Separated at birth: missing cat edition

 

Bond arch-villain Ernst Blofeld

Tory Auditor General cum candidate John Noseworthy

 

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Feds to announce MOU on loan guarantee

NTV News broke the news reported Wednesday evening that an unspecified number of federal cabinet ministers will be in St. John’s on Friday to announce that the federal and provincial governments have signed a memorandum of understanding for a federal loan guarantee for the Muskrat Falls hydro-electric mega debt project.

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* updated for accuracy

Then again… election news mine edition

On the one hand, Rio Tinto ”Plans to double Labrador mine output”  according to the headline on a CBC news report.

On the other hand,

ONE of Australia's leading experts on global risk warned yesterday that a China slowdown would cause "quite an emptying of the large resource investment pipeline in Australia".

"Needless to say, the most marginal projects would be the first casualties," he added.

Roger Donnelly, chief economist at the Export Finance and Insurance Corporation, the government-owned export credit agency, told The Australian that "in the worst case, where there is a real market meltdown that leads to a North Atlantic double-dip, I don't think China would be spared".  [The Australian, August 10]

Then again, what the CBC story says in the second paragraph is that the company is “starting work on a tentative plan”.

Starting work.

Tentative plan.

Tentative.

As in maybe, kinda, sorta.

Read a little farther and you will see that the company is thinking about possibly-theoretically-with-a-bit-of-luck, doubling production at the mine in “the back end of 2015.”

Just in time for the provincial general election that will take place that same year, too no doubt.

Cool how that works out.

 

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No man is an island: Mount Pearl edition

There are few things about provincial Conservative Steve Kent’s website that stand out.

First, as of August 16, the blog hasn’t been updated since the 2007 general election.

Second, it really is all about Steve.  High speed flash animation of photos of Steve – all by himself – in various poses and settings.

Third, Steve missed the memo on whose party he belongs to.

Forget Dunderdale2011.

Steve’s a Dapper Dan man:

h/t to the Twitterverse

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A cause for grave concern #nlpoli

The Office of the Auditor General is an independent and reliable source of the objective, fact-based information that the House of Assembly needs to fulfill one of its most important roles: holding the provincial government accountable for its stewardship of public funds.

That’s a paraphrase of the description of the auditor general’s job found on the federal auditor general’s website.

Let’s add a bit of a twist to that description, though. The Auditor General’s office is not just an officer for the legislature alone; the AG office is one of the officers the public must trust to ensure that government spends your tax dollars and mine properly.

Aside from anything else, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador must have confidence that the person who serves as Auditor General is not a partisan for any political party and is functioning free of any favour or threat from the government itself.

John Noseworthy likely shattered that confidence for a good few people in the province on Tuesday when he became the second Auditor General in a row to leave office and enter politics.

In this case, Noseworthy announced his new political career a mere 16 days after leaving the job that he wants to run as a candidate for the ruling provincial Conservatives in the fall general election.

But that’s not the whole story.

Noseworthy had a year or more left  in his term when he announced last June that he was quitting to pursue “other professional opportunities.”  Asked about political ambitions at the time, Noseworthy merely told reporters he was ruling nothing out.

News reports on Tuesday mentioned his role in uncovering the House of Assembly spending scandal.  In interviews, Noseworthy was quick to call his own reports on government spending “scathing” and noted that he was critical of government.

That’s as maybe. The timing alone creates the impression of an unseemly haste to leave his job early in order to enter politics.   His comments appear self-serving and - in light of some of his actions over the past seven or eight years - dubious.

Noseworthy has been a bit of a media darling since 2006 and the spending scandal.  What that means is that local reporters have not questioned him even when there was good reason to doubt his comments, claims and conclusions.

For starters, Noseworthy has never accounted for millions of dollars of overspending that took place during the scandal period from 1996 to 2006.  Instead, he looked at other issues.

Nor has he explained why his own reports actually ignored the overspending. You’ll only find reference to the actual degree of overspending here at SRBP and in Chief Justice Derek Green’s report on the spending scandal.

