Thursday, November 30, 2006

Dealing with Five Decades of Psychological Warfare

Once again today we see evidence that Newfoundland and Labrador is being left behind by the rest of Canada. Although enough resources exist on the land and in the seas surrounding the place to sustain a much larger population, people are going hungry. The way those resources have been managed and developed in combination with the political marginalization of the people that’s existed for decades has resulted in something completely unconscionable. In 2006, Newfoundland and Labrador’s hunger rate is the highest in the country.

HungerCount is a national survey of emergency food programs in Canada conducted by the Canadian Association of Food Banks (CAFB). Their most recent survey found that 5.59% of the province’s population have been forced to make use of food banks in order to feed their families, the highest per capita rate in the Country. When you combine this information with outmigration that sees thousands leave every year, the lowest birth rates, the highest unemployment and a population that’s aging faster than anywhere else in Canada, the possibility arises that eventually the government of Canada will get exactly what it has so desperately wanted from Newfoundland and Labrador since pre-confederation, all of the resources and none of the people.

Since 1949 the government of Canada has been systematically robbing Newfoundland and Labrador of any hope for a future. I believe that immediately after confederation it may have been done intentionally in order to achieve a backroom plan intended to break the will of the people, get them under control (remember only about half the population wanted to be a part of the Canada) and ensure that they could be assimilated into the Canadian framework. Over the years the minds behind this horrendous practice have come and gone but by the time they did the practice itself had become second nature and was such a common practice that it simply continued to exist. It’s doubtful that today’s political leaders even realize what they are perpetuating but the effects are the same.

What we see today are a people who, by and large, have lost the will to stand up and fight to protect their heritage, their homeland and their way of life. We see a people who appear on the surface to be just like any other Canadian but they most certainly are not. Instead they have lived on the fringes of Canada, both physically and figuratively, for so long that many don’t even see the reality of what this ongoing practice means for them. They don’t even realize that by standing up as one they may have a chance for survival. Most of them simply go about their daily activities oblivious to the fact that they are, in many respects, worse off than the rest of the Country and that if current trend continues, in a few generations the people of Newfoundland and Labrador will become as extinct as the original Beothuk population

Taken down from the high level to that of the individual, the story becomes even more bleak. The lack of work is real. A lower than normal birth rate is real. Hunger is real. Poverty is real. These all contribute to a lack of self esteem and self worth that permeates the entire culture and the effects of this low self esteem are all too clear. It’s the reason why someone will sit in a room full of so called “fellow” Canadians and simply accept being called a “stupid newfie” or a “cod chucker”? It’s the reason why someone who is qualified for a top level position will simply accept being passed over in favor of someone who isn’t from “the Rock”? It’s why an entire people, who were once part of an independent nation in their own right, will quietly accept little more than handouts from Ottawa while their neighbor, who is supposedly an equal partner in confederation, is simply given the gift of nationhood.

When a person is put in a situation where they feel a total lack of control over their destiny, when they are told what they can or can’t do, when they have their belongings, their pride, their independence taken away and when they are put in a position where they must ask someone else for even the basic necessities of life, there is a commonly accepted term for the psychological state this type of dependence causes in many who are put in that position.

Definition: Stockholm syndrome - a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage exhibits loyalty to the hostage-taker, in spite of the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed. The victims become emotionally attached to their victimizers, and have even been known to defend their captors.

93 comments:

  1. Maybe your eachalon of the island.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Higgins do you fancy yourself as cosmopolitan?

    ReplyDelete
  3. The first Anon did my mean echelon of the island? I cannot find the word eachalon in the dictionary, and as a result I cannot make sense of your sentence.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yeah he did, last time I abandon word in the heat of the moment.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Encouragement said much better by others...

    "Do not go gentle into that good night,
    Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
    Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
    Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
    Because their words had forked no lightning they
    Do not go gentle into that good night.

    Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
    Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
    Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

    Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
    And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
    Do not go gentle into that good night.

    Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
    Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
    Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

    And you, my father, there on the sad height,
    Curse, bless me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
    Do not go gentle into that good night.
    Rage, rage against the dying of the light"

    Dylan Thomas

    ReplyDelete
  6. In the first place Aonon you spelled it wrong. The correct spelling is: echelon

    Secondly, there are a few definitions that I could find. Which is it that you think I am or at least consider myself?

    1. a level of command, authority, or rank: the top echelon of city officials.
    2. a formation of troops, ships, airplanes, etc., in which groups of soldiers or individual vehicles or craft are arranged in parallel lines, each to the right or left of the one in front, so that the whole presents the appearance of steps.
    3. one of the groups of a formation so arranged.
    4. Also called echelon grating. Spectroscopy. a diffraction grating that is used in the resolution of fine structure lines and consists of a series of plates of equal thickness stacked in staircase fashion.

    ReplyDelete
  7. To Crazy AM:

    No comment necessary. Well said.

    (that aside, it's really good to hear from you again. The voice of
    reason in the wilderness.)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I suppose #1 but I was being much broader based and I may be using the term an alien fashion or obtuse fashion. I’m thinking more of the immediate peer and material enclave that you associate with on a daily basis, what you want out of life and how you as a baby boomer intend to get it. Also you reflect a certain degree of insularity which is dieing fast with Boomers.

    For instance I doubt you read Manga or enjoy Japanese fusion, your peers are all of a working to middle class and are 99.9% Caucasian and you are the first of your family’s generation to achieve any post secondary. This is all arbitrary and subjective mind you and isn’t a pre-requisite for any “stratification”. This isn’t about standing it’s about the little things that color perception and give us insight into what’s going and why we peruse certain things. We all come to the table with different echelons of narratives as it were.

    For the most part perception trumps reality no matter where you are.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anon for whatever reason you used the non-word 'eachalon', both threads that you submitted reeks of bigotry to me. It appears to me you like to put down others. Why?

    ReplyDelete
  10. It appears to me you like to filter the world through a jingoistic and reactionary lens, why?

    ReplyDelete
  11. "No" I think you are the one who likes to view the world that way.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Tell that to the man with the plan.

    ReplyDelete
  13. You are a crazy character. TaTa

    ReplyDelete
  14. in a few generations the people of Newfoundland and Labrador will become as extinct as the original Beothuk population

    Labrador had a Beothuk population?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Yo WJM we really should ruffle these crackers feathers sometime.

    ReplyDelete
  16. It’s the reason why someone who is qualified for a top level position will simply accept being passed over in favor of someone who isn’t from “the Rock”?

    Rick Hillier?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Don't you have more important things to be doing, like getting NL recognized as a nation?

    Amazing how those stupid newfies get all the top jobs in different fields out west here but could never make it in the socialist enclave of NL. Seems every day I run into an enterprising NL'er hiring on a bunch of other unedumacated Newfies from the rock and as well as a bunch of greasy rednecks from rural Alberta and Saskatchabush. I hear the praise and admiration bestowed on these individuals, mostly when those around me don't know me to be a Newfie, until I gets drinkin and starts to sing aunt martha's sheep, especially during the Christmas season.

