Leaders and salaries #nlpoli
Donald Trump says he won’t even take one dollar in salary as president. Sounds familiar. In Newfoundland and Labrador, Proto-Trump said the same thing. His fan club insist the Greatest…
Danny Williams Effect
The Reverse Midas Touch Rides Again #nlpoli
The crowd running this place these days has an unrivalled ability to look at a problem and find the worst possible response imaginable. On Wednesday, natural resource minister Siobhan Coady…
The truth about Danny Williams, Hydro-Quebec, and the Lower Churchill #nlpoli
Danny Williams promised he would never cut a deal on the Lower Churchill with Hydro-Quebec unless it included redress for the 1969 contract.But as Kathy Dunderdale revealed in 2009, Williams…
Thank you, Danny Williams #nlpoli
Rob Strong has been a key player in the local oil and gas industry pretty much since the earliest days. He knows what he is talking about.Strong pointed out to…
Selling energy assets a good thing: Danny Williams #nlpoli
“It was a previous Liberal government that wanted to actually privatize Hydro. This particular government wants to strengthen Hydro, wants to make it a very valuable corporation: a corporation…
Real change #nlpoli
“A positive, optimistic, hopeful vision of public life isn’t a naive dream,” Justin Trudeau told Canadians after he won a truly historic victory in the October 19th federal general election. …
The ABCs of ABC #nlpoli
In 2004, Danny Williams fought for three months against a federal government decision that had been settled – at least for the federal government – earlier in the year…
Hyping the stock, yet again #nlpoli
Any oil company seriously interested in bidding on an exploration license offshore Newfoundland and Labrador isn’t likely to need the hyped presentation by the provincial government Thursday. Exploring offshore is…
Chainsaw Earle keeps austerity on the table #nlpoli
NDP leader Earle McCurdy called the province’s major open line show on Thursday and by the sounds of things he hasn’t backed off the position that the size of the…
Moral victory: saying yes to less #nlpoli
A couple of years after his war with one prime minister, Danny Williams was locked in another war with another federal first minister. Williams was demanding compensation for yet another…
John Crosbie and the Last Crusade #nlpoli #cdnpoli
Every story told thus far about Ches Crosbie and the riding in Avalon has the unmistakeable odour of bullshit about it. The latest twist, namely that Senator David Wells was…
No equity? No surprise. #nlpoli
It didn’t take long for Paul Davis to get the comparison he was looking for last week. The Telegram – not surprisingly – offered it up in the editorial on…
Experience and government #nlpoli
In the 1980s, local entrepreneur Craig Dobbin bought a batch of helicopter service companies across Canada and merged them with his own company – Sealand – to form Canadian Helicopters. …
The Federal Boogeyman #nlpoli
The Liberals kept poking at Premier Paul Davis in the House of Assembly on Tuesday about the European free trade deal announced last year. Specifically, Liberal leader Dwight Ball asked…
Myths, then and now #nlpoli
You really do have to wonder how anyone could be expected to keep things straight when the people they rely on to help them understand keep changing their statements. Take,…
The Ego-mentary #nlpoli
Danny Williams’ hockey team tried a little marketing ploy this week. They sent out a bulletin to news media disguised as a news release. They claimed the hockey team was…
No-brainer #nlpoli
Perhaps it is just Danny Williams’ ingratitude that pisses people off. The multi-millionaire hockey team owner just got a massive subsidy from the taxpayers of St. John’s so that he…
Everything has a price #nlpoli
Danny Williams famously once said that at some point, “principle converts to cash.” When his old friend Tom Marshall named a court house after Williams, the former Premier said this…
Nothing was further from the truth #nlpoli
A decade ago, the offshore regulatory board reduced its estimate of the recoverable reserves in the Terra Nova field from 405 million barrels to 354 million barrels. Danny Williams was…