Humber Valley Resorts - new business plan

Flip to Crazy about Newfoundland and you'll find some interesting information on Humber Valley Resorts, the high-end real estate development started by former Indy publisher Brian Dobbin.

A major reorganization and refinancing effort has been underway since late last year. This is the first hint of the new initiatives aimed at stemming losses reported in the last two fiscal years and becoming profitable.

The post comes - apparently - from an e-mail sent to owners of existing chalets by the new Newfound NV chief executive officer Jayne McGivern following her first visit to the property.

Key initial points
* Newfound wants to retain the operation of the resort within the company
* The primary focus will be to build high-end chalets
* Tennis courts will be added [Update: Dan from Crazy advises by e-mail he made an error on the swimming pool mentioned in the original. He's adjusted his own post accordingly]
* Focus on completion of the road system, cycle paths and verge landscaping
* Reduce the property sales activity - to create a more controlled build plan

There are some other interesting developments, though, including this:

As a postscript - Jayne McGiven [sic] also met Tom Marshall the provisional [sic] finance minister and local MHA representative [sic], and apparently made it clear that the company would not continue to fund the only tourism flights from Europe, and reinforced that if tourism is to succeed the provisional government [sic] needs to take a much more active role. I also hear that her suggested solution is the resumption of the London to St Johns route. (Not that great for Western Newfoundland in my opinion). [Emphasis added]

There were hints of this publicly already. The Telegram reported in early June on Newfound NV's annual report for 2007.

Since late 2007, the company has reorganized, reduced losses and introduced a new management team to further develop properties in Newfoundland and the Caribbean, estimated in the company annual report to have a value of US$227 million.

The annual report describes the efforts made at turning around the company's fortunes:

As mentioned in my statement last year, we have been addressing the construction issues and although some still remain we did achieve our aim of accelerating the construction program during 2007 and we are making healthy margins on new build.

During the year, we carried out significant construction work on over 60 chalets resulting in an increase in revenue in local currency from construction and furnishings of 66% to US$ 21.3 million. We have nearly completed the construction backlog inherited at the time of the Newfound acquisition in 2006 and, subject to suitable funding being in place, it is hoped that all of the remaining outstanding contracts will be started during 2008.

In 2007, the first full year of operation of the 18 hole golf course, we won four prestigious awards including Golf Magazine (golf.com) Best New International Course 2007 and ScoreGolf Magazine's Best Canadian New Golf Course 2007. The credit for this must go to our Golf manager and his team.

We have recently signed an agreement with Monarch Airlines to run a weekly Boeing 757 from Gatwick to Deer Lake to cover both the summer and winter seasons, thus supporting the expected increase in vacation traffic. Although the charter at present makes a financial loss until such time as vacation numbers increase, it is an important part of both the operations at Humber Valley Resort and its future development.

Notice that there is no reference in the annual report to finding financial subsidies for the charter flights. In fact, the last statement suggests the current losses will be rectified once vacation numbers increase.

The idea of government paying for or subsidizing flights was first hinted at publicly by Brian Dobbin in his farewell column in the last issue of the Indy.

Humber Valley Resort showed a lot of people how good our tourism product can be to international markets, but it is now controlled by a mostly non-Newfoundland group of shareholders who see it only as an asset amongst others. While a private company we invested over $15 million just in marketing our tourism product internationally and providing air service from Europe. I know of no other international developer in the world who paid for weekly overseas flights for four years. Although I remain a shareholder in the company, I don’t expect our board will accept that kind of capital expenditure in the future on something they rightfully see as the province’s job. [Emphasis added]

Commercial air service, including international service, is available to Newfoundland and Labrador from London via several carriers. Air Canada discontinued year-round service between St. John's (YYT) and Gatwick in 2006 due to reportedly low traffic volume. It announced at the time it planned to introduce summer-only service in 2007.

Following the Air Canada announcement, Newfound's charter carrier at the time - Astraeus - began competing with Air Canada on the summer service run in 2007.

Both carriers subsequently withdrew from the St. John's to Gatwick run, although the provincial government only attacked Air Canada. The provincial transportation minister John Hickey offered a convoluted - and often incorrect - version of events.

The idea of the province having some financial involvement in the flights is a new twist though. In comments made to CBC in December, Newfound Group president Jeremy White referred to a request for the provincial government to lobby Air Canada to restore the direct Gatwick-St. John's flight. He also said government had offered to help defray some of the marketing costs for Humber Valley.

No representative from Newfound NV is listed in the provincial lobbyist register, as of 25 July 2008.

Humber Valley general manager Paul Shelley is a former provincial tourism minister. [Update: Dan from Crazy reports by e-mail that Paul Shelley is "long gone" from Humber Valley. He's now in St. John's but still with Newfound NV.]

Brian Dobbin, still the major shareholder in Newfound NV according to the 2007 annual report, sits on the provincially-appointed Ireland business partnership board.

Between 2006 and 2008, the provincial government was the "anchor advertiser" at the Independent, Dobbin's weekly newspaper, according to comments by editor Ryan Cleary.

In summer 2007, the Indy featured a front page story on Astraeus and its weekly service. The piece attracted considerable criticism:

This week, Cleary himself has shown the folly behind this thinking; has demonstrated that independent ownership does not guarantee editorial independence. The main story on page one of this week’s Independent (July 20) is what journalists indelicately call a “suck piece”. It takes up more than a third of page one, then turns to a massive two page spread inside. And nowhere in the article does Cleary disclose to whom he is sucking up.

In other words, there is a blatant hidden agenda.

Cleary and photographer Paul Daly took a round trip to London, thanks to free tickets from Astraeus Airlines. In return, Cleary lectures us that the flight was less than one-third full, and that the airline does not have a “bottomless pit of money.” The headlines exhorts us to “Use it or lose it.”

Actually, Cleary didn’t need to accept the free tickets to write this piece. He could have secured the essential information from a face-to-face or phone interview. But no matter – I don’t begrudge a reporter a freebie here and there, as long as there is full disclosure.

Nowhere in the body of the article does Cleary bring himself to say the tickets were free. You have to read the photo caption to discover that “the airline provided the paper with two round trip tickets.”

Update: 'ullo, 'ullo. What's all this then? An eagle-eyed reader has noted that the provincial government's tourism statistics report for 2007 claims there's been an increase in commercial airline travel by the infamous "non-resident" visitor to the province and that air capacity has gone up likewise.

The number of non-resident air visitors reached an estimated 81,100 to
the end of April 2008, an increase of 5.0% over the same period last
year.

...

Air capacity has increased significantly to Newfoundland and Labrador
for the summer of 2008 compared to the summer of 2007 with the
exception of international/overseas outbound direct. Not including the
Newfoundland to London, UK flights, there has been an overall increase
in air access of 6.9% flights (23 additional flights per week) and
14.3% or 3,353 seats per week

That "non-resident" visitor thing is such a joke. It's like you sleeping in another part of the house when the in-laws come to visit and then claiming that in addition to the endless string of visiors from out-of-province, your living room had a few "non-resident visitors.

Tourists are tourists. Visitors are visitors. The provincial government need to find another term for what they describe, and what is a legitimately business activity. But, they need to separate it from the real tourism statistics more clearly than they do. That way, the public can see - transparently - what kind of impact the tourism advertising budget is having on the market.

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Hat tip to Gary Kelly for the link to the Crazy post. Humber Valley has potential. It will be interesting to see how it grows, hopefully without public subsidies.

Sound advice, thus far ignored

Non-renewable resource revenue should be invested, at least in part, according to several economists and economic experts.