    Newfies come out west, currently numbering between 25000-40,000 depending on the time of the year, and find gainful employment in "America lite." The mayor of Fort Mac is a newfie. Rick Mercer has his own national show, so do a bunch of other Newfie comedians, this Hour has 22 minutes. Great Big Sea commands $75,000 an hour just to play in front of family, or so I have heard over and over on VOCM, as if that is a bad bad thing. Someone above mentioned Rick Hillier, the scumbag ass-kicking general of the whole friggin Canadian armed forces! Rex Murphy is probably the only credible, nationally recognize, un-biased commentator in the whole CBC news network. What about Bob Cole? John "pass the tequila Sheila" Crosbie? Frank Moores was the most influential lobbyist, and pretty much started the whole scheme, in Ottawa for decades. Brian Peckford is a leading authority on health care in Canada, albeit from his residence in Victoria, BC. Provincial health care providers phone this guy up and pay through the nose to get advice from him on how to run their health care systems more efficiently and how to find better ways to serve their patients. Brian Tobin, aka Captain Canada, sits on a number of boards of some heavy corporations as a director and is a major lobbyist to both Conservative and Liberal governments in Ottawa for those interests that he represents. Clyde Wells saved the country from Meech lake and the Charlottetown Accord fiasco and you would not believe how many greedy, American lite Albertans know his name and respect this stupid Newfie! What do most of these former Newfies have in common? They were all told to take a hike by the NL populace. What a line up. How many of these guys would you want to say are in the NLDL? Let me guess, probably none right? All self serving individuals is how they have been portrayed. Whenever I read this scripture it reminds me of NL:

    MARK Ch.6

    A Prophet Without Honour

    Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
    "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's the wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.
    Jesus said to them, "ONLY IN HIS HOMETOWN, AMONG HIS RELATIVES AND IN HIS OWN HOUSE IS A PROPHET WITHOUT HONOUR." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.


    Do you know what is really ironic? Tens of thousands of stupid, meek newfies can come to Alberta and apply for any job they want and get it over a redneck Albertan, but there is a law in NL that says only NL'ers(ians) must be hired first and foremost. I guess the thinking is best to keep the place more Cuban-lite than have it turn into something American-lite. Afterall, even the academic elitists (socialists, pinko-commies,progressives, humanists or whatever label they are using) need an audience to preach their dispair to, since misery surely does love company.

    Edgar

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thanks Edgar, you make my point for me by your words.

    ReplyDelete
  19. Edgar it appears that you are alluding to the practice of cronyism, the type that is practiced when politicians give their relatives, friends and colleagues plum positions for some service rendered. Please forgive me if that is not where you are directing your comments.
    That practice is killing the Newfoundland and Labrador economy. While I believe we have to get a few good companies percolating here in NL, I do believe it should be done through the correct channel, that is any venture that comes up in this province for development, any groups that have interest in that venture should have to go through the tendering process. Nothing should be handed out on a silver platter. That has been the way deals have been handed out in NL for the past 57 years and both political stripes, Liberals and PCs, have practiced this economy-killing way of doing business. If we want a fair and equal society in NL, the patronage process has to be disbanded. And it has to be done immediately!

    ReplyDelete
  20. Since when has success been dependent on place and not the enterprising individual?

    ReplyDelete
  21. Anon success in the rest of the Canadian provinces have been dependent on place, since the other provinces are very reluctant for Newfoundland and Labrador to have control of any of its resources. All of our resources have had to go to the rest of Canada for its development. There, you can see that success has been dependent on having NL resources migrate to the places which depend on them to keep their manufacturing industries going. So that debunks your theory of """since when has success been dependent on place and not the enterprising individual"""? These people in others provinces have been enterprising enough to influence some Federal Government politician that NL's resources should be exported and not used in this province for its development.

    It all depends on the place you are talking about within Canada. That is what we have to change in Newfoundland and Labrador. We have to put our foot down and say there will be no more development of our resources until we get to use them ourselves to develop our own place. Then and only then will Newfoundland and Labrador have its own enterprising individuals to build success in their own place Newfoundland and Labrador.

    ReplyDelete
  22. So if the California Gold rush was going on and you were stuck in New England, would you gerrymander the system or would you hitch up the chuck wagon? It's not like geographic mobility is not a curse or are you just not very cosmopolitan to begin with?

    CBS right?

    ReplyDelete
  23. The latter is the case because we aren't allowed to be cosmopolitan here in this neck of the country. All of our resources have to go to other parts of Canada to see that their status of cosmopolitan is sustained. Resources have been leaving this province hand over fist for 57 years now to maintain the cosmopolitan status of provinces like Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and lately Manitoba. As a result those provinces have become cosmopolitan at Newfoundland and Labrador's expense. In order to become cosmopolitan, a place has to have industries that create work to offer to attract people from all over the world.

    If we can keep our resources and develop them here thus creating jobs here, and then is when we will have a cosmopolitan society. A cosmopolitan society is created out of a place with so many jobs that the native population is unable to satisfy the demand. Thus workers have to be brought in from other areas of the country and the world. Ottawa has paid the way of many immigrants to this country to obtain work in the provinces mentioned, of course, at taxpayers expense. I only wish we could create more jobs here, I would love to have some of those immigrants and then have the pleasure of living in a cosmopolitan society.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I love the comment, "since when has success been dependent on place"

    I'd love to see you start a Tim Horton's in the Antartic and see how many customers you get. Have you ever heard the saying "Location, location, location"? It's not that success is totally dependent on place but it is definately a major factor and to deny that you'd have to be an idiot.

    ReplyDelete
  25. At the same time, it should be acknowledged that federal transfers
    to this province, both to persons and the provincial government, are large and, on a percapita
    basis, are among the highest across the provinces.


    Similarly, in British Columbia, the share of federal employment has not changed significantly (0.2%) over time but that province has gained an additional 2% of the national population over that same period; hence, the employment-population differential has been steadily increasing there.

    The remaining provinces, namely, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Ontario and Manitoba, all have a greater share than they do of the national population.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Dense one, first the jobs are created by having our fish, oil, minerals and hydroelectricity work for us in NL, not Quebec or Ontario, if the native population is not large enough to fill all of the jobs, then you import the people to fill the remainder of the jobs, then you build places like Tim Hortons. Dense one we do not have our resources working here for us in rural parts of this province, so how can we build coffee shops when there is nobody to patronize those business. Use you brain if you have one. The gist of our conversation is first we have to get our resources working for us, then we build the infrastructure and whatever other businesses that are needed. That is the way Ontario, Quebec, Alberta and every other province and every other country did it.