In the parts he did report on, your humble e-scribbler raised questions about his public comments at the time and how he was conducting his reviews.  Chief Justice Green even recommended significant changes to sections of the law governing the Auditor General as a result of the inappropriate - and in some instances unfounded – accusations Noseworthy levelled at members of the legislature.

Then there’s the question of how both he and his old boss, now Tory Senator Elizabeth Marshall never made any comment on the level of overspending in the House of assembly accounts until 2006.  They may not have had access to the House books for a part of the scandal period but they did have access to the Comptroller General’s records for the whole time and he wrote all the cheques used to shell out the cash. And they never raised the issue once, except for the one time when Marshall’s attempt to investigate a single cabinet minister – Liberal as it turns out – got shut down.

Noseworthy’s also been known to polish his own knob and that of his future political associates.  In a 2009 report, Noseworthy actually made up a fictitious report recommendation and credited the government with following it.

A 2007 report claimed that the same agency produced a deficit and a surplus at the same time.

Nothing was quite as bizarre, though, as Noseworthy’s sudden decision to try and audit the offshore regulatory board.  At the time, Noseworthy’s office did not include the board in a list of government agencies the Ag felt he had the authority to audit. 

Noseworthy made quite the stink about getting inside the board offices, issuing a special report.

But once he got in, the whole thing vanished.

No subsequent reports.

No updates.

No letters.

Nothing.

Not until your humble e-scribbler brought up the question of the vanished Earth-shattering issue and reporters trotted off to Noseworthy’s office to see what gives.

Access problems, Noseworthy harrumphed.

But no word on his silence on the whole matter for the better part of two and a half years.

There was just a little cock-up in a story on the whole thing by one local radio station.

Funny thing in that little episode as it turns out. Natural resources minister Shawn Skinner wound up reminding everyone of the sweeping changes to provincial laws that wound up effectively shielding so much of Nalcor’s operations from public oversight.

Noseworthy didn’t say boo about any of that as it sailed through the legislature and it didn’t make any reference to it in any of his comments since June when he announced his retirement.

Maybe Noseworthy will be like his predecessor Beth Marshall who, after entering politics, didn’t find any problems with giving politicians access to bags of cash they could hand out to constituents, often without receipts.

Ah yes, old-fashioned patronage politics and the importance of having a member on the government side to dole out the goodies.

And, by gosh, didn’t John Noseworthy mention just that - having someone on the government side  - as he launched his career in politics.

Incompetence?

Normal practices?

Bias?

Whatever the cause, John Noseworthy’s announcement on Tuesday is the finest example yet of why our province desperately needs a fundamental, democratic revolution.

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Sun TV/Fox News wannabe? VOCM hits new low #nlpoli

Did they just get it wrong or is this the new standard of partisan journalism at the government-friendly VOCM? 

First of all, let us recall that Westcott is leaving the job as communications director in the Opposition Office of his own accord.  Westcott sent out an e-mail to local media saying that :

My commitment was to help Yvonne and her team through to the election. Now that the leadership situation has changed, Yvonne has kindly relieved me from that obligation effective the end of this month, which facilitates an earlier return to my papers for which I am extremely grateful.

Relieved from the obligation.

So VOCM wrote the headline:

Westcott Relieved of Duty by Liberal Party

Not true.

Relieved of duty means he got fired.  There’s no evidence for it.  VOCM got that spectacularly wrong.

It gets worse.

Craig Westcott did not work for the Liberal Party.  He worked for the House of Assembly.

The punters can tweet about him being fired all they want.  They don’t get paid to give accurate information.

VOCM does.

And if that wasn’t enough, VOCM’s version has all the hallmarks of a piece of Fox News horseshit.  According to the Voice of the Cabinet Minister, Westcott:

says he is not stepping down. Craig Westcott asserts that he did not quit, but that former party leader Yvonne Jones told him that his services would no longer be required as of August 31st.

