The Truth is...

With the news that Newfoundland and Labrador will soon be moving away from equalization while Ontario will be moving toward a “have not” position, much has been said by government and the media alike on the subject.

Over the past week it seems, to this observer, as if the objective has not been to clearly discuss Ontario’s woes or even to congratulate Newfoundland and Labrador for its success. The objective of some seems instead to be an offensive against Newfoundland and Labrador by turning what should have been a good news story into some sort of blight.

During this time Newfoundland and Labrador has been called the “poor cousin” of Confederation. It’s been pounded home time and time again how Newfoundland and Labrador has “never been off of equalization since it joined Canada”. It’s been called a place that, “wants to have its cake and eat it too”. It’s been said that “Newfoundland and Labrador is the place to go if you want to see your (Ontario) tax dollars at work” and Newfoundland and Labrador’s Premier was even asked by one political reporter if he was willing to give up some oil wealth to help Ontario out of its troubles.

None of this was done with tongue firmly planted in cheek. In fact, for the most part, the tone was far darker than anything publicly said about Newfoundland and Labrador in recent memory.

Unfortunately, through it all, the true story of Newfoundland and Labrador’s existence and its first tentative steps toward so called “Have” status were, not even once, put before the people of Canada in an honest way.

The truth is: At the time Newfoundland and Labrador entered Canada in 1949 its total debt was about $100 million dollars. After 59 years of Confederation that debt mushroomed to over $11 billion dollars, the highest per capita debt in Canada. This is what happens when, as my dear Mother says, “you have to borrow money to pay the light bills and put food on the table”.

The truth is: For centuries the historic ocean trade routes between North America and Europe saw thousands of ships travel the eastern seaboard and fill the harbours of Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the Maritime provinces. That isn’t the case any more. In an effort to centralize industry and grow the mega economies of Ontario & Quebec the Federal Government used the tax dollars of all Canadians, including those in Atlantic Canada, to construct the St. Lawrence Seaway, essentially killing commercial traffic flow into Atlantic ports.

The truth is: When Newfoundland and Labrador entered Canada it boasted the world’s most prolific fishing resource off its shores. It was a fishery envied around the world. Upon entering Confederation this fishery fell under the control and management of Ottawa. By 1992 this fishery had been mismanaged into collapse and overnight more than 40,000 people lost their livelihoods. The impact to Newfoundland and Labrador’s small population was the equivalent to Ontario losing one million jobs in the blink of an eye.

The truth is: In the 1960’s Newfoundland and Labrador began development of the Upper Churchill Hydro Electric project. At the time it was the biggest project of its kind in North America. The Province of Quebec refused to let Newfoundland and Labrador wheel electricity across its borders at market rates and although the federal government had the authority to force the issue it did not. As a result Quebec now makes billions directly from the Newfoundland and Labrador resource and billions more through the industries it attracted. The owners of that power, Newfoundland and Labrador, can barely afford to keep the turbines spinning. This situation will continue to exist for another 33 years.

The truth is: Even though most of the oil and gas discovered off its shores would never have fallen inside Canadian jurisdiction had Newfoundland and Labrador not entered into Confederation in 1949, the federal government never the less has control of those resources, not the province. The way the federal government views the subject, in Canada oil on land belongs to the province, oil under the water belongs to Ottawa.

The truth is: When Newfoundland and Labrador petitioned the federal government for the right to force oil companies to develop major finds, rather than sitting on them as a “nest egg”, Ottawa refused to stand up for Newfoundland and Labrador. This is why today if a company in Alberta does not develop a discovery within 5 years they lose control of it to the Province. In Newfoundland and Labrador an oil company can sit on a discovery forever, never produce a drop, and prevent anyone else from accessing that find.

The truth is: Although the original 1985 Atlantic Accord supposedly ensured that Newfoundland and Labrador would receive the full benefits of oil resources, it wasn’t until an update to the contract in 2005 that the spirit of the deal was actually fulfilled and a fairer sharing of revenues was delivered.