    ReplyDelete
  27. WJM do you realize the monies that are going into Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, etc. because the resources of NL go to those provinces, in turn Ottawa gets taxes from those Corporations that are existing because of those NL resources. Corporations pay Ottawa billions of dollars each year. Those Corporations are not working out of NL so we do not get the credit, but the provinces which are the beneficiaries of those Corporations get the credits instead. Ottawa has control of the quotas of fish in our off shore waters. Don't tell me WJM that Ottawa hasn't used those quotas to build international trade and foreign affairs clout. Then the airspace over this province has brought billions to the coffers of Ottawa through NavCanada, of which, not one cent has come back to this province. Ottawa has an 8 per cent stake in our oil fields, which it is getting rich on. So anything Ottawa pays this province, it is as a result of what comes out of the province. Everything is done in a indirect way here and accounting is skewed. Please do not be so elementary in your thinking.

    ReplyDelete
  28. And lo, Newfoundlanders and Labradorians led all the rest


    Cross Examination by Averill Baker
    The Charter
    The last line in the poem Abou Ben Adam reads, “And Lo Ben Adam’s name led all the rest.” Amen.
    Figures were released three weeks ago identifying the provinces that contribute the most to the Canadian economy in exports to foreign countries and lo Newfoundlanders and Labradorians led all the rest – again. But, this time, it’s in spades, as the gamblers say, with the one-eyed-jack-of-diamonds-and-the-devil-close-behind way.
    Newfoundlanders and Labradorians now contribute more to the Canadian economy per capita than any other Canadians to such a remarkable degree that it makes one feel sympathy toward Canadians from other provinces.
    Other Canadians who look at these recent figures must feel embarrassed that Newfoundlanders are, in economic terms, contributing so much more than they are to the Canadian economy.
    Canadians in Ontario and Alberta must feel like they’re on unemployment insurance with Newfoundlanders paying the bill. Quebecers and Maritimers must feel they are on welfare with Newfoundlanders paying the bill.
    In economic terms each Newfoundlander is now worth four Canadians from other provinces.
    It’s becoming embarrassing.
    And what is just as embarrassing is that historically, since 1949, this province, on average, on a per capita basis, has led all other Canadians in contributions to the Canadian economy.
    Of course, the billion dollars of power that we export indirectly to the United States shows up as Quebec’s power on the official figures. That’s one billion dollars of exports that must be taken from the Quebec column and counted as coming from this province.

    Oh yeah, says the economist, we lead every other province on a per person basis with just over a half a million people - of course Newfoundlanders and Labradorians lead the rest of Canada. Also we have always exported practically everything we produce - wood, pulp and paper, minerals, fish, and now oil. That is why we have always contributed more to the Canadian economy than any other Canadians on a per capita basis.
    And that is why some people sometimes suggest that we would have been better off had we not joined Canada or if we were today to separate from Canada. On the economic yardstick this province is in a far better position to separate and print its own money – just like we did prior to joining Canada.
    The Export Development Corporation in releasing its figures last month claimed that this province is now exporting about $4 billion of crude oil to the United States. It points out that Statistics Canada figures, used by the provincial government, are incorrect.
    Those incorrect figures, used by provincial governments and Ottawa, show that most of our exports of crude oil are going to other Canadian provinces for refining. The Export Development Corporation claims in their end of July report that in fact most of our crude is being shipped to the United States for refining and not to Canadian refineries. I believe the Export Development Corporation.
    Together with the power through Quebec, these adjustments are necessary to get to the truth about our exports to foreign nations.
    Some of our offshore crude and all of Voisey’s Bay nickel are shipped within Canada for processing and cannot be counted in values of exports. Voisey’s Bay nickel and Duck Pond copper and zinc, and iron ore, will lead exports of minerals next year. Where is Duck Pond you might ask? It’s around Trout Pond, which is next to a smaller pond called Goose Pond.
    The Newfoundland separatist makes a valid point in saying that if we were not a part of Canada all of our exports would be to foreign nations.
    Then look at the fantastic economic position we would be in.
    Maybe Major Peter Cashin and Malcolm Hollett were right in 1948.
    The only thing missing today is the quality of politician we had years ago - from the records of the National Convention and Hansard, quality politicians like Peter Cashin, Malcolm Hollett, Gordon Bradley, Joey Smallwood, James Chaulker, Dr. Jim McGrath, Dr. Fred Rowe, Bill Rowe, Charlie Ballam, C. Max Lane, Ed Roberts, John Crosbie, James McGrath, Clyde Wells, Nathaniel Noel, Bill Marshall, Dr. Noel Murphy, Ambrose Peddle, Jack Pickersgill, Dr. Frecker, Tom Hickey, John Lundrigan, Jim Morgan etc. etc.
    Yes, today we do have some outstanding politicians, like Danny Williams, but they are like hen’s teeth – they’re hard to find.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Great article and diagnoses of our problem Myles.

    ReplyDelete
  30. I've heard it referred to as battered wife syndrome.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Everything in life needs order. It is no different for a province to have an orderly economy. The time has come to lay down that orderly economy right now. But it takes a little bit of ingenuity to do it. We must start off now with the next resource to be developed and that resource should be done in an orderly fashion. I believe it is the Lower Churchill Hydroelectric Project that is destined to come on stream in a few short years. That resource should be developed with one portion of our province in mind, the portion that has the adjacency, Labrador. Industries when hungry for fuel to operate their manufacturing plants, if they can't get it in the area they are presently operating will move their headquarters to where it can be found, or its simple, they will die where they are for the lack of nutrients. If you live by the sword you die by the sword. The Nutrient in this case is the hydroelectric power which is needed to fuel industry. So the Lower Churchill Hydroelectric energy should not be piped through a corridor in a westerly direction, but instead should stay right where it is and be piped through Labrador to run industry there. Don't feed us a line that industry won't move north, industry is already operating in every Northern town in the World.

    We also need to figure out what we are going to do with our oil resource. We need engineers on our side deciphering where one oil reserves starts and it ends, if we leave it up to those corrupt oil companies, they will tell us that there is only one basin of oil out there and it will be already under the contract that is already negotiated. We have to negotiate a better deal on that resource. And, of course, the fish resource needs to be renogotiated with Ottawa. It is Newfoundlanders and Labradorians who have to lay down the guide lines, not somebody else,who will do it for us on their terms for their benefit. They are our resources and we will do what we please with them to create percolating economies here.

    If we want an orderly market economy, we are the ones who have to engineer that for our future. Please Newfoundland and Labrador politicians don't wait for somebody else, from some other province or some other part of the World dictate to us; we have to orchestrate that order here if we want to create economies here. We have to wake up to that stark reality. Let us do it now.

    It is quite obvious that we will never be a cosmopolitan society, of which some people above accuse us of not being, if we don't get our resources percolating for us to create the jobs required to get that cosmopolitan society on the go. Let us do it now. I can't wait.

    ReplyDelete
  32. Personally I think we are beating a dead horse in trying to get canadian companies to situate in NL because they will want to build on what they have already established in central canada.