"You don't want extraction commodities to be the sole provider of prosperity," says Brett Gartner, an economist with the Canada West Foundation. "The risk is that when things are going well, the whole push to innovate and to diversify the economy gets forgotten, crowded out by all the money being made off resources."

The provincial government has thus far expressly refused to consider even a small investment fund of the type common in other places where non-renewable resources are a major or the major source of economic activity. 

In Norway and Alberta, a portion of government resource revenues is invested, thereby generating additional revenue for the future.

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Related:

Create wealth fund: OECD

Investing non-renewable revenues

Exports up. Dollar, oil, down: EDC forecast

Export Development Canada forecast Thursday at Canadian exports will rise by 4.2% based on high energy prices.

EDC is also predicting the Canadian dollar will drop to between US$0.94 and US$0.97 cents in early 2009.

“While EDC recognizes that global supply and demand for crude is tight, we sees signs that a large price correction is on the horizon”, Mr. Hall continued.  “On the demand front, growth expectations are likely to moderate as the global slowdown spreads and oil price subsidies in emerging markets are scaled back.  On the supply front, the Energy Information Administration is already forecasting a doubling of OPEC surplus capacity, to 4 million barrels per day in 2009, and non-OPEC supply gains of 1 million barrels per day.”

The forecasted correction:  crude below US$100 per barrel before the end of 2008 and averaging US$84 per barrel in 2009.

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End the gas price fraud

In the past week, crude oil prices have dropped roughly 15%, from US$147 per barrel to somewhere around US$125.

In St. John's today, gasoline prices dropped 6.5%.  That's after an increase last week.

Promoters of the scheme  - none of them economists evidently - will claim it has benefits.  It's hard to see how, considering that asa  result of government interfering in the marketplace, local consumers are being screwed.  "Regulation" is a sham the actually prevents the marketplace from working properly to deliver benefits to consumers. 

It's long overdue for government to end the fraud of "regulation".

Pay George Murphy to keep track of prices as useful information for consumers, if need be, but scrap the charade foisted on the province by people like Doc O'Keefe.

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So force feeding seals would be okay?

In response to a proposed European ban on seal products owing to the inhumane killing methods, Canadian sealers are considering penning the animals in cages and force feeding them boiled corn meal laced with fat, a practice to which EU legislators can turn a blind eye.

Relax.  They aren't. 

But they should given the Europeans' collective ability to wag their fingers at others while doing as they wish themselves.

Meanwhile, the French are leading a fight against fishing restrictions affecting EU countries.  Surprisingly, they'll be backed by the Spanish and Portugese.

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The price of freedom: Vimy + porn = one euro

A 30 something French couple was fined $500 euros after being found guilty of exhibitionism in France. 

They were also given a four month suspended jail sentence and ordered to pay one euro in compensation to the Canadian government.

The couple video recorded themselves having sex at the Vimy memorial to Canadian First World War dead and posted the video to an Internet site.

The memorial has become popular in France as a site for exhibitionism. Three cases were pending in January, 2008.

Samuel Cogez, a reporter with the local newspaper La Voix du Nord, told CBC that the memorial has been known "for years as a meeting place for all kinds of sexual encounters.

So the price of French freedom comes out to be about 15,000 Canadian lives in one war and a buck sixty Canadian 90 years later.

We'll have to keep that in mind the next time.

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Authentic: And he does snowploughs, too?

St. John's-based Newfoundland & Labrador Tourism commissioned artist Cam Mahy to paint a calm-inducing Newfoundland nature scene to get Torontonians thinking about an eastern getaway.

Hmmm.

With all the visual artists - photography or paint, for example - in Newfoundland and Labrador, is this the guy who painted the Gardiner billboard?

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I am my own electoral grandpa, the latest version

nottawa says he isn't making this up.

How could he. The truth is always stranger than fiction.

And who ever heard of voting in an election that hasn't been called, anyway?

Meanwhile, Paul Wells blogged it.

How long before the rest of the national media take notice of this embarrassment?

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Authentic

No sweat to tell the difference between a public relations professional who knows how to use the tools to do the job compared with well, the opposite.

On the opposite side, we have this ham-fisted piece of nonsense from the company doing advertising for the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. Incidentally, the ham-fist is not the billboard on the Gardiner.

Then compare it to Joseph Thornley's personal pictures from a recent holiday in Prince Edward Island. Sure he used it as a means to talk about how easily he uploaded the great photos to his blog and to Flickr, but what he is telling is a simple story of someone who went to the Island, had a great time, took gorgeous pictures and then uploaded them to the Internet complete with geotags.

I uploaded about 100 pictures of the attractions and historic areas of Charlottetown, North Rustico Harbour (the epitome of a Canadian east coast village), the beaches and cliffs of Prince Edward Island Park (look for the picture of the fox that trotted right up to our car while holding a rabbit in its mouth) and, of course, Green Gables (if you’re the parent of a girl, you’ll know what that is.)

I uploaded photos from my flickr page directly to PlanetEye. It was simple. Took about 2 minutes for each batch of 20 to 25 pictures. And then the geotagging worked perfectly. I simply dragged and dropped my photos onto a map in the location where I’d taken them.

The difference between the two approaches is a simple word: authentic. Thornley's experience carries with it all the credibility of someone who has actually been there and done it. There's a story to be told here and the pictures are part of the whole thing.

Now theoretically, he could be working for the PEI tourism department or the software companies he mentions but nothing on the site would suggest he is. Ethically he'd be obliged to disclose such a connection and base don a number of factors, including the fact he doesn't comment on the issue, it's a reasonable assumption that he isn't. Note that one of Thornley's viewers chides him about the software developer.

Even after a suspicious mind has gone to that point and returned, you come back to the integrity and the sincerity of the post.

His last line, which will be seen by thousands in exactly the demographic Islanders are looking to hit, says it all:

If you’re interested in an unspoiled place for a summer vacation, take a look at Charlottetown on PlanetEye or at my Charlottetown photo set on Flickr .

A simple call to action - for you marketers out there - and the links are left in it so you can act, just as Thornley would have wanted.

Compare that to the other thing. There was a conventional media story in the billboard. The thing would have to be pitched and worked to get coverage.

A n Internet search turned up this story online, albeit in a media trade publication. There's another mention, again from a trade publication that focus es on the agency and not the client. The Telly had a picture on July 11. Notice this story appeared the very same day as the release, suggesting it was organized ahead of time.

There might be other stuff but it sure as heck isn't turning up online where the video and the story of the billboard had a chance to go truly viral.

If handled properly.

And that's the catch.

This was a potentially hot new media story, completely with daily blog posts about the development, complete with amateur video done by the creators as they were doing it. Three weeks worth of material is stuff most blogs would kill for, especially stuff as compelling as that. When you combine the story inherent in the billboard production with the authentic flavour of a local artist hired to complete the work you have a truly delightful tale that tells itself.

And seriously, except in a world where agency self-stroking is the goal, the trade pubs that showed up in the search are useless to accomplishing the client goal of boosting the number of people who don't usually come this way headed to the farthest eastern airports in the country.

It's not like the record on this over the past couple of years has been anything to write home about, although plenty has been written and spoken at home about it.

Throwing more cash into tourism advertising isn't necessarily the way to go in a highly competitive market at a time when it's tough to get people to travel.

Being genuinely creative in your approach - being authentic - sure can make a difference. As the great advertising persuader put it, authenticity helps break through the wall of cynicism about advertising generally.

It's easy to talk about authenticity, but sometimes it's pretty obvious that some people don't get what the word means.

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That economics thing

Via John Gushue, a simple test of financial literacy from the freakonomics blog.