Wow.

Then they bring up the private e-mails the provincial government released illegally last year.

This story – a complete falsehood from start to finish – is still online as of 8:00 PM Tuesday night.

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Feds want Gulf of St. Lawrence enviro review

Federal environment minister Peter Kent wants an extensive environmental review before Corridor Resources can get a permit to explore on the Old Harry prospect in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, CBC is reporting.

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board received 50 submissions as part of a review into an application by Corridor for an exploration permit.

In June, CNLOPB asked Kent to appoint a mediator or review panel  on the project:

“In the aftermath of the blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, Canadians are particularly sensitive to the risks associated with offshore oil exploration drilling. This proposed well is in an area where there has been little public experience with offshore drilling, and it has attracted an especially high level of concern. These concerns have been expressed clearly to the C-NLOPB and we are of the opinion that a level of environmental assessment beyond a screening report is warranted,” said Max Ruelokke, C-NLOPB Chair and CEO.

The offshore regulatory board’s enabling legislation gives it the power to request a review if “it believes the project may cause significant adverse environmental effects, or if public concerns warrant this level of review.” That’s from the offshore board’s June news release.

Old Harry is a potentially lucrative oil and natural gas field in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.  It lies in an area that is subject to a dispute over jurisdiction between Ottawa and each of the four provinces bordering the Gulf.

Corridor Resources wants to explore in a portion of the field that is within the CNLOPB area of responsibility.

Last summer, the federal government started talks with the Quebec government on a revenue sharing deal  - modelled on the 1985 deals with Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador – that would cover any sub-sea resources within a potential Quebec offshore area.

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Three parties, two leaders, one policy, no sense

Remember that thing about hardly being able to slide a sheet of paper between the three political parties in the current general election?

Well, newly minted Liberal boss Kevin Aylward wants to put your tax dollars into running a coast guard co-ordination centre in place of the federal one Ottawa is moving to Halifax.  He told CBC’s Fisheries Broadcast that one was going in the policy book on Monday.

And Kevin wants to keep shelling out the cash until the feds change their minds.

Which of course will be never, given that Kevin has agreed to force you and me to foot the bill for it out of our provincial tax dollars instead of making the guys in Ottawa do it.

Regular readers of these e-scribbles will recognise this idea.

Kathy Dunderdale announced it first.

Some may recall what your humble e-scribbler wrote back in June: thinking with her ass.

Well, the idea isn’t any smarter when it comes from Kevin Aylward’s ass instead of Kathy Dunderdale’s butt.

And before the New Democrats start thinking they are any brighter, let’s all remember that the whole fight started in the first place with the NDP sole shareholder – public sector unions – directing their political arm to take up the cudgels on this one.

Yvonne Jones got snookered into joining the NDP partisan protest over it, then got lambasted any time she tried anything with accusations she was trying to make the event partisan.

So here we are with three parties, two leaders of which have  endorsed the same policy and that policy makes no sense at all.

What has changed?

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Westcott packs it in

Craig Westcott confirmed Monday he’ll be leaving the opposition office and returning to run his newspapers. 

Here’s the statement he released:

Yvonne and I have agreed that my position will conclude on August 31. I will return to my two newspapers The Business Post and the Irish Loop Post. It has been a great privilege to have worked with Yvonne Jones and the staff in the Office of the Official Opposition, which plays a key role in the proper functioning of our democratic form of government. I made some great friends there and wish every one in the office tremendous success. It was a very positive experience and I am grateful for the hard work and support and the many personal kindnesses that Yvonne, Kelvin, Roland, Marshall and the very talented people in the office provided me. It was great being a part of that team. As publicly stated when I accepted the position last year, my intention was always to return to the newspaper business and journalism. My commitment was to help Yvonne and her team through to the election. Now that the leadership situation has changed, Yvonne has kindly relieved me from that obligation effective the end of this month, which facilitates an earlier return to my papers for which I am extremely grateful. I am looking forward to returning to journalism much the better for the experience of the past year.