    IMO our best bet would be to look for foreign international investors who would want to benefit from our resources by developing secondary processing in our province to the most economical level before shipping throughout the world.

    Canada, Quebec, and the Maritimes didn't want us to join in 49 and always were our competitors even today. They don't want NL to prosper because that would mean losses for them.

    It is time to cast of the bonds of colonialism and look outside the federation for capital investment and economic development.

    Our natural trading partners by geography and access to markets are the EU and the Eastern seaboard of the USA Boston and New York.

    ReplyDelete
  33. You are right in that they will want to build on to what they have already estalished in Central Canada, but it will be up to the government of Newfoundland Labrador whether or not we give up our resource to allow that to happen, especially if they are depending on a resource like Lower Churchill Hydroelectric Energy to do so. We can say now Mr. Industry it is Labrador's turn, Labrador has that clean source of energy, Labrador needs industries to locate there, so if you want our energy, you must locate here. We are in the driver's seat in this case. I know there are other sources of energy out there but they are either very dirty/polluting or dangerous. If oil or coal are used you have much more carbon dioxide pollution being spewed into the atmosphere than with Hydroelectric Energy, and if you use nuclear, then you have danger. You know the countries of World have already been cautioned that they have to cut back on polution; and I am sure a lot of us can remember the Three Mile Island nuclear explosion in 1979/80. That is very freightening to think of.

    ReplyDelete
  34. I really wish you Anon's would sign on with a screen name. It's hard to have a conversation with you the way it is. I agree with the last few points. We need a structured well-planned economy.

    Also, you want action? Don't plead to politicians in some obscure blog. If you want action check out the Newfoundland and LAbrador Defense League - WWW.NLDL.ORG

    ReplyDelete
  35. So you guys have an explosvies expert yet?

    ReplyDelete
  36. I would like to refer you to a story on Petro-Canada in today’s edition of the Globe and Mail titled Primping the pump Page B4 Report on Business

    It is an interesting story, I am including below a paragraph in that story.

    One paragraph read "It has been an ignominious slide that culminated in the embarrassing and abrupt shutdown of four-year-old Terra Nova earlier this year. The overhaul cost $225-million, never mind the revenue lost because no oil was pumped for six months while crude prices were at record highs. When crude prices were at record highs. When Terra Nova was built in the late 1990s, Petro-Can skimped on perceived extras, such as enough beds to house well-staffed crews to carefully monitor and maintain the facility. Petro Can critics would argue this is proof of a flaw in the firm's DNA--a failure to deal in details--but others say it is more reflective of a time when oil prices were low and keeping construction costs down was vital."

    ReplyDelete
  37. Explosives Expert position has been filled but we're still looking for a couple of good Layabouts and we have an opening for an Armchair Critic - why don't you submit your application?

    ReplyDelete
  38. What about firearms or organized crime dealings?

    ReplyDelete
  39. We leave that to the Liberals and Conservatives - too much competition.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Too bad, I know the civilty of the organization is a facade, so if you guys need a few good men I can mention a few people.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Not sure what you mean there. Feel free to elaborate.

    ReplyDelete
  42. You guys are a bunch of IRA wannabes, just be prepared to have a few Ulster wannbes coming your way. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  43. Why should anyone have to resort to violence in a democracy to affect change? A democracy by it's very nature is supposed to representative of the people.

    The problem is our democracy has no equal representation for the different provinces.

    The only equality the provinces have with Ontario and Quebec is to get out and that is just wrong and is a recipe for destruction.

    While QC has equality in the Senate with 24 senators it is all but useless due to it not being a E³ Equal, Elected, and Effective senate.

    Quebec also has equality in representation of it's morals, ethics, and values on the supreme court of canada with 3 judges from QC 3 from ON 2 from the west and 1 from Atlantic canada. Of which NL has never had a supreme court judge in it's 57 years in this phony democratic federation.

    No equality in the HOC On with 106, QC with 75, out of 308 thats 181 out of 308 almost 2/3's of the entire electable power in canada. You wonder why people keep referring to NL as a colony with less than 2% say in the affairs of the country. A country which controls NL's resources fishery, seal hunt, off shore oil and gas. OTT has to do whats in the best interest of the coutry by default that means on/qc even if it is to the detriment of the province which relies on that resource. That is why one of the founding principles of this federation was that resources were to be the sole responsibility of the proivinces to give them autonomy and to remove any conflict of interest OTT would have in having to do what is in the best interest of the majority of canadians not necessarily the minority which are dependant on those resources.

    So the question remains how do you change a systemically flawed democracy ? In a Democracy by it's very nature of having a say by way of a vote per person and having a choice of parties to choose from Hope springs eternal. But what if your democracy is systemically flawed in favor of certain regions over others where is the hope in that. There is no hope because the majority will never relinquish it' hold on power willingly. We've seen this with the Meech Lake accord and Charlottetown.

    Hope springs eternal in this democracy is more like Eternal damnation unless some form of equal representation for the provinces is established.

    Everyone knows the federation needs to change but the powers that be a caught up in the systemically flawd system and are forced to work within it by pandering to ON/QC because without ON/QC you can't get elected.

    In the words of Joey Smallwood the first priority of a politician is to get elected and the second priority is to get re-elected.

    So the question remains how do you change a systemically flawed democracy?
    It can't be done from within the system because it is the system that needs to be changed.

    IMO the only way this systemically flawed democracy will change is if a majority of the voters don't support it and in that way it is no longer a democracy representative of the people and has to change.

    How do people not support a systemically flawed democracy in the hope that it will change?
    Don't vote or spoil your ballot.

    Tommy douglas realized the flaws in our democracy a long time ago which is why he used the example Mouseland to try and explain to the masses the flaws in our democracy. While his plea was meant more to foster support for the NDP I would take it one further and highlight his fable to highlight why people need to not vote or spoil their ballot to affect change in our democracy due to the systemically flawed nature of it.
    http://www.saskndp.com/history/mouseland.html

    If that wasn't enough to convince you not to vote think of the phrase Toe the Party line. This phrase by the very makeup of the HOC means the party line is drawn by the majority of MP's and that would mean ON/QC draw the party line which all of the other lesser provincial MP's are expected to toe.
    Recent examples being Efford now Hearn and no matter who we send next it will be the same they will be forced to toe the party line and OTT will be forced to do what is in the best interest of the majority of canadians ON/QC.

    I've racked my brains for ways to cvhange this systemically flawed democracy we are apart of and the best and only peacefull way to do this is to not vote or spoil your ballot. The only other options are to get out either peacefully or if need be through violence. But violence shouldn' be required in a democratic federation right, unless OTT continues to do like it has done in the past through such things as sponsorship pandering to buying off with Equalization and such interferring ways so that the PM a the time doesn't go down in history as the PM who allowed the federation to break apart.

    OTT interferring with provincial affairs amounts to interferring in a soveriegn nations affairs and would and should be frown upon not only by canadians but by the world. canada has a poor track record on this front.