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Crude futures go lower

Light, sweet for August delivery hit $127.24 today, down almost $4.00, on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to ctv.ca.

That's down $20 from the record high set last week.

Refined gasoline for August delivery hit US$3.124 per gallon.

bloomberg.com offers more detail.

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Adios Indy

The sides were too far apart, according to Geoff Meeker.

No new investor means the paper folds.

It will be interesting to see if anyone can find out what "too far apart" actually meant.

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A provincial government strategic planning session...

Captured in graphic form.

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This day in history

On this day 60 years ago, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians voted on the future of their country.

In a referendum held on June 3, 1948, they had rejected any continuation of commission government but, as there had been no clear majority for any of the three options, a run-off was set for July 22.

The winner was Confederation with Canada. The option carried a majority of votes - 52% to 48% - and a wide majority of the districts.

While there are those anti-Confederates who have tried consistently since 1946 to attack it, the national convention and the two referenda are something of which Newfoundlanders and Labradorians should be proud.

This was a truly democractic exercise in self-determination in which the fate of the country was placed, not in the hands of a few, but in the hands of the many. The issues were debated and widely discussed. The choices were clear and there were few restrictions on the campaigns. As it turned out, the first referendum showed an over-whelming preference for self-government.

The second referendum decided the form. In the event, voters settled for self-government through Confederation. It has been self-government, that is, government in which the people are responsible for controlling their own affairs, ever since. There are some who find that truth a tad inconvenient, but it remains a fact.

Responsible government returned to Newfoundland and Labrador in 1949 by popular vote. You don't need to argue about what happened after 1949 to celebrate what happened beforehand, culminating in the 1948 referenda.

Too bad Newfoundlanders and Labradorians don't know more about the events.

Even worse that Canadians elsewhere in the country know even less.

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We got cows?

Ronald Reagan used to blame them for global warming.

Remember?

Moos and methane?

No.

Okay, well, the point is made.

Not A perfect storm. 

Not even like the scene in Twister where one of the characters ends a cell phone call with the line: "I gotta go.  We got cows."

More like cow farts.

The consumer price index for June is expected to be up one half of one percent  to 2.9% with the core inflation rate being up about 0.1 per cent to sit at 1.6%.  That's well within expected targets by the Bank of Canada and certainly no cause for panic.

There is a need for vigilance and for prudent action, when necessary.  There are other countries where inflation is far worse. 

Mexico just boosted its bank rate to deal with its own inflation situation (5.25% for June year over year).  There's pressure for action in Britain (3.8% inflation) and in Venezuela, where inflation is running at around 31%, Hugo Chavez has decided it's time to stir up border troubles and spend billions on new submarines, tanks, aircraft and attack helicopters from Russia (15% inflation). 

To help understand the whole inflation issue, you need to have a grip on simple numbers and the words.

But a perfect storm?

Only if you start to believe what you see in McCain campaign ads.

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High gas prices Obama's fault

Well, at least that's what John McCain is saying.

It's going to be a long, hot - and very stupid - presidential campaign south of the border if this is any indication.

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Number 10 heads for number one

Via Neville Hobson, comes a link to Simon Dickson's post on the new look coming soon to the website of the Prime Minister's office in the United Kingdom.

number10.gov.uk will go from look like many other sites out there to looking like this, right.  There are slightly better quality photos available from the Downing Street Flickr space.

Yes, the Prime Minister's Office uses Flickr.  They use Twitter and the whole gamut of social media.

As you can see from Simon's description the site looks like a blog because they are using WordPress as the platform.  There's a rationale Simon offers, but frankly, anyone using the site will find that the blog approach to layout simply works more efficiently than most other designs when it comes to making the information readily accessible.

The current Number 10 site is good but it has a tendency to be an assault on the eyeballs.  The new version goes for images - like the official stills at Flickr - and in Number 10 TV which is the new centrepiece.  Simon notes that the new video component will not be youtube, although, here again Number 10 has been using the groundbreaking video site for a little over a year. 

On the right of the new layout are two columns of information, mostly conveyed in images, which take you off to other places if you are so inclined.

Compare this, for argument's sake, with any provincial government website.  That's the main government site and from there you can get to all sorts of places. The thing is depressingly out of date in both layout and content and there seems to be no move afoot to change things.  Aside:  it would be nice to be proven wrong on these things, you know. 

Other provincial government sites across the country are not significantly better, although as time passes, the gov.nl site is looking increasingly tired.  Try to find information on the community recreation develop program for example. 

After a considerable trek through the maze of clicks,  you wind up at a page with a single paragraph on it:

Designed to offset the cost of providing recreation and sport/active living programs and leisure services with the Community Recreation Committees in communities of less than 6000 people can apply for financial support. Application forms are available through regional offices.

There's no indication of how long the program's been around, who has gotten it in the past or any of the other sorts of information you might expect to find here either to help demonstrate accountability or to give a clue as to what sorts of projects get the cash.

But here's a poser for you:  which regional office are they talking about?  You see having a pdf here would be marvelously simple.  Better still they could have a form available to submit online.  But they want me to go to a regional office.

Okay.

The recreation division of the department of which recreation is a tiny bit doesn't have regional offices. Well, at least that's how it appears.  Maybe they meant the tourism regional offices.  Doesn't make much sense but maybe that's what they meant.

Try to find clear information on the website as to where those offices are.

Try the Sport Newfoundland and Labrador link on the department services and programs directory.  A logical choice but the link is dead.  It should be sportnl.ca, not sportnf.ca but nobody bothered to change the link.  (Another poser for you:  How long ago did the province's name change?) You'll find a form there for capital grants but there's no way of knowing  - from the website - if this is the same as the development grant where you started your search.

See the point?

The issue here is not one  of look.  It's really about providing information to people in a form and in a way which is most convenient for them.  Having election statistical reports available for view in the Legislative Library is nice but it the model of accountability left from an age when a quill pen was the height of modern technology. 

Accountability is not accomplished by having agencies issue plans which state that the officials responsible for sweeping the floors have established as their strategic goal to sweep floors and that they plan to do it by acquiring brooms and then applying them daily according to the standard broom employment manual recently issued for the amalgamated office of the chief sweeping officer. 

Transparency doesn't come from issuing a report in which the minister responsible for the CSO indicates his extreme pleasure at issuing a report on the strategic sweeping operations, which, incidentally, recounts in entirely  uninformative detail the fact that brooms were employed sometimes in one direction and sometimes in another in order to achieve the miracle of clean floors which have been brought to government buildings through the existence of the OCSO.

Openness is an attitude.

The attitude needs a behaviour to make it work.

The behaviour is simply providing information.

To see how dramatic and functional the changes can be, consider the rapid transformation of the  offshore board website.  To most people this site is not at the top of their bookmarks. But,  for the people interested in the offshore, they can now access relevant information in a much easier way than before.  They can do it when it suits their schedule.

The revamp of Number 10's website is a behaviour that tells you the attitude is there to be open and push information into the public domain.  We can argue another time whether what they release is useful or relevant.

It's one more people and more offices should emulate.

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Giant squid!

From Australia, dissecting one of the rarest of rare creatures.

WHAT has three hearts, blue blood, and a doughnut-shaped brain?

The answer is not the entire federal Conservative caucus although you are close.

Update: A wit working early this morning guessed a gaggle of Liberal leadership candidates. Again, very close, but the article wasn't assuming the doughnut was a jam filled centre.