The truth is: After disputing the value of the 1985 Accord for 20 years and after fiercely battling the Federal Liberal Government for months Newfoundland and Labrador finally got the changes it wanted with the signing of the 2005 update to the Atlantic Accord contract. A little more than a year later the Federal Conservative Government, without consulting the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, unilaterally changed that contract denying Newfoundland and Labrador, according to independent economic estimates, of $10 billion dollars in potential revenue.

The truth is: The list of ways Newfoundland and Labrador has been impeded in improving its economic situation is a lengthy one, with many other examples similar to those identified here.

The truth is: In spite of those roadblocks Newfoundland and Labrador is finally beginning to see some small signs of progress. That progress is not due to the benevolence of the Canadian government. It is because the people who have clung to Newfoundland and Labrador’s rocky coastline for centuries simply refused to give up in the face of adversity.

The truth is: Today Quebec continues to make billions from the Upper Churchill power plant in Labrador. Ottawa still refuses to force oil companies to stop sitting on massive reserves. 16 years after the cod fishery collapsed the fish stocks still have not recovered, yet Ottawa continues to turn a blind eye to foreign fishing fleets raping the spawning grounds off Newfoundland and Labrador.

But…

The Truth is: In spite of it all, Newfoundland and Labrador is paying down its debt, to the tune of nearly 1.5 billion over the past couple of years.

Newfoundland and Labrador has finally recorded multi-year surpluses in its provincial budgets.

Newfoundland and Labrador has reached a point where it requires only $18 million dollars in federal equalization payments this year and will move off equalization completely next year.

The truth is: While the unemployment rate in Newfoundland and Labrador is still more than double the national average it is at least moving in the right direction and is currently at a 25 year low.

That’s the truth.

Now imagine for a moment what Newfoundland and Labrador might have accomplished if it had been given half a chance.

They're Just Newfies...

In March of 2006 I penned a commentary for Web Talk, which was picked up and carried by other media outlets. The piece was entitled, “Newfies, Niggers and Other Terms of Endearment”. The opening paragraph read as follows:

As a proud Newfoundlander it makes my skin crawl and my blood pressure spike whenever I hear people use the word “Newfie” in a derogatory way. I’ve come to see this word in the same way I see words like “Nigger”, “Kyke” or “Polack”. Each of those words is extremely disturbing to hear, just as disturbing to commit to paper and I hope even more disturbing for you to read.

I felt that way then and I feel it even more so today. Newfie, Polish and Black jokes, to name a few, have been around for generations.

They are not funny in any way, shape or form.

These jokes serve no purpose other than to make the uninformed and bigoted jokester feel superior by demeaning and belittling a recognizable group of people.

Every time an individual belittles an entire segment of the population it does a great deal of harm in society in general and the tendrils of their words, though they don’t often realize it, have far reaching effects well beyond their little circle of acquaintances.

Most cultures, ethnic groups and races understood long ago how harmful the underlying message behind this dark humor actually is and how damaging it can be.

In standing up for their rights and their dignity certain segments of our society forced Canada’s political leaders to enact laws to address the issue. Although this legislation may not have been successful in fully removing such damaging speech from society at least it has been relegated it to the darkest corners and the public has become fully aware of the need to avoid using them.

Newfoundlanders are the exception.

For as long as Newfie jokes have been around most Newfoundlanders have either kept silent on the issue, brushed it off as harmless fun or worse yet, laughed along under the misguided belief that “no harm was meant”. I beg to differ.

If someone at a social gathering today were to suddenly say, “By the way, did you here the one about the three Niggers who walked into a bar”, that person would immediately be labeled a racist and shunned by everyone around them, and rightfully so.

If, on the other hand, the term “Newfie” were substituted for “Nigger” we would find a room full of people hanging on the speaker’s every word and waiting for a punch line that inevitably portrays how stupid they believe Newfies to be.

I know there are those who honestly believe there is nothing wrong with the term “Newfie” but the truth is just the opposite. By letting the term continue to be used in civilized society the stereotype of the “goofy newfie” or “stupid newfie” is perpetuated.