    They supported and funded Joey Smallwoods campaign to have NL join canada. The Federal Liberal party is paying for the NL prov LIB parties offices. My guess would be to oust Danny Williams because he is standing up for this province unlike alot of the previous Premiers who were compromised through just such tactics.

    As for the NLDL.org of which I am a proud member. It is stated right in our doctrine no violence of any sort will be tolerated. To this end every member has to come forth with their personal information so that if something violent is done in the name of the NLDL we will have a list of our members contact info. This contact info is kept secret if a member so request and he or she is only known by their alias but you won't be allowed membership if you don't give up your contct info. This info is kept in the strictest of confidence amongst the Exec of the NLDL.

    canada isn't a country per say it is a federation of provinces and territories. Until the establishment realizes this and changes towards equal representation in some shape or form it will never become great and is doomed to failure.

    Past PM's have done what they have done more to protect their own legacy that to protect the country. They keep patching the symptoms when the real problem which is the system goes unchanged hence the self fullfilling prophecy that canada is doomed to failure and will never reach it's full potential until it does change or tears itself apart.

    The goal of the NLDL.org isn't to tear the coutry apart but rather to fix what is a systemically flawed democracy and help make canada be all that it can be.

    ReplyDelete
  44. The tearing apart portion comes in passive aggressive undertones. If the pan-canuck benevolence truly existed in your organization why is your emblem marked by that PWG nonsense instead of the Pratt flag? Dude every provincial flag got a facelift post-1965 so its not like any other provincial flag (save Quebec’s) really draws on any legacy other than that of a letterhead.

    ReplyDelete
  45. And the Psychological Warfare continues.

    ReplyDelete
  46. The PWG is important. I've read Pratt's account of how he came to design the flag - he hadn't jumped on it and in the end he was simply commissioned to do so (they just gave him the job and the brief). The fact that it factors in some nod to Canada doesn't mean much when the powers that be in Canada have neglected their responsibilities to Newfoundland and Labrador and neglected to manage NL's resources so that this province is the primary beneficiary. The only anti-Canadian sentiments I have are based in the fact that Newfoundland and Labrador have had their resources and dignity plundered since Confederation - if this were to stop perhaps we cou;d be Canadians that exist on par with our fellow citizens. For the moment we remain poor cousins. If things were righted through a redesign of the Confederation perhaps it could work but I'd rather that when I go to vote my vote actually count. For the moment it's a waste of paper - Quebec and Ontario have already taken care of all the decisions. In the meantime we need a flag that speaks for us and owes no debt to a colonial power.

    I can't figure it out - 12% of the population gone in 15 years, the fisheries destroyed, an uncooperative Federal government that doesn't want maximum returns on the oil industry. Someone explain to me how anyone in this province actually feels more loyal to Ottawa than to Newfoundland and Labrador. I read a comment somewhere a while back where someone said before Confederation his father used a bucket instead of a toilet and that was why he was committed to Canada - at the rate we're going no one's going to be around to take a dump in a few years. The place is dying and some of you angrily insist that the doctor stay away. How on earth can any Newfoundlander or Labradorian remain faithful to such a false and badly constructed federation?

    ReplyDelete
  47. Because it serves some of us fine and our own ambitions trump federal gerrymandering and osmosis. It's a particular group of people in the province that is resentful; do you think someone in the East End of St. John's shares your sentiments?

    To some of us this is just Canada's Wisconsin, a mundane middle of the road area that’s a decent place to get your start and then move out into the world. Our success is our success alone; we don't need to internalize some cult of place to vindicate ourselves.

    Look at it this way:

    -My Aunt is an associate professor at UCSD

    -My Great Grandfather played for the Argos.

    -I have an uncle whom works for the UNDHR

    -My Grandfather played a major in the founding of MUN engineering


    I really don't see any force which prevents our pursuit of happiness; it's in your head. Or do you feel that you’ll be lynched in Scarborough? Or have to use a separate water fountain?

    Having the perspective of living everywhere from parts of South America to Amsterdam I've began to see how a rapidly connecting and exchanging world could bare to put up such archaic and regressive barriers, that time is past and had done more harm than good.

    Your grievances are your own and you’re alone. That goes for everyone.

    ReplyDelete
  48. It is in your head, because it appears to me that your were handed everything on a silver platter. Pardon me but I am deducing that from what you just wrote in your thread. Your thread reeks of arrogance and power. Your family were probably part of the business establishment here, probably a fish merchant, who kept everyone enslaved to your family business. Then when Confederation came into being, no doubt, your family probably became part of the Ottawa fish merchant, by becoming part of the government of Canada. We had a number of those crooks here before Confederation who switched allegiance after Confederation. These same people screwed us royally over the past 57 years. by dealing out our resources in such a way that very few people in Newfoundland and Labrador benefitted in any way. They only every cared about themselves and nobody else.

    Can't you see that with all the resources we had in Newfoundland and Labrador, not one of those resources got dealt out in such a way that it created a prosperous meaningful industry here. That wasn't PER CHANCE that was by DESIGN.

    ReplyDelete
  49. Actually one half of my family came from a village outside Kiev and the other is a pulp and paper mill family from Grand Falls Windsor.

    ReplyDelete
  50. As can be seen with the above lads post, you all seem to have a very narrow view of the provincial narrtive.

    ReplyDelete
  51. MTPEARLIGAN

    I didn't say I was committed to Canada because I could remember my ol man taking a dump in a pail. I am committed to Canada because I have been around and have seen how those who really, actually do not have a pot to piss in live and I am able to remember what it use to be like before Canadians invested their money here. Even before NL made any significant contribution to the country.

    I just don't think separation is do-able. Neither is simply whining about your lot. NL-expat makes some very strong arguments for change from within the dominion. This is do-able but not tomorrow or within the next 5 years, maybe 10-15 years, probably closer to 20-25 years. The make-up of the country is changing, it is exciting times. The power that ex-pat refers to is shifting westward and this will end up being a good thing for Atlantic Canada since the west also wants to see a de-centralized Ottawa.

    If you really think separation is do-able provide the numbers. Show how a population of 500,000 can handle a curent debt of 12 billion, and the day after separation take on its share of the federal debt and provide all the services that currently keep all the wheels on the bus greased. Try telling all the nurses, teachers, doctors and other public works that they will have to wait about 12-18 months to get paid, if even then. Me thinks some western jurisdections would fill up their health and education vacant job seats pretty quick. If I can see this do you not think that some beauracrat in Ottawa hasn't figured it out as well?

    Did you know that there is a story making the national wire tonight outside of the federal Liberal and Alberta Tory leadership races? That story is about the premier of NL. What is it about? Why it is about our dear leader threatening to go cross country to inform everyone that PMSH promised more equalization money to NL and that he better not try to change it although nothing has been announced yet either way.

