering pace of point two percent.

That's two tenths of one percent for those weaned on the New Math.

That is so perilously close to a recession that a breath in the wrong place would push it over.

That is so not a "boom".

Take a look at the forecast for next year.  Run your eye across the line in the pdf linked above.  Run your finger if you have to and move your lips to read the words.  That's what your humble e-scribbler had to do just to make sure he was seeing what he thought he was seeing.

Even if you have to move your finger so slowly people would think you were dead or asleep,  there's no way you'd describe the next two years in the provincial economy as a "boom".

Growth in employment?  Two per cent this year versus one half of one per cent next year.

Housing starts?  Two thousand  - that's it two friggin' thousand versus the double digits - like in the 30, 40s and 50 thousands in Ontario, Alberta, Quebec and Bee Cee.

Even in Saskatchewan they'll have double Newfoundland's starts next year.

Manitoba?  Poor Equalization-receiving Manitoba? 

New Brunswick?  The benighted crowd up the Saint John river?

Both are forecast to see more than twice as many housing starts as "booming" Newfoundland.

Retail sales?  From a growth of 8.9% in 2007 and an anticipated growth of 6% in 2008, RBC says that  there'll be just 2% growth next year.

There is no an indicator in that pile that says "boom", unless we are talking about last year.

The disciple Paul must be dancing to his own drummer, to borrow a phrase.  That's the only way to explain the comments which are, at least, somewhat inconsistent with the facts.

In fact, Paul Oram's comments are so far removed from reality that he must have his own private drum kit pounding away with skins pounded by no less a drummer than the ghost of the long-late Gene Krupa or maybe  Buddy Rich in the middle of a seizure of some kind.

If Paul has a pile of  prospective projects on his desk - at last count, the disciple Kevin was scanning 60 of the things when he went off to look after issuing permits and licenses - or even just a list of companies that are looking to come here and set up shop, perhaps Paul'd be good enough to give us a list of them.

Let us see the reason for his optimism.

He can just pass them along to the Great Oracle of the Valley and they'll get the word out.

Otherwise, we'll just consider that his latest word is as good as his description of the economy as "booming".

-srbp-

Where's your messiah now, see?

In these miraculous times, even those grown weary can find succor in the second - or is it the third?  - coming of yet another political saviour.

Not content with merely refreshing his own political soul, the true believer must  spread the word of  the (latest) deliverer's imminent return, now that the Way before this one has turned out to be a dead end. 

Maybe messiah-spotting comes easier when you've spotted a few before.

The converted - or is it the prodigal? -  must attack the heretics who didn't turn up for the  loaves and fishes enjoyed by the multitude at a cleverly unnamed event that look's like it was held in  - appropriately enough -  a church basement.

Seems, though, that  multitude-size estimating continues to bedevil the faithful even for sermons they didn't organize.

All of this is in good humour, but it does make you wonder which prescient partisan pronounced these words:

One member of the Liberal Caucus, a sometimes nemesis, once remarked that people did not trust me because no one really knew what my agenda was.

-srbp-

A conversion on the road to Deseronto

The greatest value in travel is what we learn of ourselves.

And I thought then of the many kindnesses we'd been shown - the hospitality of our hosts, the generosity of the woman at the golf club who had given us fresh-picked strawberries, the artist couple who kept Selma in their chicken pen until we could figure out what to do, the friendly waitress who told us of her remarkable life journey from Brighton, England to Brighton, Ont. - and I felt as at home as I ever had, and everything was warm and familiar.

Right here, in Canada.

Then again, sometimes we learn that we are all not so very different after all.

-srbp-

And the Oracle spake onto them, saying...

Yea, verily, the disciple Paul traveleth  far and wide even unto the heathen countries preaching the gospel and findeth that there is great interest in setting up new businesses in the Happy Land.

Especially, sayeth Paul, in the less urban areas:  "all of this will benefit rural areas of the province."

Thus spaketh the Great Oracle of the Valley, otherwise known as the voice of the cabinet minister.

Not much outward and visible sign of any of this actually happening via this particular ministry, though.

That despite all the traveling and preaching not just by Paul but a previous disciple or two, and this just from the stuff released publicly. (By the by, count the number of speaking engagement advisories versus actual news.)