With that position vacant so close to the election, the office will need to staff it soon. 

Speculation is likely to mount on who will get the job now that Westcott is leaving. Aylward has a number of former staffers who he might want close by him.  Then again he might go with someone new.

There’s no doubt though that Craig Westcott sharpened the Opposition’s political game in a way only the truly miserable or completely ignorant would fail to acknowledge

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Separated at birth: the eyes have it edition

Tea Party presidential wannabe Michelle Bachman from the cover of Newsweek.

Provincial Conservative natural resources minister Shawn Skinner.

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Offshore board releases second part of offshore helicopter safety inquiry

From the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board:

The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) received the Phase II Report of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry today and is releasing it to the public immediately.

"The Board would like to thank Commissioner Wells along with commission counsel and staff for their continued hard work during Phase II and in completing this Report. The C-NLOPB will review the report and recommendations proposed by the Commissioner and will respond once the review has been completed,” said Max Ruelokke, Chair and CEO of the C-NLOPB.

The C-NLOPB will take up to 10 days to review the report and recommendations. The Board will not be commenting on the report until it has completed its review.

To obtain a print copy of this report, please contactinformation@cnlopb.nl.ca with a full mailing address. The report will be sent within three business days. Persons wishing to pick-up a copy of the report at the C-NLOPB office are asked to state this in their request.

Media Contact:
Sean Kelly M.A., APR, FCPRS
Manager of Public Relations
(709) 778-1418
(709) 689-0713 (cell)
skelly@cnlopb.nl.ca

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Bloc NDP MP backs Tory Premier Dunderdale #nlpoli

Noob Bloc NDP member of parliament Ryan Cleary wants voters in Newfoundland and Labrador to return Conservative Premier Kathy Dunderdale to power in this fall’s general election.

VOCM reports that Cleary does not have any faith in Dunderdale’s leadership but thinks that she should continue to lead the province, albeit with a minority government.

He wants the Liberals and provincial New Democrats to mount a campaign to deliver a Tory minority government.

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The traffic that shook the world

Plenty of people shit bricks this week, from the leaders of two of the province’s political parties to the people who thought they had a lock on leading the third one.

The week started with word that Liberal leader Yvonne Jones had to leave the job due to illness.

That likely clenched a few bums.

As the race heated up to replace her, those same bums likely tried tried to swallow themselves as word tweeted that no less a star than former chief of defence staff was considering a run at the job.

As the week ended, the Liberals had seven declared candidates to replace Jones with an election only 60 days away.

Both the province’s Tories and New Democrats figured everything was nice and predictable.

Boy were they wrong.

In a mere five day span in the middle of August, the political world in Newfoundland and Labrador has seen more upheaval than it has in the previous decade.

Not only will the Liberals have a new leader before the next week begins, but the public firestorm of speculation over Rick Hillier shook the assumptions of all those people who believed that the incumbent Tories had a lock on their votes.

People switch.

And for all those people who think 60 days isn’t enough time for people to shift their political minds for lesser mortals than Rick, consider how quickly once cozy beliefs have vanished in the past year.

All those people who believed Danny would not disappear until after 2011 got the rudest shock of their lives when he skedaddled in the space of a week in late November/early December 2010.

Poof.

The Tories falling in the polls?

Unthinkable until now, but fall they have.

Tories in danger of losing seats?

What else could possibly explain the orgy of public spending in the undeclared election campaign.

Dear friends, the next 60 days are going to be some of the most exciting times in recent political history in Newfoundland and Labrador.

And for the record, here are the posts at SRBP that people were reading during this historic week”

1. If Rick Hillier really runs for Liberal leader…
2. Soper Inquiry
3. Changing the game
4. The truth is out there:  Nalcor version
5. Nalcor royalties – more information
6. Minister’s bullshite in excellent shape
7. Yvonne Jones:  profile in courage
8. Liberal leadership:  the process
9. Worshipping at the trough
10. Yvonne Jones newser – the details

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If Rick Hillier really runs for Liberal leader… #nlpoli

For those who may have missed it, CBC’s David Cochrane @cochranecbcnl tweeted on Wednesday that retired chief of defence staff Rick Hillier is in newfoundland and Labrador, talking to “senior Liberals”, and looking at a run at the Liberal leader’s job.