    Sit back and consider what I just wrote. On a night when the national pundits are frantically writing about the natural governing party and their first step in reclaiming the throne and about the next preimier of the wealthiest province, currently, in this great land of ours, there is a story about Danny Williams and NL.

    Not about informing Canadians aboutnthe federal 8.5% ownership in the offshore, no mention of fallow field or a national power corridor or custodial management, nor about foreign overfishing. No the story is about Danny wanting to be heard that NL wants even more money from Ottawa. And some wonder why so many in our country have a predisposition when it comes to NL.

    Edgar

    ReplyDelete
  52. Anon I am elated that you are contented,as no doubt you have found great working conditions in Grand Falls as so have many others have. Grand Falls was one of the very few lucky towns in this province.

    What you have blissfully experienced is not what every Labradorian and Newfoundlander has experienced.

    Ottawa has to take another look and at how things are percolating here in this province and come to the conclusion that things are NOT up to the National Standard and far from it given the output of resources.

    Thanks for given me the privilege of responding to your particular situation.

    ReplyDelete
  53. Edgar, I have two points of contention:

    A) I DID NOT advocate separation in any way. Don't put words into my mouth. My point is and was that the Canadian federation is nothing more than a lopsided business arrangement. It's that simple. What's frustrating is that some people don't even want to renegotiate - at all.

    B) Newfoundland couldn't survive without Canada BUT it CAN Survive within Canada? Explain this Edgar. I mean, why don't you go ahead and highlight the wonderful success this place has experienced over the past 60 years - the welfare state mentality we've adopted, the total destruction of a traditional lifestyle and industry. Oh Canada! If you say we can't survive without Canada you're also saying we can't survive within Canada -we're not fit to do much more than collect a check and lay back while the process of demolishing this province continues. Don't forget - we have to deal with our provincial debt no matter what but the federal debt is also on our backs either way. There's not much difference.

    Edgar - you're a Federalist. Fine. I respect that but I want to know what answers you have that don't involve waiting for more Western Canadian influence in 25 years time.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Your vision of a cure is ultimately mean spirited and for a lack of a better word, evil.

    ReplyDelete
  55. What's my vision of a cure Anonymous? How is it mean spirited or evil? Because I look at the Canadian federation as something that is flexible and needs to be altered (not necessarily broken up) is that evil? A better question is - and this is where I find you comments laughable - is the Canadian state a divine one? Is this Heaven itself? I'm a Christian and I don't see anything so innately Good about Canada (you're joking right?) that to not be 110% pro-Canada one is therefore Evil. There's a Newfoundland saying that I think is very appropriate in this case - Cut the Bullshit.

    Is everything alright with Newfoundland and Labrador? Perhaps you think so - if so I don't know why you frequent blogs such as this. State your case - Is NL doing just fine and if not what is there to be done?

    ReplyDelete
  56. How are you doing?

    ReplyDelete
  57. Mt. Pearligan your vision is not evil, it is a point of view that is long overdue. For someone to think that the Canadian Federation doesn't need to be changed, so as to reflect more parity for the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, is a much more evil point of view. Thanks Mt. Pearligan for expressing it.

    ReplyDelete
  58. Pearligan I'm certain your fearless leader has given you the perfect catch all ad hominem to quell descent. I suggest you use it.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Canada was born in the age of mechanical representation, it is a bubble of stability and order that we need find the zen to revel in. Our art and culture has reflected that bubble, when there is no passion and no pressing threat to our well being the greatest hing we can do is observe and document that bubble.

    There are those however who would deny us that privilage and will not stop until all that is left is the din of there own selfish piety and satisfaction. We call him Mal-kat the denyer and his carcass must be festooned upon the alter our nation and set ablaze so that we can see it's true face, that evil which threatens to consume us. So that our true orgins, our true mythology and identity can be revealed as those who were the architects and inhabitence of this order that we can exist in any part of it's continum and find happiness.

    We will fight for the future and destroy the usurpers, whether they be Alinated Westerners ,Quebec Spertists or Newfoundland Nationalists.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Now that's pagentry!

    ReplyDelete
  61. WTF was that coming from the second to last Anon?!?Pagentry is right.

    ReplyDelete
  62. ad hominem definition: Appealing to personal considerations rather than to logic or reason:

    I think Mt. Pearligan is appealing to you, the rest of Canadians and the government in Ottawa to have the lop-sidedness that Ottawa deals and treats different provinces come to an end. Mt. Pearligan wants this type of lop sided treatment to be fixed once and for all, so that we can get on with our lives here in Newfoundland and Labrador by enjoying the fruits of our resources by being rewarded with jobs from a bouyant economy. No different than what Alberta, Ontario and British Columbia are enjoying. And he is acting in a very logical and reasonable manner in doing so. I don't understand your reasoning Anon in not wanting this to happen. What do you have against the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. Is it your province is the beneficiary of most of our resources, and you are one of the people who is making a good living because of that and you do not want to see it end? Are you running scared because we here in this province are demanding that it stop? What is your problem? Or are you evil?

    ReplyDelete
  63. Time 4:37 p.m Mt. Pearligan your vision is not evil, AND 5:13 p.m ad hominem definition: Appealing to personal considerations rather than to logic or reason:

    I think Mt. Pearligan is appealing to you, the rest of Canadians and the government

    Both those times associated with Anon is Me. I agree with you TOTALLY, you and I are fighting for the same good life right here in Newfoundland and Labrador. We both want a living earned from our resources to be had right here in this beautiful province. Amen

    ReplyDelete
  64. Acutally Anon 5:13 I live in St. John's and I'm calling it evil.

    You assume to much.

    ReplyDelete
  65. Expat you forgot to mention the definition of insanity.

    "to keep doing the same thing over and over and expect a different result"

    Paraphrased from Bill Rowe I think it was.

    ReplyDelete
  66. I assume nothing . If you are not concurring with those of us who want Newfoundland and Labrador to be the primary beneficiary of its resources and to start forging economies here, then you are not thinking properly.

    ReplyDelete
  67. I think for myself and I think any reasonable human being does that same in the long run.

    You know why Inco is compensating that didn't get the refinery, because you know god forbid someone should have to ravel to town x-y-z and not have there ass pitched in the same area, it's the same fractious mentality that dictates all industry here and it's now playing on a national level, if you can't find happiness on your own terms and not as part of a geographic cult of personality then I feel sorry for you.

    ReplyDelete
  68. No province has to give away its resources without that province being the primary beneficiary. Let it stay in the ground or the sea before we do that.

    When one takes on the mentality that you are expressing in your thread above, that person is conning all of us out our resources. It is the type of person with the mentality you expressed above, who will give everything away, but not before filling his/her pockets, but not the pockets of the masses? This is a very dangerous practice.

    By the way I am not looking for happiness from a geographic cult of personality, I am looking for happiness from having a good job, that has been created from our resources and living in an area in my province where there are at least some family members. Most people would like to have jobs in their home province, especially when there are resources here. I might add resources that have been exported to give other provinces economies for far too long. Family is a very important entity in anybody's life, and there is nothing wrong with having some family members within a day's driving distance.