There was even a trip to Qatar and Japan that was so productive in making the unbelievers aware of the gospel that it required a news release once the 10 day excursion was over and second trip over a year later to introduce the province to the people who had been introduced to it before. (yes, that second one is still headed with something about volleyball camps.)

Of course, all of this has been chronicled in the Book of Raymond (Authorized Version):

It must be admitted that the local press hasn't done much than dutifully set their tape recorders going whenever Smallwood steps off the place and send the results over the airwaves or commit it to black and white as it rolls off the assembly line...

People who flung their arms to the skies, made little groans of ecstasy, dropped their drawers or otherwise went cracked in celebration...will probably go through the whole drill at the latest pronouncement his week.

They've been through a dozen or more of these announcements...[b]ut they're always on tap to go into the raptures ...

Even the outward and visible signs are hard to keep track of, let alone the esoteric details.  Quick, for the grand prize of a second-hand pair of panty hose, how many times have the wrangling gang and that "battery of lawyers" been across the Atlantic for the signing of final papers...

Perhaps, in future, we should just write this stuff up as Book of Raymond, page so and so.

It all seems so very familiar.

-srbp-

Titanic found in '85 during secret US DOD mission

The team that found the wreck of the RMS Titanic was working for the United States Department of Defense at the time.

Oceanographer Bob Ballard was under contract to survey wrecks of the USS Thresher (SSN-593) and the USS Scorpion (SSN-589).  Once that work had been completed, Ballard and his crew were able to spend the final 12 days of the voyage hunting for Titanic.

They found Titanic approximately where they expected and in several pieces, again as expected. The 1985 search included the Atlantis II, support ship for the deep submersible Alvin, as well as the French deep ocean ship Le Suroit,  shown right, in 1/200 scale.

DOD was interested in gaining further information about why the submarines sank during the 1960s.  Both were lost suddenly. 

Thresher (model left) sank about 350 kilometres (190 nautical miles) east of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

 Scorpion sank about 740 kilometres southwest of the Azores.

DOD also wanted to conduct an environmental survey since the nuclear reactors of both ships had been lost and exposed to the deep ocean since the sinkings.

A board of inquiry concluded Thresher had been lost due to a series of events following a catastrophic leak in the ship's cooling system while at a test depth of 1,000 feet.  Ballard's evidence confirmed that theory.

Less is certain about the loss of Scorpion, (right, 1/283 model) . Evidence collected in the 1985 mission apparently points to the submarine being struck by one of her own torpedoes which had run wild. 

Discovery of the Titanic provided convenient cover for the classified portion of the voyage. At least one Internet site mentions the Titanic as the primary mission with the submarine wrecks being diversions.

Local angle:  Cape Race wireless station received Titanic's distress call in April 1912.  Data collected from the sound underwater surveillance system (SOSUS) station at Argentia helped pinpoint the wreck of Scorpion in 1968.

-srbp-

This is not history

"The bottomless gullibility of the Newfoundland people."

There's a phrase for you.

And the column it comes from, with the same title, appeared in the Evening Telegram on September 24, 1970.

You'll find it along with 166 other columns by Ray Guy in a new compilation from Boulder Publications. The book - Ray Guy: the Smallwood Years - covers the period 1963 to 1970.  This is the stuff that made Guy a household name in Newfoundland and Labrador as an able critic of the province's first premier after Confederation.

The Boulder handout puts it this way:

This volume is not a collection of witticisms; it is a historical work in its own right, told by a writer who emerged during the era of Premier Joseph Smallwood. During his time in power, Smallwood ruled Newfoundland and Labrador like an emperor. Using the weapons of political intimidation, Smallwood’s influence went largely unchecked – until the mid-1960s when Guy was hired by The Evening Telegram. Guy became one of Smallwood’s sworn enemies, one who could not be intimidated or bribed into submission.

That's a bit much.  This isn't history by any stretch.  But you don't need to know the players to get the jokes or feel the sting of the jabs.  Guy could have been writing about Huey Long or Duplessis.

Guy also wasn't the cause of Smallwood's downfall. As Guy himself notes in the introduction, the anti-Smallwood columny started at the Telly with Harold Horwood.  Guy came along in the early 1960s and while Horwood went on to become better known to a certain generation as a writer of books, Guy's writing still holds power.

The language is simple, but not simple-minded. There is a deftness to the way Guy uses words, even when he is stringing  together a hideous collection of word plays.  Take as an example the column "To be frank, Moores lacks color";  Brian Goff would be teamed with Hugh Shea if Guy had his way since a Shea-Goff ticket have the proper balance and might win. Get it?

