Bill 29 didn't go far enough: public sector unions #nlpoli

The teachers' union doesn't want the public to know the names of public servants in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The news late on Thursday is that NAPE - the province's largest public sector union  - and the nurses' union are thinking about joining the fight against the public's right to know who works for the public service and what they earn.

The teachers' union is going to court to try and block disclosure of the names of public servants in response to a request from the Telegram's James McLeod for a list of public service positions in which the person holding the job makes more than $100,000 a year.

McLeod is compiling the list because both the former administration and the current one have committed to publishing one but haven't done so yet.  Several other provinces publish similar lists of public employees who make more than $100,000 a year.

The teachers' union says it's okay to have the position title and income but we can't have the name of the person holding the job, even though that information is readily available under access laws in every province and the federal government and it's been legal to obtain in this province for 35 years. Neither the teachers' union nor any other public sector union has raised this as an issue in the 35 years since the first provincial freedom of information law passed the House of Assembly in 1981.

Doesn't make sense, right?

Of course, it doesn't.  At least, it makes no sense if you look at it from the public interest.

It only makes some sense if you understand that these folks complaining about public disclosure aren't concerned about the public interest at all on any level.  They are concerned only about their own interest.   Unions who have members who will turn up on the lists are defending positions every bit as as private and self-interested, in other words, as the people the unions have been quick to attack for running public-private partnerships.  The hypocrisy is staggering but, sadly, not surprising.

None of the folks criticising the public disclosure have offered a solid reason why the information shouldn't be public.  Most of what they've claimed are undifferentiated fears of what unnamed people might theoretically do with the information.  They might... you know... gossip.  or worse,  the complainers have just offered the view that adding the names is unnecessary or serves no "journalistic" purpose.

What's most striking about these complainers is not the fact they offer no substantive argument, nor even that they don't feel the need to offer an mature, coherent, intelligent reason for their position.  It's the intensity of their feelings, of their unfounded fear.

Many of the people making big money are professionals:  teachers, lawyers, judges, university professors, nurses and doctors. We all know they make higher salaries than the average. They went to school for a long while to learn their business and they work pretty hard.

In other instances, like say a lineman working for Nalcor,  their pay reflects the hard nature of the work they do.  Master mariners make good money.  The job they do takes skill and carries a lot of responsibility.  As for the rest, presumably they are well qualified for the jobs they have, too. teachers, for example, are paid based on their educational qualifications, responsibilities, and years of service.  There's a correlation between their merits and their compensation. For all these folks, the pay and other benefits they get were set by government, not them, and should be enough to compensate them for the work they do on behalf of the public.

Yet they act like they are ashamed of something or like they should be ashamed of something.  If these folks and their unions are indeed feeling a wee bit guilty then maybe we ought to do more than just publish a sunshine list. Maybe there is a bigger problem here yet to be discovered.

The last time someone tried to turn back the clock on the public's right to know we got Bill 29.  As it stands right now,  the province's public sector unions want to take us back to the time before the first freedom of information law.   Since they haven't offered a single good reason for their agitation, you really have to wonder what's driving their anxiety.

-srbp-

Joining the access fight #nlpoli

As it turns out, the "commentary" on access from information and privacy commissioner Ed Ring is tied to a lawsuit coming from the province's teachers' union to block an access to information disclosure to the Telegram for a list of teachers and principals making more than $100,000 a year in salary.

The school district hasn't sent the requested information James McLeod as they know the teachers union application is coming.

Your humble e-scribbler filed an access to information request for the school district on Wednesday evening asking for a list of all teachers employed by the district and their individual salaries.  Simple list.  Send it out in a pdf.

Here's why SRBP joined in.

The teachers' union is wrong, as a matter of principle.

The public has a right to know the name, position, and salary of every person on the public payroll.

Period.

A mess in the government access and privacy world #nlpoli

Two recent stories about the province's access to government information and privacy laws.

Both of them are essentially nonsense.

Short version for the new administration:  cock-ups in comms and access to government information helped destroy the Conservatives.  Since you've already got big communications problems, adding screw-ups in ATIPPA to the mix is just no good at all.