    According to your way of thinking, we have to pass over the rights to our resources to others, and say Thank You very much Sir for taking our resources, we will catch the next plane and work those resources in your province, not ours. What gives you the idea that is what we have to do? Are you one of those people who are lobbying on behalf of our resources for some entity in some other province to acquire our resources, or are you just plain STUN? I do hope you are not a politician or never become one. Some people's ideologies scare me half to death.

    ReplyDelete
  69. Your all missing the point of Patriots post.

    NL has the highest hunger rate, Highest unemployment, highest outmigration, Lowest income of the entire country.

    Read the report.
    http://www.cafb-acba.ca/documents/HungerCount_2006_EN_WEB.pdf

    look at the stats.
    http://www.communityaccounts.ca/communityaccounts/onlinedata/default.htm

    Read the Royal Commission.
    http://www.exec.gov.nl.ca/royalcomm/
    Or an abbreviated version I did.
    http://nl-outsidethebox.blogspot.com/2005/09/open-wide-spoon-feeding-royal.html

    How the federallies can justify comparing NL to PEI when it comes to D-Equalization is beyond me. NL is three times the size of the three maritime provinces combined. Our continental shelf is the size of the three prairie provinces combined yet we go hungry and without work.

    And were supposed to be thank-full to canada. Thank-Full for what? The opportunity to move to other parts of canada please.

    ReplyDelete
  70. Of which NL has never had a supreme court judge in it's 57 years in this phony democratic federation.

    There are states which have been states in the United States for far longer than 57 years, which have also never had a supreme court justice.

    Is the U.S. a "phony democratic federation"?

    Could you identify a non-phony one for us, by your standards?

    ReplyDelete
  71. WJM do you realize the monies that are going into Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, etc. because the resources of NL go to those provinces, in turn Ottawa gets taxes from those Corporations that are existing because of those NL resources.

    Which corporations?

    Which resources? Who has jurisdiction over those resources?

    Does the province get NOTHING by being part of Confederation? Not one red cent comes in?

    Don't tell me WJM that Ottawa hasn't used those quotas to build international trade and foreign affairs clout.

    Which quotas?

    To build trade with which countries?

    When?

    Then the airspace over this province has brought billions to the coffers of Ottawa through NavCanada,

    Billions?

    HOW LONG HAS NAVCANADA EVEN EXISTED?

    of which, not one cent has come back to this province.

    Nor does the province have to pay one red cent to administer civil aviation.

    Ottawa has an 8 per cent stake in our oil fields,

    Which it bought. The provincial government didn't.

    which it is getting rich on.

    Rich?

    How much of the annual revenues of the government of Canada does it account for?

    So anything Ottawa pays this province, it is as a result of what comes out of the province.

    Up to the point where the "anything" that "Ottawa" pays in exceeds that which is paid out.

    Which it does.

    Please do not be so elementary in your thinking.

    Please take your own advice. Stop looking at only one side of the balance sheet like the separatists in St. John's do.

    ReplyDelete
  72. Can't you see that with all the resources we had in Newfoundland and Labrador, not one of those resources got dealt out in such a way that it created a prosperous meaningful industry here. That wasn't PER CHANCE that was by DESIGN.

    Given that the vast majority of those resources are under PROVINCIAL jurisdiction, whose design was that?

    I would argue that the presence of all those natural resources has, for the better part of a century, inhibited economic growth. Too many people put too much faith in too many "El Dorados" too far into the future, to bother working and living for today. There have been too many "announcement that will blow your minds" as Peckford used to say. Why bother being entrepreneurial when there's a megaproject always supposedly around the corner, always being dangled like a sweet carrot by the demagogue du jour, that will provide 2000, 3000, 5000, TEN THOUSAND JOBS!

    At least during two or three years of construction.

    ReplyDelete
  73. According to the Gospel of WJM Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, none of your province's resources belong to you, you have no right to be there in NL in the first place, since Ottawa has jurisdiction over all of your land, your resources and everything you say and do, so now be good little boys and girls Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and, pull up stake and march your derrières off to some Western locale, anywhere from Nova Scotia to British Columbia. Now listen you good little boys and girls, since those resources have already being captured by Ottawa they will not be developed for you. And please whatever you do, DO NOT question Ottawa on why it so badly entangled and enmeshed your resources in the Free Trade Movement.

    ReplyDelete
  74. If one wants to learn about the non-transparent methods used by Ottawa in its daily running of Canada, just go to the sites of some of the Government Watchdog Agencies. Transparency International downgraded Canada twice in the past 5 years. Make no wonder that we are in the state we are in Newfoundland and Labrador with the type of governance being practiced, and the way things have to be done in Canada so that there can be some sort of orderly running of industry for the heartland. Alberta and the other provinces have caught on to some extent, but not Newfoundland and Labrador. When are our politicians going to do something about this?

    ReplyDelete
  75. WJM for dummies:Most comments here allude to passive agressive shadow forces which are vaguely identified and whom always assume bad faith and/or malice.

    ReplyDelete
  76. What a pathetic bunch of useless, ignorant, unemployed whiners you are.

    Do the rest of us a favor. Take a walk into the ocean and never look back.

    ReplyDelete
  77. God Bless the Blogosphere!

    ReplyDelete
  78. in fact canada is the only democracy that does not have equality of representation in it's upper houses in one form or another.

    ReplyDelete
  79. The blogger who made the following comment: What a pathetic bunch of useless, ignorant, unemployed whiners you are.

    Do the rest of us a favor. Take a walk into the ocean and never look back.

    You my colleague poster are the whiner and you should take the walk into the ocean and never look back. Why are you keeping a province with so many resources in a backward state, with no economies and as a result no jobs to keep our people employed?

    We are a people who are stating our dismay about Canada on this blog and how terribly matters are structured here. Imagine a province on the eastern periphery of Canada, well endowed with resources, then having to accept the treatment Canada is doling out to us, by having all of our resources and our people captured for the use of every place west of us. It is a pathetic state of affairs and you are adding to the misery created in Newfoundland and Labrador. In the meantime you might be one of us, who are one of the very few who are getting your pockets filled by aiding and abetting the giveaways.

    ReplyDelete
  80. Guys your rebuttles are asinine, is there any other model we can think of other than "no you're XYZ and you should XYZ , blah blah you're a self serving bastard" surely there's a better model of discourse than Anon 10:20

    ReplyDelete
  81. Anon of December 07, 2006 10:36

    Why aren't you offended with the Anon of December 07, 2006 12:48 AM?

    My rebuttal was in disgust to this awful comment. We have had enough of of those "Charles Lynch" type comments thrown at us".


    If you read the second part of my thread, I explained the reason I rebutted the statement made the way I did.