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Change and Challenge: Chapter Six - Enhancing our resource industries

The traditional primary resource industries do not offer significant potential for large-scale employment and growth at this time. Even to maintain our current position in export markets we must improve our competitiveness through increased training and the application of new technologies. Nevertheless, new economic benefits will grow from our present resource industries as we expand processing within the Province, thereby adding value to our products.

Fisheries

The fishing industry is a major contributor to the Newfoundland and Labrador economy. The industry accounted for 19% of the GDP in the goods-producing sector and 5.5% of total GDP in 1990. Total landings of 540,000 tonnes (all species) in 1990 provided products valued at approximately $650 million, though in 1991 landings dropped to 380,000 tonnes worth $570 million. The fishery provides about 10% of total provincial employment measured in person years.

Today, the Newfoundland fishery is experiencing a crisis arising from the collapse of the resource base which will have the effect of accelerating the process of structural adjustment. This is particularly true for groundfish operations in both the inshore and offshore sectors.

Policies and programs must be developed which will help guide the fishery through its current crisis and toward a more viable future. Key concerns are resource conservation and rebuilding, and federal/provincial policy co-ordination. A further challenge to government is to promote the development of an economically viable and competitive fishery while at the same time providing training and education, and encouraging the development of alternative economic opportunities for the people in the numerous communities which in the past have depended solely on the fishery.

Resource conservation and rebuilding of vitally important groundfish stocks will only be possible through effective control of harvesting by foreign vessels outside the 200-mile Canadian fisheries management zone. In 1991, for example, foreign fishing fleets took more than six times their allowable quotas, and overfished six critical groundfish stocks by about 90,000 tonnes. Such uncontrolled harvesting effort is directly contributing to a major decline in Canadian quotas and is largely responsible for both temporary and permanent closures of Newfoundland groundfish operations.

Canada/Newfoundland policy co-ordination, as envisaged by Newfoundland's joint management proposal, is critical to a well-planned fisheries revitalization and development strategy. Such an approach would provide for the co-ordination of fisheries responsibilities of both governments, facilitate provincial economic policy formation and implementation, create a fair and transparent fisheries management system, and prevent erosion of access to fisheries resources adjacent to the Province.

Strategy Statement. The Province will initiate a fisheries action program which will strengthen the fishery and the economy generally. A viable fishery is one which is stable and competitive in the absence of government subsidies, where a reduced fisheries workforce can earn an adequate income without excessive dependence on income support, and where the workforce can be professionalised to obtain high productivity levels.

This action program involves two broad elements: first, the revitalization of the fishery itself, and second, diversification within and outside the fishery. Fishery revitalization will include measures to rebuild and protect the resource base, to restore and preserve the environment as it relates to fishery resources, and to increase economic efficiency through improved operational flexibility, capacity control, technological innovation and better quality control. Education and training of industry participants will be an integral part of the entire fishery revitalization program. Diversification will focus on new opportunities in secondary processing, aquaculture, and the harvesting and processing of underutilized fishery resources.

Actions. The Province will

96. Aggressively pursue the implementation of a joint fisheries management board (modeled on the Canada/Newfoundland Offshore Petroleum Board) whereby a comprehensive development plan can be put into effect.

97. Increase efforts to develop a long-term strategy to deal with foreign overfishing through an international public awareness program.

98. Cost share, in conjunction with the Federal Government, a major research initiative on the life cycle and behaviour of the commercial fish stocks off our coasts in order to avoid resource crises such as the present one, and to provide the information needed to develop long-term policy and program decisions.

99. In cooperation with the Federal Government, implement a salmon river enhancement program to rebuild and protect the salmon stock and thus stimulate a major expansion of this economically important recreational fishery.

100. Accelerate education programs for people now engaged in the fishery. This will include two components: a community-based program aimed at people leaving the industry, which will include literacy training and basic education; and management and technical training for people staying in the fishery. For the latter, such training will be a prerequisite to receiving Government funding
under various development programs.

101. Assist the industry to achieve higher levels of technological innovation and improved management in both the harvesting and processing sectors.

102. Provide assistance to undertake more diversification of the fish processing industry, emphasising value-added processing and the utilization of by-products, and assist with cooperative marketing arrangements to enhance the success of smaller-scale value-added operations. Specific initiatives will include international promotion of joint venture opportunities, assistance for locally based manufacturing to produce items such as specialty containers to be used in
secondary processing, and consideration of an incubator facility to assist small, fledgling companies.

103. Establish a Seafood Promotion Council, consisting of private-sector and government representatives, to undertake a generic promotion campaign.

104. Escalate research, development and marketing efforts in support of a viable sealing industry. Emphasis will be placed on using the entire animal.

105. Increase efforts to develop and expand the aquaculture industry by

• initiating a mussel production incentive to boost production by a
  million pounds a year by 1994;
• accelerating the development of scallop hatchery technology with
  the objective of constructing such a hatchery;
• seeking additional research and development funding to investigate and develop the potential of species such as arctic char, cod, halibut and ocean pout;
• establishing a Ministerial Advisory Council on Aquaculture, composed of representatives of the industry, academic and research organizations, and government;
• establishing environmental guidelines to expand the use of freshwater lakes for aquaculture;
• streamlining the format for applications for new licenses within
  the aquaculture industry; and
• taking action to stem the discharge of raw sewage into waters
  which have potential for aquaculture development.

106. Amend regulations in order to improve the quality of fish at dockside, and provide for the mandatory gutting of cod, containerized storage of crab on vessels and the banning of prongs for handling fish.

107. Streamline and change the policies and programs of the Fisheries Loan Board to

• better co-ordinate efforts with federal activities;
• entertain proposals from non-traditional areas, such as
  aquaculture; and
• provide a special incentive program for vessel acquisition in
  Labrador.

108. Where possible, lease marine services centres to private-sector companies or community-based organizations to improve cost effectiveness and generate local commercial activity.

109. Undertake a wide variety of exploratory fishing to identify prospects for diversification. Cod and turbot adjacent to northern Labrador will be investigated, and increased landings will be used to supply fish to new, but resource-short plants in Makkovik and Nain. Where possible, local residents will crew the vessels used in these projects so that they can benefit from training and technology transfer.

Forestry

For centuries our forests have been a natural renewable resource from which people of this Province have derived income and other benefits. The rural economy is interwoven with the use of the forests for heating, home building, boat building, wharf construction, hunting, trapping and recreation. Three pulp and paper mills and hundreds of small sawmills have also provided a steady source of income for many people over the years. Currently, the forest industry involves both primary activities, including harvesting and forest management, and secondary processing of wood into such products as newsprint and lumber.

The industry accounted for about 10% of output in the goods-producing sector and 2.9% of total GDP in 1990. It also accounts for about one-third of the manufacturing in the Province. The forest industry provides 3,600 person years of employment annually, though much of this is seasonal or part-year. In recent years, however, there has been a trend toward fewer jobs but less seasonality. Employment in harvesting is declining because of mechanization, but is expanding in silviculture. In the newsprint mills, employment is expected to fall somewhat further until the industry has become more efficient, productive and competitive. The result, however, will be a stronger, more viable industry which will provide more stable incomes for the future.

The Province depends almost entirely on export markets for its newsprint, but all lumber production is consumed locally. Nevertheless, investments are now being made to produce lumber for European markets.

Over the past five years, two of the pulp and paper mills in the Province have been modernized to improve quality, increase efficiency and reduce pollution. Approximately $227 million has been invested in the Corner Brook mill and approximately $47 million in the Grand Falls mill. (The third mill, at Stephenville, was already a modern facility.) However, considerably more investment is needed at both locations to continue to improve upon the quality of product, mill efficiency and environmental compliance.