Us and them #nlpoli

This is the story of two politicians.

One is a successful business man with major land developments in the works.  He got into politics to defend his people against foreigners out to exploit them. With a quick temper, a tendency to just make stuff up, and hair from the 1970s, the politician loves to attack the news media and liberals for undermining him in his selfless efforts on behalf of his people.

The other politician is Donald Trump

Incompetence at city hall costs taxpayers #nlpoli

St. John's city council is in serious trouble.

They may not realise it yet.  Indeed, many residents of the capital may not realise it, but city council has made a series of decisions that residents will pay for.

They are all related to the budget.  While many of them lay at the feet of the finance committee, chaired by Jonathan Galgay, the whole council must bear responsibility for both the bad decisions but also for the deception that has surrounded them.

Why Tom Mulcair is wrong... yet again #nlpoli #cdnpoli

Tom Mulcair isn't alone.

A lot of people have been making the extremely dangerous argument over the past few days that we ought to accept any claim or accusation based solely on the fact that someone made it.

They have been using the Twitter hashtag #Ibelievesurvivors to argue that we should believe any woman making an accusation of sexual assault regardless of anything else.

A meritless position #nlpoli

The new provincial Liberal administration has made the creation of a merit-based system of cabinet appointments the centre-piece of its first session of the House of Assembly.

The bill to give effect to their policy is not perfect but by the time it clears the House later this spring,  the province will have a long way from the pernicious practice of the former administration   - from 2003 onwards is one administration - of appointing people chiefly on their ability to follow directions from the Premier's Office.

Merit is the Liberal watchword and we should all be cheering a system that will base choices as they should be, that is on qualification, and dismiss irrelevant considerations.  If the Conservatives or New Democrats can improve the Liberal bill, then the Liberals should accept the amendments and move us all forward.  We would all be better off for it.

How strange it is then, that a senior minister in the administration for merit should push the federal government to make an appointment to the Supreme Court of Canada on the basis of anything but merit.

Paying for Muskrat Falls #nlpoli

To understand precisely how insane an idea we have at Muskrat Falls, think of it this way.

In Quebec,  provincial government policy is to maintain a pool of electricity that is very cheap to produce.  This is for use inside Quebec so that the people of Quebec always have really cheap electricity.

In Newfoundland and Labrador,  provincial government policy is to force local consumers to pay double their current low rates in order to pay for Muskrat Falls.  Nova Scotians get a block of power for free and access to an additional quantity of power at Nova Scotia market rates, which are far less than Muskrat Falls will cost local consumers.  If they can sell any other electricity,  they will but again,  the cost will be subsidized by the people of Newfoundland and Labrador who are paying the whole cost plus profit.

This isn't new.  It has been the case since before Danny Williams announced his retirement scheme called Muskrat Falls.  Your humble e-scribbler pointed out the subsidy insanity before the announcement.  Williams and Nalcor boss Ed Martin confirmed it when they unveiled the Muskrat Falls project.

Trump the unpopular... maybe not #nlpoli

Apparently, Donald Trump is the most unpopular American presidential candidate since 1992.

The Toronto Star's American correspondent produced a lovely article on Friday.  It started with the results of a couple of recent comparisons showing how unpopular Donald Trump is in survey research conducted during the current primaries compared to every candidate going back to 1992.

Then Daniel Dale tells us what will happen when this trainwreck gets to the general election November.

If you've already decided Trump is the antiChrist - that is, if you are a regular Star reader - you will skim this confirmation of what you already knew.

But you might want to look more closely at this piece to see a couple of really glaring - and really obvious mistakes - it makes.

Trash talk #nlpoli

The folks at the City of St. John’s wanted to boost their curb-side recycling program.

Last fall, they launched a campaign called “Blue is the new Black”.  Blue is the colour used for recycling bags and the campaign name is fairly plain play on a very old phrase to describe something that is currently fashionable.