As the roots of any stereotype spread and grow ever deeper the boundaries of what is deemed acceptable language in our society expands outward to its extreme limits.

A case in point is an incident that happened just 2 years ago, when a police officer in Edmonton saw nothing wrong with officially stating one of the reasons he detained someone as because, “He is a newphie”.

What does that tell you about how harmful such stereotypes can be?

As recently as this week reports have surfaced that T-shirts are now appearing that depict the words, “Save a Seal, Kill a Newfie”. Is that supposed to be funny and why is it considered acceptable?

If the T-shirt read, “Save your Neighborhood, Kill a Nigger” or “Save your Money, Kill a Jew” would it be laughed off as easily? Would that be acceptable in today’s society?

Such a statement, using a term denoting any other group of people besides Newfoundlanders, would be considered hate speech and those promoting such hatred would be investigated and charged under the criminal code of Canada. Not so in this case.

Unfortunately the term Newfie is considered acceptable right across the Country. It, and the stereotype it promotes, has become so entrenched in the Canadian language that many people actually see Newfoundlanders as being inferior.

This is the real damage that the term brings with it. That’s why those who are the victims of T-shirts that say, “Save a Seal, Kill a Newfie” simply don’t matter.

They’re just Newfies.

Is Dalton McGuinty Representative of All Ontarians?

Though much has been said lately about equalization, the sad truth is that the economy of Ontario is indeed suffering as a result of a high dollar, high oil prices and being too closely tied to the economic whims in the U.S.

While some of the articles and commentary on this site over the past few days may have made light of the problems in Ontario that doesn't make those problems any less real.

In fact the economy right across Canada is being hit hard.

Newfoundland and Labrador is no exception, with impacts to the fishing and forestry industries topping the list.

Thanks to revenues from a growing oil industry some parts of Canada are better able to offset the impact of the current downturn. But while the overall economic numbers in places like Alberta or Newfoundland and Labrador may look good from 50,000 feet up, the true impact to towns, families and individuals who are losing their jobs, outside the oil industry, are no less real.

Oil or no oil people are being hurt.

But...

"Have" or "Have Not", it remains a fact that someone losing their job in Ontario has a much better chance of finding another one than someone living in Newfoundland and Labrador, or nearly anywhere else for that matter. This is why all the doomsday rhetoric by the national media and government of Ontario has perhaps rubbed people down east the wrong way. It may also be why sympathy from Atlantic Canada, which has struggled for so long, isn't always easy to come by.

Even an Ontario that is "Have Not" is still far better off financially than a Newfoundland and Labrador approaching "Have" status.

I personally believe the people of Newfoundland and Labrador should take the high road and not rub salt in the wounds of the Ontario people. But it isn't the people of Ontario that have made so many stupid remarks over the past week. It is the politicians, pundits and spin doctors. It is those people, not the average Ontarian, who have been the target of most of the "Uppity" remarks from these parts and rightfully so.

I don't believe for a minute that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador wish any ill will on the people of Ontario but those crying foul in their morning Starbucks are a different story.

So, while I wish the people of Ontario all the best in bringing their economy back around to the "good old days" (as long as it isn't at the economic expnense of Newfoundland and Labrador) I can't resist taking one last shot (for now) at Ontario Premier, Dalton McGuinty.

Dalton McGuinty’s Top Ten Thoughts on Equalization.

10. “Sure, the ten provinces should be equal as long as Ontario is more equal.”

9. “Equalization makes Ontarians send all their tax money to Ottawa…uh…Ontario.”

8. “Newfoundland and Labrador is about to do what!!!“

7. “How much is bus fare to Fort McMurray these days?“

6. “Hmmm…maybe I could start drilling for oil under the CN Tower.”

5. “No really, Newfoundland and Labrador is about to do what!!!”

4. “How can I get more federal dollars WITHOUT calling it equalization?”

3. “I wonder how much a barrel of used motor oil is worth?”

2. “Come on Newfoundland and Labrador isn’t really coming off equalization is it?”

1. “F#&K Danny Williams!!!!”