    If I offended anyone, I am sorry, but I couldn't have offended the Anon who wrote the thread of December 07, 2006 12:48 AM to whom I responded in the first place. I am completely amazed that you didn't find that person's statement totally uncalled for and dangerous stereotyping. It was a freightenly racist and bigoted statement. I am wondering about your logics? If this was written about any other type of nationality, race, religious group, there would be pandemonium.

    I would like a response from you as to why you would tolerate the first thread of December 07, 2006 12:48 A.M. but you are offended by mine. It is a funny way of thinking, I will deduce that you are also a bigot. Until I hear further, that will be my deducement.

    Besides Anon December 07, 2006 12:48 AM please write a response for me to show me the way you would have done things differently.

    People of all races and nationalities do not tolerate such things in a democratic soceity. And why should Newfoundlanders and Labradorians accept such racist and bigoted commentary?

    ReplyDelete
  82. Booo-hooo, waaaah, waaaaah!!!

    Myles, you have lots to say, but very few actual facts to back anything up.

    I'm not denying that hunger exists here but it exists everywhere in Canada and that is a crime.
    It's well known that they base the numbers on how often the Food Banks are used and it's also well known that NL'ers are accomplished Food Bank hoppers. I know of many people in St John's who go from one place to another and get all they can. I don't like it when I go out to spend $20 bucks for a small turkey and my neighbour tells me she has 3 turkeys from Food Banks.
    Newfoundland-get a monitoring system in place and for God's sake , learn to talk with some semblence of proper English grammar.

    ReplyDelete
  83. According to the Gospel of WJM Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, none of your province's resources belong to you, you have no right to be there in NL in the first place, since Ottawa has jurisdiction over all of your land, your resources and everything you say and do, so now be good little boys and girls Newfoundlanders and Labradorians and, pull up stake and march your derrières off to some Western locale, anywhere from Nova Scotia to British Columbia.

    Far from it.

    Have you ever read anything I've posted? If you had, you would learn that, contrary to Newfoundland myth, the federal government has NO jurisdiction over provincial resources like mines, forestry, and hydro.

    Boy, the education system sucks.

    ReplyDelete
  84. in fact canada is the only democracy that does not have equality of representation in it's upper houses in one form or another.

    Wrong. Right off hand, I know that the German Bundesrat does not have equal representation from all the Länder. There are probably other examples.

    And how many forms of "equality of representation" are there?

    ReplyDelete
  85. It's great to see that Ottawally (WJM),is still up to his old tricks, still asking question after useless question. Now it seems he has lot's of other worthless anon assholes joining in. We all know half of the anon posting are compliment of wally. He just can't help the verbal masturbation, it's something that's standard practice with the Ottawa types.

    What's with all the nasty anon posts. I mean really, if you think that Newfoundland and Labrador is filled with nothing but idiots, then why are you even wasting your time reading this blog. Don't you have better things to do. Like most mainlanders you have no clue at all what goes on down here but yet you think your opinion has some merit. News flash... it doesn't. So what you should do is get yourself a life, or even a personality and one for Wally if you manage to find one. At least try and I mean try really hard to maybe educate yourself on a topic before you open your mouth and spew forth that verbal drool that you call an informed opinion. I can't help but feel sorry for you anons, the human mind is such a terrible thing to waste. Please, for god's sake, try try try to be a bit more informed, do some reading, think things over, look at the pro's and con's, rationalize, at least get some facts before you think you have the slightest clue of what goes on in our little corner of the world. Stop being useless assholes, there's too many in todays world. Try to better yourself.

    ReplyDelete
  86. Well "starrigan"! It appears WJMs questions are far beyond your level of understanding anyway!His intellect really bugs you eh!!! Here's a question for you!! Why can't you answer any of WJMs questions????

    ReplyDelete
  87. Ottawa has a non - transparent way of doing business and it backs it up with operators who they supply with non-transparent answers to satisfy questions on this blog. How can we get ahead in Newfoundlandland and Labrador. It is not much different than what the Canadian Military faces in Afghanistan, when Canadian military faces the Taliban, who are willing to be martys by being suiside bombers for their cause. These people who work for Ottawa to keep things non transparent in Ottawa are the equivalent of the suiside bomber, because they are killing the economy of a province like Newfoundland and Labrador.

    A suicide bomber for the Taliban in Afghanistan is a person who will commit suicide for his/her cause.

    A suicide bomber for Canada is a bureaucrat, who will say what needs to be said to deflect the truth in what is happening.

    Conclusion Canadian Army has no chance of winning in Afghanistan and Newfoundland and Labrador politicians have no chance of winning in Canadian Parliament.

    ReplyDelete
  88. Well "Anonymous", why don't you use your real name for starters. The reason we don't answer WJM's questions is because he is a useless jerk off just like you. Not just a jerk off but spineless too, even cowardly. WJM plays a little game here, which is most obvious, I'm surprised you didn't notice. He plays debate club 101, you see what you do is just keep asking questions, mainly questions not related to the topic with the intention of bogging down any kind of real debate or opinion, what's that??? you didn't see that??? Oh well, maybe you're not as bright as you thought you were. Maybe the best thing for you to do is get together with Wally for some formal training. Maybe you'll be lucky enough to get in on one of those circle jerks they have on the hill, just save the cookie for Wally.

    ReplyDelete
  89. Starrigan there is an old adage that goes like this "you can't beat City Hall", and the same adage goes for Ottawa. When there is an unlimited amount of money to be spent by Ottawa to hire people to keep things non transparent, how can one little human being beat that? It is impossible. I can't beat them all by myself, I have a life and a family, I can do no more than I am doing. I have already spent too much of my time combatting already. There are more soldiers needed. All one can hope for is that enough people will come on side and put pressure on the Ottawa government so that it will take heed and become honest and transparent. Please do not forget Ottawa was downgraded by Transparency International twice in as many years for non transparent dealings.

    Starrigan please do not give up on rebutting WJM, since he writes what Ottawa wants him to write. He is doing his job for which he is under consignment. Also Starrigan it is quite apparent that you have fingers to put to keyboard and you can do as good a job as any of the anonynomouses who have tried to counteract him. Do not put your trust in just one little human being. It will take a host of us to counteract what comes out of Ottawa. Afterall they have to cover up their actions, so as not to go too far down in the eyes of the world. What Otttawa has done to Newfoundland and Labrador has to be exposed and it will take more than one anomymous to do so. Please keep your spirits up and do your best. Our best is all we can do. I do hope more people will learn of this blog site and try to make a difference. But we also have to confront our provincial politicians, they are not angels, since they have done quite a bit of damage as well. Thanks

    ReplyDelete

Guidelines to follow when making a comment:

1) Comment on the topic
2) Do not provide personal information on anyone,
3) Do not name anyone unless they are publicly connected with the topic
4) No personal attacks please

Due to a high volume of computer generated spam entering the comments section I have had to re-institute the comment word verification feature.