While the pulp and paper industry accounts for approximately 75% of the economic activity in forestry, sawmilling, commercial fuelwood, resource management and protection, and converted wood-products industries also occupy essential roles, particularly in maintaining the economic well-being of many rural communities. Many other elements, such as wildlife, watersheds, recreation and tourism, also depend on our forest lands.

The Department of Forestry and Agriculture is now in the second five years of its 20-year planning process. This Forestry Development Plan provides an assessment of the current state of the forests and sets forth a strategic action program. The following strategy and actions draw on this strategic action program.

Strategy Statement. The Province will manage its forests through integrated forest management and according to the principles of sustainable development, incorporating multiple use values such as protecting recreational areas, watersheds and wildlife habitat. Public consultation and participation will be sought for decisions on management of the forest ecosystem.

Actions. The Province will

110. Give priority to providing additional funding to implement an expanded long-term silviculture program, including programs financed through cost-shared agreements with the Federal Government and the forest industry.

111. Through the new Forestry Act, designate a suitable forest land base for timber production to maintain a viable forest industry in conjunction with other uses and benefits.

112. Enhance our capability to practise integrated forest management by forming stakeholder partnerships and committees, public consultation, staff training and collaboration with education and training institutions, such as the Centre for Forestry and Environmental Studies at the Fisher Campus of the Western Community College and the forestry program at Memorial University.

113. Maximize the use of the forest resource, and maintain and improve the competitive position of the forest products industry. More specifically the Province will ensure that

• sawmills with integrated operations producing lumber, chips and/or pulpwood receive preference in wood allocation;
• further arrangements will be made, wherever possible, with the pulp and paper industry to increase the supply of sawlogs to the sawmilling industry;
• harvesting of wood for domestic use will be regulated to ensure that it does not interfere with the commercial use of the resource;
• the sawmilling industry will be supported by providing training, technology transfer and continued financial support; and
• the forest products industry will be supported to improve its efficiency and to identify opportunities for diversification into higher value products.

114. Provide adequate financial resources to protect the forest resource from damage by insects, fires and diseases.

115. Provide additional funding for forest access roads to achieve maximum use of all available forest resources.

116. Expand the private woodlot management program by involving individuals, groups and communities which have the money and skills to invest in managing the resource.

117. Work with the private sector to establish a forest-based industry in Labrador. This will require conducting forest inventories and investing in roads and other infrastructure in the Happy Valley-Goose Bay and Cartwright areas.

Mining

The mining industry continues to be one of the leading resource-based industries in the provincial economy and is expected to continue in that role into the foreseeable future. The industry accounted for approximately 11% of our GDP in the goods-producing sector and 3.2% of total GDP in 1990.

A diverse range of mineral commodities is produced by the mining industry, though iron ore production dominates, accounting for more than 90% of the total value of mineral shipments during 1991. The Province has two iron ore producers, both of which are located in Labrador. These two producers employed more than 2,400 people in the Province in 1991.

The output of the Newfoundland and Labrador mining industry is shipped primarily to markets located outside Canada. The industry continues to suffer from the current global economic recession, however, and this has resulted in decreased demand and lower prices for mineral commodities and metals. This general trend, with some exceptions, is expected to continue throughout 1992.

New opportunities exist in gold and base-metal mining, in developing dimension stone and slate industries, for limestone, dolomite and marble production and in peat development. Further processing of mineral resources in the Province is also dearly desirable. As the potential for the development of industrial minerals increases - dimension stone in particular - opportunities for further processing will emerge and will be diligently pursued.

Generally, the high cost of infrastructure for new mining projects, the relatively high total tax burden on the mining industry, and the inadequate levels of funding for mineral exploration are major constraints to mineral development. Government, however, is assisting mineral exploration through a continuing program of geoscientific surveys. The data collected to date have been a major factor in attracting mineral exploration investment to the province and have led to the discovery of several deposits.

Strategy Statement. The Province will establish a better investment climate to attract exploration and development. It will also continue geoscientific surveys to stimulate mineral exploration through the identification of prospective areas, and to provide the geological data required for economic development generally.

Actions. The Province will

118. Establish a mining infrastructure fund to assist industry with the funding of hydro lines, access roads, shipping facilities and other infrastructure for new mining developments.

119. Establish an exploration assistance program to provide for cost sharing of drilling and other advanced exploration projects by local prospectors and Newfoundland junior exploration companies in order to develop local mining entrepreneurs.

120. Amend The Mineral Act and regulations to facilitate and encourage mineral exploration. In particular, assessment expenditure requirements in Labrador will be reduced and annual rentals on mineral licences will be eliminated.

121. Prepare, in consultation with the mining industry, a new Mining Act
which will establish rights and obligations concerning such issues as environmental liabilities for abandoned mines, mine closure plans, rehabilitation of mine sites and ultimate long-term liability of mine operators.

122. Expand the Geological Survey Program of the Department of Mines and Energy to promote development of specific mineral commodities, areas and deposits. Particular attention will be given to the emerging dimension stone industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.

123. Encourage and promote, where possible, further value-added processing of mineral resources and mineral-related manufacturing opportunities in the Province within existing operations, and in future mineral developments as they occur.

124. Expand cooperative initiatives with the Centre for Earth Resources Research (CERR) at Memorial University to make earth sciences expertise more available to the mineral industry.

125. Promote our mineral resources that are near to coastal shipping and therefore have an advantage when competing in international markets.

Agrifoods

Agriculture in one form or another has had a long history in our Province. The raising of livestock can be traced back to the Vikings who lived at L'anse aux Meadows, and root crops were planted to supplement the diets of the first permanent European settlers. From these early beginnings, an industry has grown which contributed approximately $62 million to the economy in 1991 at the farm gate. Even though agriculture production accounts for less than 1% of our total GDP, The Report of the Task Force on Agrifoods estimates that the value of the industry may be as high as $300 million when food processing, transportation and retailing are included.

Livestock and poultry accounted for 80% of farm cash receipts in 1991 ($50 million) and this percentage has been fairly consistent over the years. The major livestock and poultry commodities, measured by farm cash receipts, are dairy products, broilers, eggs and hogs. Other commodities include beef, sheep and fur.

Vegetables, potatoes, fruit and floriculture/greenhouse products represent about 16% of farm cash receipts ($10 million). Floriculture/ greenhouse production was the largest contributor, followed by strawberries and potatoes. The most important vegetables include turnips, cabbage, carrots and beet, though production of broccoli, cauliflower and lettuce is increasing.

This industry generates approximately 1,600 person-years of employment annually. It is important as a source of employment in some rural areas of the Province and as a food source for all residents. Although much of the food consumed in the Province is imported, local production reduces the Province's dependence on imports and helps to ensure that fresh and healthful products are available in all parts of the Province.

The recommendations of the Task Force on Agrifoods are an integral part of the Department's plans for agricultural development. Its Report identified a number of opportunities for expansion. Some of these include production of poultry (both chicken and turkey), dairy products, sheep, fur (including non-traditional species), fruit and vegetables, and secondary processing in all areas. The Report also stressed the need to protect an adequate land base for viable agriculture.

The future of agriculture production in Newfoundland and Labrador will rest largely on the industry's efficiency and competitiveness. Potential changes in the international trading environment through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade may have implications for supply-managed commodities (dairy products, eggs, poultry) if import protection levels are eroded. Consequently it is prudent for governments and industry to focus on development initiatives which promote efficiency and competitiveness.

Strategy Statement. The Province will implement an action program designed to achieve greater self-sufficiency in locally produced products and to increase the industry's efficiency and competitiveness.