There are other places, though where Guy lays waste not only to the politicians but also to the people who elected them. He holds forth on Farley Mowat and Harold Horwood and offers his perspective on growing up out beyond the overpass.

There's a throw-away column on hair  - read it if you want to be a writer - but one that lampoons coverage of shenanigans in an inner city park is properly placed among some of the best in the book. 

Labradorians may be surprised to find Guy's sensitivity to the Labradorian perspective and then feel enraged to realize how long they've been given the same soap about resources and provincial spending.

There's something for everybody.

Anyone reading this book today will find much of it all too familiar.  The stacked radio call-in shows, the unquestioning ladies and gentlemen of the local press, the silent back-benchers, the promise of hydro developments, undersea cables and tunnels, rows with Quebec, paper mills and an oil refinery all will leave the reader feeling as though they have fallen into the Twilight Zone.

The names may be different but the script is the same;  well except for Billy Rowe, who evidently still genuflects toward the 8th as he did then.  

If anything, though, the book is marred by the editing.  There are errors of fact in the cutlines on the illustrations.  Others have noted the Crosbie one.  The picture of a hydro project is Twin Falls, not Churchill Falls which itself is incorrectly referred to as the "Upper Churchill Falls".  There is no "Upper" Churchill Falls.
In other instances, even an inveterate news and political junkie like your humble e-scribbler couldn't figure out why some things were stuffed into this 400 page tome.  There are times when it seemed the thing  might have been better - and actually sold well - as two volumes. 

One could have focused on the purely political stuff while another took a look at resettlement and out-migration and the enormous transformations of Newfoundland society that  was just starting as Guy was writing.  There are some things that need a background note or two just to help along the flow of the story. [Changed paragraphing, with the added observation:  There is more to Guy's columns than humour.  His observations on the societal changes are an example of this.]

Fortunately, these are nits to pick at and Guy's columns contain more gems than junk. The column from which the title of this post is taken should be reprinted and handed out to every household in the province. [Update: Blame it on the trouble with finding the right title for a post.   The title for this post as it appears, "This is not history",  is an homage - some would say shameless rip off - of a column Guy wrote titled "This is a column", itself a jab at an editorial by Harold Horwood. The first sentence of the post, as it appears, was originally the title.]

Another, on democracy and the responsibility of individuals to do their civic duty should replace whatever crud it is they now use in the schools for "social studies". That letter sums up his own philosophy and every column was an exercise in living it.  Heck, Ray should photocopy that column and staple it in front of Ryan's eyes.  Maybe then the poor fellow will understand what it really means to tell it like it is.

Look.

Buy this book.

Click ------> HERE!

Follow the instructions, whip out the old credit card and buy it on line.

Better still, get in the car, head to the nearest bookstore and plunk the 22 bucks for it.

You won't regret it.

Your family won't mind the chuckling and giggling coming from behind the WC door and don't be surprised if you find yourself squirming and sniggering when you recognize a place or a phrase or  - especially - a person.

Just hope to God the person you recognize isn't you.

-srbp-

The challenge of demographic change (2)

This chart confirms what most of us already realize: there is a part of the province where the population is growing; there are others where the population is shrinking.

The figures are from the latest Statistics Canada population analysis.

The chart shows year over year changes.

Update Note: The scale on the left is the rate per thousand of population, not a percentage.

Updated update:  Just to put this in a bit better perspective it's useful to note the observation made by Statistics Canada on page 55 (57 of the pdf).  Of the 10 economic regions experiencing the largest population decreases in 2007, six were in Atlantic Canada.

Nationally, the situation in Newfoundland and Labrador is particularly noteworthy. The top two regions experiencing loss were in Newfoundland.  West Coast - Northern Peninsula - Labrador came in at sixth out of the top 10:

Like last year, Newfoundland and Labrador’s South Coast - Burin Peninsula ER experienced the largest population decrease of all, with a negative growth of –26.9 per thousand. Two other Newfoundland and Labrador ERs were among those with the largest population decreases: Notre Dame - Central Bonavista Bay in 2nd place (-17.6 per thousand) and West Coast - Northern Peninsula – Labrador in 6th place (-11.0 per thousand).