Here are the relevant tweets:

 CochraneCBCNL David Cochrane

Breaking: CBC News has learned that Rick Hillier is considering a run for the Liberal leadership.

 CochraneCBCNL David Cochrane

The former chief of defence staff is in NL. Sources say that Hillier is seeking advice from senior Liberals on a possible leadership bid.

CochraneCBCNL David Cochrane

Hillier isn't a lock to enter the race. But a source describes Hillier's interest as "quite serious."

So that started your humble e-scribbler thinking.

If Rick Hillier really runs for Liberal leader…

• All the other candidates will drop out instantly.
• The number of people considering a run will suddenly hit zero. 
• You will have to set up barbed wire and post guards to control the flood of Tories crossing the floor to the Liberals.
• Plans for a Danny Williams statue will surge ahead as competition ends to see who will get the coveted position  kissing his ass.
• Kathy Dunderdale will crap diamonds…
• and then join the stampede.
• Tony Ducey will cry.
• Marjorie will call Randy Simms to talk about how proud she is of Rick and always knew he’d come home, but that he is is still no Danny Williams.
• Gerry Byrne will call Open Line to suggest the election be held the day after Hillier is installed as leader.
• Gus Etchegary will be waiting on the line to complain that Hillier knows nothing about the fishery.
• Still not getting the joke, Ryan Cleary will post to Facebook asking Hillier if he’d help Jack off a horse.
• NDP twittermaniacs will retweet about the latest NDP nomination call…
• and run like a scalded cat from any reminders that they and outgoing NDP leader Lorraine Michael support Dunderdale’s plan to double electricity rates for people on low and fixed incomes (and everyone else while they’re at it) while delivering discount power to Nova Scotians.
• CRA’s August poll results will show support for the Liberals remains at record lows.
• Bill Rowe will start off NightLine with reminiscences of all the times he met Hillier at receptions in Ottawa while Bill was Danny Williams’ ambassador to Ottawa and had to wait for someone in Danny Williams office to ship up his used snow tires, find him a cell phone to use and buy a laptop at Best Buy. Then Rowe will plug his own insider account of stuff he was outside the room for.
• The local commentariat on twitter and in the online comments section of any website will remind everyone that the Liberal party is in disarray, has a huge debt, can’t find volunteers or candidates so the election result isn’t likely to change from earlier predictions of a sweep by the incumbent party, as if those things never happened before in local politics.*
• One year into Hillier’s term, the local commentariat will be talking about disarray and dysfunction in the Tory party, its debt problems, lack of volunteers and inability to find a leader as if those things never happened in local politics before.  
• You will not be able to find anyone – not a single living human being – who will admit to having ever voted Tory in their lives.

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*  edit to make the point clearer that these things are in fact a function of being an “out’ party” versus an “in” party.

Yvonne Jones: Profile in Courage

What does not kill you makes you stronger.

That must be the case.

Yvonne Jones is emerging from her battle with cancer with unrivalled moral strength even if her physical strength has been sapped to the point she must quit as leader of the provincial Liberal Party.

She worked through her cancer treatment, including returning to the House of Assembly before she was finished treatment. 

She went back to the floor of the legislature this past spring knowing the stream of abuse and invective – some of it savagely personal - the governing Conservatives heaped on her in the House continually for years would not let up.

The Tories, including the incompetent and biased Speaker did not fail to meet the lowest of low expectations.

To those familiar with the goings on in the House, few could fail to be impressed by Yvonne Jones. No matter what issues you disagreed with her on, there is not a single person in the province who could doubt Jones’ sincerity and the personal integrity she has in abundance.