Actions. The Province will

126. Establish a provincial meat inspection program so that livestock can be processed at various local, privately owned plants throughout the Province and marketed through retail stores.

127. Ensure a competitively priced supply of feed to livestock, poultry and fur producers by

• securing improvements to the Feed Freight Assistance Program (FFA);
• expanding research and trials using local feed sources, such as seal meat and fish offal;
• expanding assistance programs to increase local forage production and improve its quality;
• providing assistance to farms to adopt new technology to improve feed efficiencies; and
• rationalizing the number, improving the fertility and expanding the economic base of selected regional pastures.

128. Ensure an adequate land base for viable agriculture by

• purchasing additional agricultural land in the St. John's Urban Region and expanding the program to other areas of the Province; and
• extending agriculture zoning to areas of the Province besides the St. John's Urban Region and the Wooddale Region.

129. Expand funding of the Provincial School Milk Program.

130. Enhance agrifood management, marketing and promotional capabilities by

• expanding farm business management training;
• assisting the formation of organizations to promote cooperative marketing;
• assisting interested individuals and groups to carry out market and feasibility studies, especially to explore non-traditional markets and opportunities in the area of value-added secondary processing; and
• continuing to fund promotional efforts, such as the Food and
  Livestock Show and regional fairs.

131. Legislate an equitable and standard municipal tax structure for farms.

132. Increase the supply of capital to the agrifoods industry by raising farm loans ceilings and by instituting a loan guarantee program.

133. Expand production of root crops by assisting farmers with storage facilities, further land development and land improvement.

134. Re-deploy existing human and financial resources to support the above actions.

-srbp-

Chapter Seven - Implementation

Disclosure

Submitted for your consideration:

Clare-Marie Gosse ranting at Geoff Meeker and his comments on the demise of the Indy.  She took issue with Meeker's suggestion that a future Indy might do without Ryan Cleary at the helm.

Specifically, though,  note the following comments (even in the midst of the raft of stuff worth rebutting):

Why don’t you admit that your issues with Ryan stem from him taking a few pokes at you last year because you do PR for various  companies/businesses around town and yet blog for a public newspaper without necessarily disclosing your connections?

A failure to disclose?

From a space on ctv.ca intended for amateur video - remember the word "amateur" -  uploaded on 14 July 2008 by "Clare-Marie Gosse" who indicates her city is "Toronto", an interesting video of a couple of guys installing what turns out (once you've watched the thing) to be a Newfoundland and Labrador tourism billboard.

Under the terms and conditions of use for that CTV website, the person posting the video "represents and warrants" that, among other things:

the Content you submit is an original work by you;  you own or control 100% of the rights in and to your Content;  you have secured or cleared all rights related to persons and music contained therein and such rights are and shall be free and clear of any and all claims, rights and obligations; ... you have the right to grant to CTV the rights granted to us in this license, you do not require the consent of any third party; that there is no contract with any third party that could in any way interfere with CTV's rights under this license or require any payment to be made to anyone by CTV.

Hmmmmm.

Note the date.

July 14. 

A very similar clip appeared that very same day on a Canada Newswire site, along with a news release about  the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador's tourism promotion, of which the billboard on the Gardiner is a part.

It's a very similar clip to the ctv one - as opposed to identical because in the one posted to ctv.ca's user-generated space, the identifying tags have been removed.

One of the media contacts on the release is Clare-Marie Gosse, described as the communications manager for Target Marketing.  For those who don't know, that's the agency of record for the provincial government's tourism advertising program.

The same release is available through the government website but with Clare's name inexplicably omitted from the media contacts.  The release did get passed along by  Reuters.

Now this little promotional vid stands out starkly against all the other content because the other stuff is fairly obviously shot by people without great video shooting and editing skills.  Like, say, the people at an advertising agency might have. 

It doesn't look anything at all like this video posted to youtube.  You will find that video, though, along with the ctv.ca one on a youtube profile belonging to Clare 867535. 

Apparently Clare started that profile six days ago and it's fairly obvious she added the amateur video shot by someone else.  Who knows if they are connected beyond that?

But disclosure?

At no point does Clare identify herself as working for the agency that is behind all that advertising.

-srbp-

A market for some young entrepreneur

Basic economics.

Apparently, it isn't just some provincial premiers who need some help understanding the numbers.

There are plenty of others.

On the order of hundreds of thousands.

Stackleberg Follower should ditch the studies or set up a business on the side.

These would be the same people, of course, who pushed for gas price regulation in the idiotic belief it could or would do anything constructive in a market economy.

As many are now finding out, the scheme pushed by people - like the recently elected mayor of the Great City - doesn't work.

Here's the thing: there was never any reason to believe it would work.

That is, no reason for anyone with a grasp of basic economics.

-srbp-

Update: Crude oil prices started dropping before the public utilities board jacked up gasoline prices this week. That's just the way the bureaucratic system is set up.

Crude ended the week trading below US$129 a barrel.

So when will the petroleum pricing office lower retail gas prices in Newfoundland and Labrador consistent with the 13% decline in crude prices in the past few days?

Possibly never. Given the way the system is arranged, consumers in areas not covered by some sort of price "regulation" will see prices drop.

If the crude prices climb back up between now and the next time the public utilities board works its numbers, nothing will change.

It all goes back to a group of people who lobbied hard and at least one politician - this one with an economics degree - who backed them.

Eight candidates miss financial filing deadline; stats reports from elections office already received

 

Apparently, the statistical reports on by-elections held since 2003 have been submitted as required by law, contrary to earlier reports.

The financial reports are another story.

Your humble e-scribbler fired off an e-mail to both the House of Assembly and the Office of the Chief Electoral Officer a couple of weeks ago before labradore posted on the apparent absence of statistical reports on recent elections required by law and after a  Polemic and Paradox post on election financing. The response from both offices came back within 24 hours.

Bond Papers erroneously commented on the absence of the stats reports.

The details on the statistical reports are in the table below.  All reports are available through the legislative library at the House of Assembly.

Election	Date received by House of Assembly
Placentia and St. Mary's	31 August 2006
Signal Hill-Quidi Vidi	17 April 2007
Ferryland Kilbride Port au Port	12 July 2007
Humber Valley	12 July 2007

No word on the report for the Labrador West by-election but your humble e-scribbler will check that out.  Odds are the thing has been received given that the by-election took place in early 2007.

The general election report is now available online.  No indication if the elections office made the nine month deadline or were off by a couple of days.  The general election was held on October 9, 2007.

Eight candidates miss financial deadlines

In the official response to the e-mail,  the elections office noted that a change to the elections law in 2007 gave candidates a four month deadline to submit details of their election financing for the general election.  Before that, the time period was six months.

There is no statutory deadline  on when the elections office must report on the financing, but here the hang ups are not entirely the fault of the elections office.

The Labrador Party candidate from the Labrador West by-election had still not filed his return as of  July 11, 2008.  The by-election was held on March 13, 2007.

As of July 11, 2008, returns had also not been received from seven candidates in last October's general election.  These were the New Democratic Party candidates in Terra Nova, Lewisporte and Virginia Waters and the Liberal candidates in Port au Port, Lewisporte and The Straits and White Bay North.

The elections office intends to file an omnibus financial report this fall on the by-elections and general election.

Under section 330 of the Elections Act, 1991 willful or negligent failure to meet the financial filing deadline could make a candidate's chief financial officer liable to a fine of up to $50 for each day past the deadline before the report is received. 

There was no indication of whether the elections office will assess the penalties under s. 330 against any of the candidates who have missed the deadline for filing.

-srbp-

Tarnishing the democratic legacy

 

There are no candidates.