The population decreases between July 1, 2006 and July 1, 2007 in these ERs can be partly attributed to precarious local economic conditions and Alberta’s strong appeal. Between 2001 and 2006, 19,954 people moved from Newfoundland and Labrador to Alberta, representing 34.24 % of all interprovincial migrants from the eastern province.

If you follow the link above, you'll notice that other regions in the top 10 lost more people in absolute numbers.  However, the relative proportion (rate per thousand) was higher in the two Newfoundland regions that scored in first and second place.

The chart on page 71 compares the age and sex profile of the South Coast-Burin Peninsula (light blue) economic region with Red Deer.

The population of the Newfoundland region is significantly older than that of the Alberta region.  SC-BP has experienced one of the highest rates of outmigration  - both interprovincial and intraprovincial - at  negative 101 per thousand between 2001 and 2007), particularly men and women in their 20s.

 

-srbp-

Norm Doyle's bollocks

or is it:

"Norm Doyle?

Bollocks!"

Frankly, the only controversy that should be surrounding Dr. Morgentaler's induction into the Order of Canada is why it took so long to happen.

This is not your war, Mr. Doyle. It's not mine, and it's not Patrick Hanlon's; it is not the field of anyone who produces sperm. It is for women - and only women - to decide, for or against, "life" or "choice", and this is understood by anyone who isn't trapped inside an intellectual prison of latent sexism and regressive social attitudes.

-srbp-

The challenge of demographic change (1)

The population of Newfoundland and Labrador is changing.

The most recent analysis by Statistics Canada for the period 2003-2007 reveals some interesting trends.



The chart at right shows the population change in the St. John's census metropolitan area by contributing factors.

Natural increase - that is the net of deaths and births  - is the smallest factor.  That's the little yellow blocks.  While births outnumbered deaths in the years shown, the net increase has dropped from 249 in 2004 to 114 in 2007.

Net international migration - the people coming and going internationally  - is also a small contributor.  It's down from a peak in 2004 of 522, hitting the lowest point  (271) in 2006.

Interprovincial migration - the movement between provinces - showed the only net decline of the four factors.  Each year shows a net loss (more out than in) for this factor, with the peak in 2005 of 1088.
Think about this one.  Despite the booming economy, there are more people leaving St. John's to work in other provinces in each of the past five years than are coming here.  This tends to poke a big poke in the homing pigeon theory of how the labour shortfalls in the local economy will sort themselves out.

The biggest source of population change in St. John's in each year, though, has been net intraprovincial migration, that is movement from outside the overpass into the capital. It's coloured red on this chart just to really draw your eye to it.

Almost 1500 more people moved into St. John's from the rest of the province in 2004, 2006 and 2007 than moved from St. John's to points beyond Paradise.

-srbp-

Hillier to join law firm

For all the hype about Rick Hillier's appointment as chancellor of Memorial University, people seem to forget it's not a full-time job.

To pay the bills, Hillier will be joining a law firm.

Meanwhile, has anyone figured out why Eddy didn't meet the provincial government's standards for university president, the full-time gig?

Would Our Man in a Blue Line cab be their choice?

-srbp-

"Hatred", "tension", "brave", "exemplary"

The Globe and Mail recounts the public reaction to Henry Morgentaler.

-srbp-

Change and Challenge: Chapter Four - Creating a competitive edge (4)

Government Operations

The public consultation process on the development of the strategic economic plan highlighted people's feelings that they are over governed. The public feels the Province is over-regulated, that Government is too inflexible, rigid and complex, and that there is a definite need for a change in the attitudes and commitments of politicians, bureaucrats and the general population alike. People expressed a great deal of frustration about the number of development agencies and the confusion, duplication and red tape which they create. The public emphasized the need for better co-ordination between both federal and provincial agencies; the need for front-line managers to make decisions; the need for government officials to have more flexibility in making business decisions; the need to streamline the process to speed up decision making; and the need for educational and training initiatives within Government to provide public servants with sound management skills, and which would stress the importance of providing quality service to businesses.

Government itself has recognized these concerns and has already taken action to address them. The Province has made considerable progress toward reducing duplication with the consolidation of its business support activities within Enterprise Newfoundland and Labrador, which has also been mandated to co-ordinate regional activities.