Courage is not word people use often when speaking about politicians. But politicians are among the most courageous people there are in our province.

They often act against the weight of public opinion, against the approval of their colleagues from all parties, despite personal attacks, that wound them and their loved ones and despite often suffering from the simple human failing of wanting to do the right thing but of sometimes being uncertain in what direction that good really does lie.

The truly courageous ones, like Yvonne, don’t need to tell you how courageous they are. 

They don’t need to.

They simply are.

From the podium Tuesday, Yvonne Jones did not tell people about courage.

She showed them.

Jones showed the pain of her decision at her news conference.  But as she looked around the room, Jones very likely saw a group of people more optimistic for the future than they have been in years. 

Jones can take credit for a lot of that renewed strength of that rediscovered confidence. 

Real leaders lead best by example.

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Liberal Leadership: the process

The text of a news release issued by the Executive Board of Liberal Party on Tuesday night:

ST. JOHN’S, NL – Following the resignation of Yvonne Jones, Leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland & Labrador, Party President Judy Morrow expresses on behalf of the Executive Board her gratitude and admiration to Ms. Jones for her contribution and commitment to the Party during her time as Leader.

“Yvonne was a tremendous asset to the Party in her role as Leader and I look forward to her ongoing dedication,” said Morrow. “She has and will continue to work very hard for the people of the Party, the Province, and the District of Cartwright - L’Anse Au Clair.”

Following tonight’s meeting of the Executive Board, Morrow is pleased to announce that a selection process for a new Leader has been established.

The selection process is as follows:

- Nominations for leadership candidates shall open Wednesday, August 10, 2011 at Noon, closing Friday, August 12, 2011 at Noon.

- Interested candidates shall submit a letter expressing their interest. Letters shall be submitted c/o Judy Morrow, President to the below address:

Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador, Beothuck Building, Suite 205 – 20 Crosbie Place St. John’s, NL   A1B 3Y8

-  Interested candidates shall submit a non-refundable $500 fee in addition to their letter of interest.

-  Commencing at 2pm on Friday, August 12, 2011, the Executive Board shall engage in a 48-hour consultation process that will reach out to Liberals province-wide.

-  The Executive Board shall convene at 2pm on Sunday, August 14, 2011, location TBA, to provide interested candidates an opportunity to address the Executive Board.

-  in addition, the Executive Board shall consider and discuss the feedback received through the consultation process.

-  At the conclusion of the above noted process, the Executive Board shall vote to determine the successful candidate for Leader.

“Despite the short timeframe in which the Party is operating prior to the General Election, I believe that we have established a democratic process that allows for the selection of a new Leader in an expeditious and efficient manner with input from Liberals across the province.”

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Media Contacts:

Judy Morrow, President          Liberal Party Office                       

C: (709) 727-3773                  T: (709) 754-1813

judymorrow@nf.aibn.com     info@nlliberals.ca

Not quite the same situation

Curious to see Here and Now running a clip of Don Jamieson returning to lead the Liberal party in 1979 after Bill Rowe resigned.

It’s not quite the same situation as the one Liberals and others in the political world are facing today.

Kathy Dunderdale is no Brian Peckford, for starters.

And that is a sentence easily nominated for understatement of the millennium.

But while Yvonne Jones is stepping down as Liberal leader for health reasons, Liberal leader Bill Rowe left politics – thereby opening the job for Jamieson - after figuring prominently in one of the biggest political scandals in the province’s history.

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Minister’s bullshite in excellent shape

How many false or misleading claims can one cabinet minister make in one letter to the editor of the province’s major daily newspaper?

Let’s see how Tom Marshall did in a letter to the Telegram headline “Province in excellent shape”.

Misleading:

When this government came into power, Newfoundland and Labrador’s finances were in a very precarious position. Annual deficits were approaching $1 billion and an independent review at the time noted that if significant changes were not made, the provincial debt was projected to reach almost $16 billion within four years

What Marshall doesn’t say is that his current plan would increase the public debt to more than $16 billion base don a combination of continued deficit spending on the annual budget and the Muskrat Falls project.