There are no candidates because an election has not been called.

Yet, under the perversions to the Elections Act introduced over the past two years, voters in Cape St. Francis can vote right now.

A quarter page ad in the province's major daily newspaper on Saturday notified  voters in the provincial district that special balloting is already under way.

The whole scheme has already been criticized before.  Last September, Bond Papers posted an article by nottawa's Mark Watton lambasting the whole set up.

As Mark wrote:

In Haig v. Canada, the Supreme Court ruled that the Charter requires electoral laws to "grant every citizen of this country the right to play a meaningful role in the selection of elected representatives", an impossibility in a province without any means of preventing a determinative number of ballots being cast in a district before candidates are even nominated.

He was dealing with a situation where there were incumbents.  In the pending by-election in Cape St. Francis, the by-election is coming as a result of the untimely death of the incumbent.  Nonetheless, the perversion inherent in the elections law remains.  A determinative number of ballots can be cast before an election is even called let alone before candidates are nominated.

There you have it.

Something in action, but it damn well isn't democracy.

-srbp-

Wanted: an entrepreneur

There's no small irony that Bond Papers has been serialising the 1992 Strategic Economic Plan these past few weeks and at the same time, Brian Dobbin takes a swipe at Newfoundland and Labrador as he pulls his cash out of the Independent.

The irony is not so much in Dobbin's rant. That after all is a fairly typical BD one, built as much on myth and fantasy as anything else.

The the truly striking contrast is between the reality of government policy since 1992 and the policy advocated by a supposed entrepreneur.

Dobbin:

To do this we need government support financially for those dreamers who will create the industry that will give our children rewarding lives here when the oil runs out …

or in another spot:

I don’t expect our board will accept that kind of capital expenditure in the future on something they rightfully see as the province’s job.

The job of government in Brian Dobbin's universe is to spend scarce public cash on private sector business ventures. How novel an idea in the history of this place.

In order to do this, we must do away with the current system of government, according to Dobbin and replace it with something else. We'll leave aside Dobbin's laughable claims that this is a "barren place to try to grow significant industry."

By contrast the 1992 strategic economic plan is built explicitly on the premise that the bright economic future of our province would be built on a foundation of innovation from the private sector. Novel ideas, backed by sound business plans, would succeed.

There'd even be government money handed out by professionals. These people, removed from the partisan influences of the day would assess projects and invest in them where some others might not.

Gone though, would be the days Dobbin pines for, the days when limitless millions were poured into one ludicrous scheme after another based on the direction of a premier elected safely for a lengthy period and a blew to hand pick whomever he wanted to sit in cabinet.

Gone would be the rubber boot factories. Gone too the cucumber plants and the oil refineries bolstered by public cash either as direct investments or as loan guarantees. Gone was any suggestion that the role of government was to prop up the local business sector

Gone too would be any suggestion that it is the responsibility of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to pay cash to a private company so that rich foreigners could come here at a discount.

Yet, that is what Dobbin advocates and with as straight a face as there is.

Give it some thought.

Then realise that what Dobbin advocates is what his country-men and -women rejected in 1948. They rejected a small country dominated by local business interests in which the economic affairs of the country were arranged to the benefit of the handful and the detriment of the majority.

Some will undoubtedly see right away the familiar message wrapped now as it was then in a flag of patriotism. Let no one forget the connection between a certain brand of local patriotism and certain narrow business interests.

Give that some thought.

As a last word to young Mr. Dobbin: Best of luck in your future ventures.

At least, we won't have to put up with yet another self-proclaimed nationalist slagging off the province and its people at the drop of a hat.

-srbp-

Confederation 60

The Bond Papers mast head for the next week marks the 60th anniversary of the two referenda in 1948 that paved the way for the Confederation of Canada with Newfoundland and Labrador.

Over the next few months, we'll periodically bring you a post on the
Confederation anniversary culminating with the 60th anniversary of
Confederation on April 1, 2009.

There may be celebrations marking 400 years of Quebec City this year and well there should be, however, the 60th anniversary of the 1948 votes should not go unnoticed, as it seems to be.

First, the votes are a triumph of democracy. The people of Newfoundland - and Labrador for the first time - voted to determine the future of their country.

They weren't given the chance in 1933. Responsible government disappeared on the basis of a simple resolution of the House of Assembly and the Legislative Council, the old upper chamber.

Second, the people voted for a return of responsible government, of self-government. They clearly rejected commission rule in the first referendum. In the run-off, held on July 22, they were given a choice between two forms of self government.

"Responsible Government", as it was called at the time, meant a return to whatever had existed prior to 1933. Confederation with Canada meant exactly what it said. However it is important to realise that both are forms of self-government.

In 1948, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador opted to become part of Canada. They voted by secret ballot to merge their country with its neighbour to the west. They created, in the process an entirely new country, both for themselves and their children as well as for the people who were already Canadians.

Third, Newfoundland and Labrador is thus far the only country to opt to join Canada. It is the only political entity - colony, country or province - to do so by democratic vote.

There is a message in that experience 60 years ago which should resonate with today's generations.

-srbp-

"Squandered potential"

That pretty much sums up the attitude many have toward the weekly newspaper The Independent, which may or may not survive past the issue that hit news stands today.

The potential closure of the paper is making the news across Canada.

The quote in the headline for this post is from Geoff Meeker, local blogger, public relations consultant and a critic of the Indy's editorial approach over the past four years.

Also quoted are local writer Kevin Major and Telegram editor Russell Wangersky.

Wangersky offers as succinct an argument as possible for the Indy's current situation:

"You have to be more than a one-issue paper. I don't think an editorial
stance that focuses everything on blame Canada is a functional model
for a business."

-srbp-

Premiers aren't financial geniuses

Obviously.

“If energy prices go up and people spend more on energy, you spend less
in the economy,” Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach said. “Is it going to come
out from home improvements? Is it going to come out from buying a car?
Is it going to come out from taking a holiday?”

Yes, Ed, if people are spending more for gas and heating oil, they'll have less to spending in the rest of the economy.

The key words in your prepared talking points were "rest of", as in spend less in the rest of the economy.

Your humble e-scribbler needs to check the Statistics Canada figure son consumer spending but odds are it hasn't really slacked off any. It's just shifted to filling up the tank of the giant, petrol sucking trucks that drove vehicle sales over the past few years.

The money is still being spent in the economy; it's just being spent differently.

As for the idea of lowering the value of the Canadian dollar, that suggestion just sends chills up and down the old spine. We can take some comfort from Premiers not finance ministers. Unfortunately, we don't catch that break in Newfoundland and Labrador, where the finance minister is already on record as endorsing that hideous idea.

There are all sorts of issues to take with this idea. Here are just some, randomly bulleted:

• The North American dollars - Canuck and Yank - are trading at about par because of the weakness south of the border. In other words, their dollar came down to meet ours.
• The American dollar is considerably weaker - worth less - against other currencies.
  
• While Canadians export and import heavily from the United States, we still buy other goods and services overseas. Lowering the value of the Canadian dollar increases the cost of living in Canada.
• Given that the American economy is contracting, lowering the price of Canadian goods won't necessarily boost sales and save all those manufacturing jobs in Ontario.
  
• In fact, it might well cause even more damage to the Ontario economy by lowering the return on sales all the while driving costs up.
• 70% of the goods and services exported from Newfoundland and Labrador head to the United States. Lowering the the value of the Canadian dollar makes it look like we are getting more - the numbers of dollars would be bigger - but we'd actually be getting less. That's not really a good thing.
  