The current challenge to Government is to provide better service in a time of diminishing resources and increasing demands for service. Government is, therefore, now committed to the introduction of a long-term program to improve the quality of service to clients. This "service quality initiative" will be a comprehensive approach intended to transform Government's organization from a process-oriented system to a supportive client-focused, results-oriented system. This will require continuous support and commitment from management and an emphasis on open communication, teamwork, innovation and training.

While the greater decentralization of decision making was a recurrent theme in the public hearings of the Royal Commission on Employment and Unemployment six years ago, the issue did not generate as much interest in the public consultations for this strategic economic plan. This may reflect satisfaction with the decentralization of decision making now in effect in the five ENL regions. Government believes that rather than imposing regional decisions from the top, it is better to let regional organizations emerge as needed from the community level.

During the public consultation process the public did indicate a desire for improved co-ordination among departments, more decision making at the local level, a greater sensitivity by regulatory departments and agencies to economic development issues, and an improved attitude and commitment from the existing political and bureaucratic system. There was also general agreement that Government should not be the operators of businesses but instead should establish a positive economic climate for the private sector.

Strategy Statement. The Province mil take steps to ensure that the structures and processes of government departments, particularly those involved in economic development, are streamlined to provide for greater efficiencies and responsiveness in delivering services to the public. Government mill become more focused on serving the client. Likewise, the public will have to recognize that government funding and programs are not limitless and priorities will have to be established for the provision of services.

Actions. The Province will:

30. Establish, within each Enterprise Newfoundland and Labrador region, a process to allow for the better co-ordination of economic development activities across all applicable provincial government departments and agencies. ENL will take the lead in the process by establishing regional groups composed of the senior official of each of these organizations to:

• share information on respective activities and priorities in the region;
• improve the timing of decision making on economic development activities;
• assist in developing a client-Centre approach to program delivery within all departments and agencies working in the regions, particularly programs relating to administrative and regulatory functions affecting economic development decisions;
• advise departments on the appropriate level of authority that should be delegated to local and regional offices;
• establish guidelines which give priority to processing proposals or applications related to economic development; and
• recommend courses of action to co-ordinate federal and provincial
  activities related to economic development, and to reduce duplication of government services and programs.

31. Avoid providing services where they can be provided by the private sector.

32. Implement a Service Quality Program within the public service. This program will make the public service more client oriented, permit more flexibility and accountability within the system, provide for a more decentralized approach to program decision making and ensure a simplification of rules, policies and procedures.

33. Request the Advisory Council on the Economy to make periodic reports and recommendations to the President of the Executive Council on the need for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of government services delivery.

34. Continue the review and elimination of the various fees and licences which directly affect economic development initiatives.

Tax Initiatives

The Province must ensure that its business tax climate will complement its economic development objectives. Both established and new businesses must be assured that the tax regime is fair and equitable. The tax regime has to be structured to provide a business environment conducive to investment and economic growth, and we must remove disincentives which keep businesses from locating here. Although the overall tax burden on businesses in Newfoundland and Labrador is less than in Canada as a whole, it is currently somewhat higher than in the other Atlantic Provinces.

Responsible tax reform must recognize that the Province has to operate within the constraints of Federal-Provincial tax agreements and has to generate a sufficient revenue base to maintain an acceptable level of public services.

Strategy Statement. To strengthen the Province's ability to attract new investment, Government will intensify its comprehensive examination of the tax system in consultation with the business community and others. The Province will ensure that the tax system encourages economic development, and that the private sector operates under a tax system that allows local businesses to compete equitably with those in other jurisdictions.

Actions. The Province will:

35. Pursue at the earliest opportunity harmonization of the provincial Retail Sales Tax (RST) and the federal Goods and Services Tax (GST) and provide full input tax credits for RST. Harmonizing the two taxes will greatly reduce the tax burden on business, stimulate increased economic activity in many important areas and be essential for international competitiveness in the long term.

36. Adjust taxes where it can be demonstrated that these would have a positive impact on investment and economic growth without compromising the overall fairness and efficiency of the tax system.

The Province will move to reduce the corporate tax rate for small businesses, including small manufacturing and processing businesses, to 5% from the current level of 10%. In addition, the current general manufacturing and processing rate will be reduced to 7.5% from 17.5%, and the general corporation tax will be reduced to 16% from the present rate of 17%.

37. Conclude the review of our mining tax regime and make amendments which will ensure a positive climate for investment in mineral development in the Province.