No one seems to have noticed the campaign until last week when the St. John’s Status of Women Council took issue with the cover illustration from the newly issued guide to city services (right).

Ghomeshi and a fair trial #nlpoli #cdnpoli

The moment when Jian Ghomeshi’s lawyer established during the trial that witnesses against him had colluded in their testimony and had lied – even if by omission – there was very little chance that the judge could possibly have found the former broadcaster guilty of anything.

“The harsh reality,”  Ontario Court of Justice Judge William Horkins wrote in his decision, “is that once a witness has been shown to be deceptive and manipulative in giving their evidence, that witness can no longer expect the court to consider them to be a trusted source of the truth.”

The standard of proof in a criminal trial is proof “beyond a reasonable doubt.”  This does not mean, as judges in Canada frequently put it, that there is some scientific or absolute proof of guilt.In reaching his decision.

The Office of Steve Kent

26 public meetings.

More than 1,000 people showed up for them.

More than 28,000 people used the government website that the folks at the Office of Steve Kent call an app to make it sound more impressive to the punters.

Another 700 ideas arrived by email, fax, or carrier pigeons.

And...

A simple question about residential schools #nlpoli

According to one of the firms involved in the class action suit by residents of Newfoundland and Labrador about residential schools:

Five separate actions were commenced alleging that former residents of five IRS [Indian Residential Schools] in Newfoundland and Labrador, operated by the Canadian Government, were neglected, sexually and physically abused.  It is alleged that the sole defendant in these actions, the Canadian Government, had the full responsibility for these residents after Newfoundland and Labrador joined the Confederation on March 31, 1949.

Yet, according to the Globe and Mail,  

In Newfoundland, the government contends, aboriginals were not isolated on reserves and were not forced by Ottawa to attend residential schools, as they were in the rest of the country. Nor did Ottawa operate or oversee schools and residences attended by aboriginal children, sometimes alongside non-aboriginal children. (The province created and ran some of the facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador; churches and religious charities also created and ran some institutions. A charity created St. Anthony’s orphanage under the auspices of the provincial welfare department.)

Since the Newfoundland and Labrador residential schools in the class action suit were not run by the Government of Canada and were not either in kind or substance anything like the Indian Residential Schools covered by the earlier apology and payment,  why is this class action suit going anywhere in the courts or outside against the Government of Canada?

Seriously.

Anyone?

-srbp- 

Resettlement story wrong #nlpoli

Access to documents from government are one thing.

Understanding what they say is quite another.

CBC requested batches of documents from the provincial government about efforts by the people of Little Bay Islands to relocate from their isolated community to other places.

“No government money in budget for rural relocation program” ran the headline on the story last week.  The sub-head claimed there was “no way to pay up-front costs” of relocation.

Unfortunately for the folks at CBC, the documents didn’t say that.

How to say little in 34 slides #nlpoli

• Consultants have consistently reported that the Muskrat Falls project is well-managed and well-led.
• Despite that independent analysis, MFP has been dogged by significant cost over-runs, significant problems with performance on meeting project timelines, and chronic problems with communications/public disclosure.
• Review of Muskrat Falls project by a company called Independent Project Analysis.
• Consists of 34 slides
• Majority of slides (20) contain background information on project and contractor or bland statements of fact.
• No details on research specific to this assessment beyond reference to interviews.
• Remainder of slides (14) provide no evidence to support positive statements or indicate areas of concern...

Kissing in the rear #nlpoli

At the entrance to the new west-end high school, there's a sign that warns drivers that only those big yellow student transportation vehicles can go around back to the drop off point there.  Cars should go to the front of the school.

There's a simple word in English for those big yellow conveyances.  We call one of them a bus.

But what's the plural?

According to the sign, it's "busses".

There is a word in English spelled "buss".

It's a synonym for kiss in American English.

The sign looks funny if you know that.

To answer the question on spelling, go check the dictionary.

Even the Oxford shows that the plural of the vehicle may have one "s" or two.  But look up in the URL and you will see that Oxford is directing you to a site for American English if you are from an IP address in North America.

Ah.