False:

To turn things around, we developed a plan and stuck to it. In that short span of eight years, the turnaround that has taken place in Newfoundland and Labrador is remarkable.

The plan  - if there was one – had nothing to do with any subsequent provincial government financial windfalls.  The whole thing came from a combination wild oil price increases and royalty deals signed before 2003.

False:

Instead of increasing, our debt has actually decreased by almost $4 billion.

The total public liabilities sit at $12.5 billion according to the most recent Auditor General’s review. The provincial government has current financial assets on hand of $4.0 billion but those are already committed to other things.  While they appear to reduce the public debt for accounting purposes – what Marshall is talking about – the reality is that what the provincial government owes is, at best, only marginally lower than what it was in 2005.

False:

Of course, that means our debt servicing costs have also dropped, which leaves us with more money to invest in the people and communities of the province.

According to the most recent Auditor General’s review, debt expenses increased in 2010 to a level they haven’t hit for three years.

Misleading:

We have not borrowed in the capital markets for operational purposes since 2004 and only borrowed in 2007 to reduce the unfunded liability in the province’s pension plans.

They may not have borrowed money from the markets but they have borrowed from the cash surpluses (that’s the stuff that makes the debt appear smaller than it is).  Borrowing to cover a deficit is borrowing and it has a cost.

Misleading, maybe false:

Once developed, these assets will provide a stable, predictable revenue stream which will cover all debt servicing costs.

There is no evidence to suggest that the provincial treasury will gain $1.0 billion in annual royalty and fee payments from Muskrat Falls or any other Nalcor asset.

Misleading:

Our debt to GDP ratio, one of the primary indicators of the financial health of a province, is among the best in the country and has improved from an unsustainable level of 70 per cent in 1999…

The debt to GDP ratio changed because of the massive increase in oil prices.  If it drops, the debt ratio will drop with it back to levels that are “unsustainable”.

And if Marshall’s Muskrat plan goes through, then the “unsustainable” level gets easier to hit.

Misleading:

It is also worth noting that the credit rating agency Standard & Poors, while upgrading our credit rating from ‘A’ to ‘A+’ in 2010 (the highest it has ever been), noted that Newfoundland and Labrador “has a strong liquidity position, reflecting its past operating surpluses and prudent spending practices.”

‘Strong liquidity” is a reference to the cash and means that if they had to the provincial government could pay off a raft of debt in a hurry.

But since the cash is earmarked, it really isn’t as readily available as that comment makes it seem.

Marshall makes an oblique reference to that with the next comment: “Using current revenues from non-renewable resources for renewable energy projects for the future benefit of Newfoundland and Labrador is the core of this province’s Energy Plan.”

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Worshipping at the Trough

Patronage politics of the worst old-fashioned sort is alive and well in Newfoundland and Labrador.

VOCM posted a story online within the past 24 hours (hopefully it won’t be disappeared too soon) that makes it pretty clear:

A cabinet minister is unapologetic for the rash of pre-election spending announcements coming from the government. The MHA for Grand Bank, Darin King, announced some money for health care recently. There has been a steady stream of news releases, most announcing money that had already been allocated in the budget, over the past several months.

On VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms, King said he is dedicated to bringing in as much money as he can to his district.

Where patronage thrives, paternalism can’t be too far away.

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Yvonne Jones newser – details

From the official media advisory:

Head:  Yvonne Jones to discuss her future in politics

Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones will make a statement today concerning her future as Leader of the Liberal Party of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Jones will deliver the statement at 1:30 p.m. in the Conception Bay Room at the Holiday Inn in St. John’s.

The media, party members and well wishers are invited to attend.

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Media Contact:   Craig Westcott| Director of Communications| Office of the Official Opposition

(709) 729-6151   Cell 693-1306  craigwestcott@gov.nl.ca