38. Recommend a standardized common assessment base for municipal business taxes, with particular emphasis on the tax burden on capital and equipment.

39. Investigate the feasibility of using the tax system to encourage an employee equity-investment program.

Innovation and Technology

Our past and future economic circumstances are tied closely to export markets. Economic considerations associated with geography and proximity to markets are, however, decreasing in significance. Instead, technological development and adaptation are becoming important determinants of competitiveness.

The Province's low level of productivity and slow adoption of new technologies have constrained economic growth and development in the past and will continue to do so unless our industries increase their use of new technology. The Province will therefore actively implement its Science and Technology Policy to ensure that industry is technologically equipped, and capable of competing locally, nationally and internationally.

Government will also play a proactive and sustained role in concert with research institutions and the private sector in pursuing new areas of technological development. Although this will inevitably result in some risks and additional costs, it will produce better links between institutions, governments and the private sector. Emphasis will be placed on marine-oriented industries where we already have a comparative advantage, as well as on other industries which demonstrate they can develop competitive advantages.

Strategy Statement. The Province will demonstrate to the private sector that innovation through technology development and adaptation is essential to improved productivity and competitiveness. Programs mil be made available to the private sector to develop competitive advantages through the transfer of technology-Actions. The Province will

40. Implement programs to develop further expertise in our research institutions and business community focusing on marine activities, including communications, the sciences, cold-oceans engineering, food and fish processing, and related manufacturing, as well as cold-oceans technologies related to offshore oil and gas exploration and development, and to promote this expertise internationally.

41. In partnership with the Federal Government, implement programs to commercialize and market new technologies, products and processes, and to encourage quality enhancement, plant modernization and training.

42. Within the bounds of national and international trade agreements, develop a strategic procurement program aimed at research companies who have the potential to become competitive suppliers of goods and services in domestic and external markets.

43. Assist Memorial University and other post-secondary institutions to develop better links and partnerships with the private sector and to market more aggressively the capabilities of local research institutions and organizations.

44. Reallocate human resources within Government to give priority to the implementation of the Science and Technology Policy and to work with industry and the general public to demonstrate the importance of a technologically progressive society.

Environmental Initiatives

The past decade has seen a sharp rise in environmental awareness and concern throughout the world. The Province recognizes the potential economic consequences of such problems as global warming, acid rain and changes in the stratospheric ozone level. While we may not have a large impact on the global situation, we accept our responsibility to help resolve these issues. We will also seek solutions to our own problems, such as waste management, and will continue to participate in efforts to protect and restore the natural environment wherever it is threatened.

Vast areas of Newfoundland and Labrador remain unspoiled and must be protected for future generations. However, our environment is also an important economic asset which must be used wisely. Tourism and recreational fishing, for example, are directly dependent on a clean environment.

All resource developments will be properly managed to ensure they are implemented in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, incorporating the values of multiple use, considering wildlife habitat, watershed management, recreation and tourism potential. Public input into major developments which impact on our environment will play an integral part in the Province's decision-making process.

Strategy Statement. The Province mil undertake measures to ensure that all development takes place within the framework of an overall sustainable development strategy. The Province has already established its own Round Table on the Environment and the Economy to identify, advance, promote and advise on a strategic framework to reconcile economic and environmental needs.

Actions. The Province will:

45. Implement a sustainable development strategy which ensures an adequate balance between industrial and economic development and environmental concerns.

46. Establish cooperative arrangements with the Federal Government to harmonize and streamline the federal-provincial environmental assessment process, to avoid unnecessary duplication, expense and delays to potential investors, and to ensure consistency in the application of all legislation. The concept of an Environmental Review Agency, operating at arms length from Government, will be examined.

47. Undertake a program to increase awareness of environmental legislation, the sensitivities of ecosystems, and the requirements for environmental assessment.

48. Introduce a new Waste Management Strategy which addresses such issues as recycling, municipal sewage and solid waste disposal, the disposal of toxic and hazardous waste, and clarifies jurisdictional responsibilities for waste management with federal, provincial and municipal governments.

49. Implement new regulations to address the problems of abandoned vehicle wrecks, littering and the indiscriminate use of All-Terrain Vehicles (ATV) in sensitive ecosystems.

50. Examine current policies with regard to the alienation of Crown lands from resource development to allow multiple use, where appropriate.

-srbp-

Change and Challenge: Chapter Five - New opportunities for growth