• The Canadian economy can use a bit of a shakeout resulting from the slowdown and the relatively high dollars. Some weaker performers can retool or drop out, for example and existing strong performers can make their operations leaner. When the American economy starts to grow and the dollars head back to their usual spreads, Canadian indistry can be more efficient and hence more profitable when the good times return.
  

-srbp-

Hollowing out

From labradore, two posts describing the decline in the number of businesses in the economic zones across the province over the past decade.

The first shows the changes displayed on a map. Enlarge it to see the legend in the upper right. Double digit declines - some as high as 20 to 25%.

The second presents the information in a different graphical form, the ever-reliable chart. He combines the data into four regions: Labrador, St. John's, the TCH Corridor and Rural Newfoundland. He also shows the changes using 1998 as the base year.

That's where the decline really looks striking.

-srbp-

Strong. Proud. Determined. (II)

 

Some video of  The Great Cultural Tradition.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Compare those glorious holiday memories this same person or group had of other places on the planet.

Yep, nothing says newfie like licking a puffin's arse.

Everything Margaret Wente knows about Newfoundlanders she likely learned from Newfoundlanders.

-srbp-

In defence of the House of Assembly

 

If you were to read just the post at Polemic and Paradox, you'd imagine that the members of the House of Assembly management committee were trying to sneak themselves and their colleagues a huge bonus by changing rules regarding per diem payments to members of certain committees.

The post quotes some sources and certainly sounds like there might be some facts and hence some meat to the claims made in the post with the provocative title "Rebuilding confidence and upping the perks". 

To heighten the innuendo, there's even a description of the process by which the new rules  - actually amended rules - will come into effect: 

The new changes will not come into effect until they are voted upon at the next meeting of the Management Commission, rubber stamped by the Speaker, sanitized by Legislative Council, and approved by the Speaker and Gazetted. [Emphasis added]

The only problem is that the post is wrong.  All you have to do to destroy the smear and innuendo is look at the public record in its entirety.

First of all, there is the Hansard transcript of the meeting (June 4) at which the proposal first came up for discussion. 

It's pretty clear, as the Speaker presents it, that the payments for attending a meeting when the House is not in session only applies to two committees - management and public accounts - and on top of that only applies to that very small number of members not receiving salaries for other duties.

The Speaker rightly notes that the other committees of the House - such as they are - are really only called to meet when the House is sitting hence there's no extra payment involved for those members.

The total amount of money potentially involved here is $6,515.

Read further in the transcript and you'll find that opposition House leader Kelvin Parsons even suggests wording for the rule that would prevent someone from coming back later and trying to claim both the salary and the per diem:

That way there is absolutely no misunderstanding if somebody tries to put forward an argument that, well, I am Opposition House Leader but I am coming into town for a meeting with the Standing Committee so therefore I am entitled to the per diem; just so that is very clear that you do not do that.

Second of all, as the transcript makes plain, the root of the whole issue is the structure of the members' pay system as set up in the Green bill.  Chief Justice Derek Green abolished sessional payments and non-taxable amounts in addition to a basic salary and replaced them with clearly defined remuneration for a clearly defined purpose.  

The amounts are established in the Green bill itself, specifically, section 12.  The sub clause under discussion here is (3):

A member who sits on a committee of the House of Assembly, the commission or a committee of the commission may be paid, subject to the conditions and limitations prescribed by the commission, a daily amount of not more than $200 for attendance at meetings plus reimbursement of reasonable expenses in relation to that attendance when the House is not in session.

That brings us to the third point of all, namely the amount.  Not only do we have a well-established principle here, described in detail by Chief Justice Green last year and set out in law, but we have a set maximum amount of $200 per day. That amount and the associated expenses are laid out plainly on page 10-1 on the member's resource book.

But then we need to look at what the House management committee actually decided.

In the draft amendments currently proposed, the committee refined the simple statement contained in the Green bill and lowered the amount. They didn't raise it.  They didn't take the Green number literally. They lowered it.

While Green provided a maximum of $200, the new version provides a flat amount of $145 for a committee member and $190 for the chair.  Not a lot, you may say, but the difference is important.

Reading is apparently optional as is comprehension in some quarters.

What makes this sort of public smear all the more deplorable is that it involves the work of two committees and only two committees of the legislature.  Leaving aside the house management committee, the only other committee to which it applies is public accounts.

For those who don't know, public accounts has been - historically - a key mechanism by which ordinary members of the legislature hold the government to account for its spending of public money.  The committee in this and other places has typically used the auditor general as a means of investigating programs and spending. It does so either by examining issues raised by the auditor general in his or her annual report or by tasking the auditor general specifically.

However, from 2000 to 2006, the public accounts committee sat typically not more than four times during the year.  This key committee essentially fell apart.

Indeed, so dysfunctional was the committee in the recent past that in the first three years of the Williams administration, the committee met exactly twice.  it did not meet at all in 2004 and met once in each of 2005 and 2006.

Chief Justice Green discussed the public accounts committee at some length in his report.  He describes the importance of the committee in the Westminster system and proposes a renewed and strengthened role for the committee in the House of Assembly.

You'll find plenty of posts at Bond Papers on the slow and relentless diminution of the legislature in this province.  This cannot be allowed to continue if our democracy is to emerge from the recent dark period stronger and more vibrant.

As Chief Justice Green noted, the public accounts committee must have a crucial role to play in accountability and oversight.  It is for that reason that he established a payment schedule to pay members for work done, not for merely holding the appointment as it was previously.

Thus, by attacking the Green proposal, Polemic and Paradox is effectively arguing against the very measures needed to strengthen the legislature. The scurrilous innuendo of the post serves only to undermine a legislature which is already laid low by recent problems.  The post doesn't help;  it serves only to do more damage.  That it is built on half-truths makes it all the worse.

It is one thing to offer a legitimate criticism, founded on facts, aimed at correcting a problem.  It is quite another to misrepresent a set of circumstances in order to launch an attack. We need to restore the legislature to its important place in our political system rather than continue the trend of more recent times to demolish it through neglect, mischief or a combination of the two.

-srbp-

Damn-fool fishery: the politics of plunder

CBC News has a story that should cause concern among people genuinely concerned about the fishery along the northeast coast.

Information obtained by CBC - update: now online - suggests catch estimates for the recreational fishery in 2007 were four times higher than federal fisheries own internal estimates of catch rates.

As part of its own quality control, Fisheries and Oceans hired a market researcher to survey a sample of people who were involved in the fishery. They reported participation and fish landings significantly higher than DFO's own records and estimates.

DFO tried to find a fault in the telephone survey but so far they haven't found one.

That just leads us back to the abiding concern that the damn-fool fishery is nothing more than an exercise in ensuring there'll be a time when no fish swam. It's not like there's no evidence that cod stocks, especially along the northeast coast, are still under great pressure and are still just a tiny fraction fof what was once there.

Rather than risk destroying the stocks altogether by effectively unregulated - and entirely unecessary - fishing activity, far better to eliminate the vote fishery.

It's not about tradition. It's not about heritage and the people promoting aren't really going to conserve anything.

Nope.

The whole damn-fool fishery is about politics and the faster we get rid of it, the better off we'll be.

Politics killed the cod.

The politics of propping up communities and fish processors, some of whom continue to perpetrate myths about the fishery as they head deeper into their dotage.

Now it's the politics of the people who use words like heritage and tradition as an excuse for unrestrained plunder of our natural resources.

Proponents of the so-called food fishery are basically the same as the people who try to pass off screech-ins as an authentic part of Newfoundland culture.

That sort of politics killed the cod.

When will we figure that out?

Hopefully not before it's too late.

-srbp-