The online version of the Cambridge English dictionary notes a difference with the two "s" version being American.  Ditto the UK English version of the Oxford, once you hunt around a bit to find it.

The online reference grammarist.com is clear enough:

In 21st-century English, buses is the preferred plural of the noun bus. Busses appears occasionally, and dictionaries list it as a secondary spelling, but it’s been out of favor for over a century. This is true in all main varieties of English. 

After bus emerged in the 19th century as an abbreviation of omnibus, buses and busses (the logical plural of buss, an early alternative spelling of bus) vied for dominance for several decades. By the early 20th century, though, buses was the clear winner, and it has steadily become more prevalent. Today, buses appears on the web about 15 times for every instance of busses.

So for about a century,  English speakers have settled on buses as the plural for the vehicle.  Hunt around a bit and you will find the "buss" version of the plural used to refer to clearing the table in a restaurant or to the computer parts.  That actually makes sense if people are aware of the multiple meanings for the same word and want to distinguish between the human transporter and the data one.

So while the way the English school district has used busses to mean the plural of the student transporter,  that isn't wrong -  strictly speaking  - if we are using American English spelling as the default.  It is just very antiquated.  And unless, they spell connection with an "x" - connexion - then they really should lop one of the "s" things off their plural form of "bus".

Odds are in this case, that the folks making up the signs got the spelling wrong and didn't check to see what was the most common spelling.

Wonder if anyone at the school has picked up on this yet?

-srbp-

Record deficit in 2015-16 #nlpoli

The deficit for 2015 will be a record.

We know that because of comments at the House of Assembly by Premier Dwight Ball and finance minister Cathy Bennett.

News media are reporting that as "raising the province's borrowing capacity" but that's not quite what is going on.  The markets will determine the province's borrowing capacity.  That is, the folks lending the money will tell us how much we can borrow.  What went on in the House on Thursday was a wee bit different.

Tiny pebbles in an empty washtub #nlpoli

For the third day in a row,  the opposition has asked one question over and over again, with a couple of minor variations.

They’ve asked education minister Dale Kirby why the New Liberal government that took over last December hasn’t called elections for the school board the Conservatives appointed in 2013 after they crammed all the English language school boards together in one pile.

Even if you have never heard of this issue before the instant you read that sentence, you know precisely where this is going.

Simple words work best #nlpoli

esquire.com last October.

 Big headline:

Donald Trump Woos Republicans By Speaking at a 4th Grade Level

Smaller head:

His competitors from both parties aren't much better.

Aren't much better.

The blindingly obvious #nlpoli

After all this time, it remains an enduring mystery how a guy who held himself out to be the great seer of oil prices still gets quoted on oil prices despite the number times he has fundamentally gotten it wrong.

Some local reporters still use Wade Locke as the go to guy on oil.

Here's a sample of what passes for insight in Newfoundland and labrador these days.  These quotes are from a recent piece at CBC by Terry Roberts:

"It's always been the case that at some point, demand would start to swamp supply."

And

"At some point in time demand will significantly exceed supply and prices will have to rise well beyond $50 as well. But again that's only a matter of time, and a matter of exactly when."

Just as there is a 50/50 chance of anything occurring - it either will or it won't - so too is it likely that, over time,  the demand for any commodity will swamp supply.  The result - inevitably - would be that prices would rise.

This is Economics 1001 kinda-stuff.

It's only a matter of time.

It is only a matter of when.

When could be tomorrow.

Or it could be a decade from now.
The thing for folks in government, having some idea about where prices are going can mean the difference between a massive surplus or, as in the more recent times, massive deficits.

Having insisted shale was nonsense and that oil was about to skyrocket any day now,  Wade is a wee bit more shy these days since those other predictions didn't pan out.

"I was one of the guys suggesting to government a couple of years ago use $105 (a barrel in preparing a budget), " Locke told Roberts.

"I don't have any pretension that anything I say with respect to oil prices has much in the way of precision."

Wade never actually had much precision, but at least now the old boy has given up the pretense.

-srbp-