Witness to Political Suicide

With an election looming in mid October the swords are beginning to rattle and the battle is heating up to shut out the federal conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador.

After backtracking on written promises to exclude non-renewable resources from the equalization formula, walking away from a commitment to custodial management of fish stocks on the Grand Banks and the Flemish Cap, stonewalling on a promise to station a battalion at 5 Wing Goose Bay and reportedly telling Premier Danny Williams, “…I don’t need Newfoundland and Labrador in order to win…” it’s no surprise the wheels are beginning to fall off Stephen Harper’s Conservative bandwagon in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Shortly after helping to pass the budget that is estimated to have cost Newfoundland and Labrador $10 billion in resource revenues Conservative MP Norm Doyle was the first to read the writing on the wall and quickly announced that he would be retiring from politics when the next election was called. The Conservative’s other two MPs in the Province, Loyola Hearn and Fabian Manning, were not as astute in their assessment of the impact supporting the Prime Minister would have on their careers and continued in spite of a growing wave of anger against them. This week, for one of them at least, the attempt to weather a pending storm has finally come to an end.

Before the writ has even been dropped reports are beginning to surface that long time Conservative MP and Federal Fisheries Minister, Loyola Hearn, will not be seeking re-election. No doubt the reality of his situation has finally dawned on the Minister and he now realizes that by crawling into bed with Stephen Harper, at the expense of his constituents, he has written his own death warrant and, like Liberal John Efford before him, he has hurled himself onto the political dung heap of Newfoundland and Labrador history.

With two of the three Conservative incumbents in the Province no longer running and with reports of total disarray and disorganization inside the local Conservative election team the possibility of a Conservative shutout in the Province is becoming more of a possibility every day.

With Fabian Manning, who gleefully sat by Stephen Harper’s side clapping and smiling as the PM ridiculed statements that the Province had been wronged by his decision on equalization, the only incumbent running this time around things are not looking good for the Harper team. Party organizers are now admitting that they are having trouble finding anyone to run in several ridings and that they can’t find enough volunteers to run a solid campaign.

The road ahead looks pretty bleak for anyone willing to put their name forward on a Conservative ticket this time out.

The question now is whether Fabian Manning, like Doyle and Hearn before him, will opt out of the fight and simply fade into political oblivion.

My prediction is that he will not.

Fabian Manning, unlike Doyle and Hearn, is a one term MP. He doesn’t have the ability to simply retire with a fat federal pension, an option another term would afford him. As much as Manning would likely love to move out from behind the bullseye directly aimed at his career he’s caught between a rock and a hard place.

Having hitched his future to Stephen Harper’s wagon Manning has burned his bridges on the Newfoundland and Labrador political scene, undermined those who elected him to federal office and in in doing so allowed us all to witness his political suicide.

His short time in office has left Manning with no pension to fall back on, no real influence or connections inside the party and little hope that conservative insiders, either Federal or Provincial, will even return his phone calls should he decide not to run or if he loses this election bid. Not an enviable position to be in but one of his own making.

Fabian Manning’s only hope of avoiding a future that includes regular trips to the local food bank is to soldier on in the hope that by some miracle his constituents will overlook his betrayal and give him a second term. All is not lost though and there may still be one ray of hope flickering for the Manning campaign, however dim.

With the feud between Danny Williams and Stephen Harper raging and Williams’ ABC (Anyone But Conservative) campaign moving into full gear Stephen Harper will be inclined to pull out all the stops to ensure that he is not completely shut out of Newfoundland and Labrador, a situation that would allow Premier Williams to claim victory.

Winning just one riding, Manning’s, will give Harper the ability to spin the result as a clear indication that William’s ABC campaign was a failure because his party simply lost in ridings that didn’t have experienced incumbents running.

There is little doubt this strategy is already being planned inside the Conservative election machine and that all possible resources will be poured into making it happen.

With the mood in Newfoundland and Labrador these days the possibility of this tactic actually succeeding are slim but it’s about the only hope Manning or Harper have of holding onto any kind of foothold and saving face. Then again, it may just work. Who knows how much money and how many promises will be heaped on the voters of the Avalon riding in an effort to buy them off between now and polling day.

Who knows if they’ll fall for it.

Letter to Loyola Hearn

The following is a letter sent to Fisheries Minister, Loyola Hearn, earlier today.

If you wish to contact Minister Hearn directly about his apparent lack of concern or competence related to the fisheries portfolio, his email address is: hearn.l@parl.gc.ca


To: Loyola Hearn
Minister of Fisheries and Oceans

From: Myles Higgins

July 3, 2008

Minister Hearn,

After listening to your continuous self-serving statements in the past 2 years there is no longer any doubt left.

As my dear mother is wont to say, “You’re full of shellac”.

At a recent St. John’s board of trade function you had the gall to stand before those assembled and defend the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO).

In doing so you said:

“NAFO rules for prosecuting vessels that are over fishing provide the same control that most people associate with custodial management.”"We are dealing with the international community and they have rights to fish, every right. No right to over fish and that is what we have stopped. But their own countries are not putting up with the foolishness either.”

You then spoke of recently coming back from a meeting with North Atlantic fisheries ministers, and said they have not had one violation of fishery regulations this year to date.

Well, that’s great. Will your next magic trick be another vain attempt to pull the wool over the eyes of voters or to pull your head out of Stephen Harper fat ass?

The number of fishing infractions has fallen to almost zero in the last couple of years but it isn’t because the regulations you are so proud of are being enforced or because other nations are getting serious about protecting the stocks.

The reason there are less infractions is because the cost of fuel is making it less profitable to travel all the way to Newfoundland and Labrador to rape the seabed. It is also because those who make the voyage get nothing more than a nod and a wink from foriegn patrol boats belonging to their home nations. Patrol boats that you sir have turned loose on unsuspecting fish stocks, a move that was made because Canada doesn’t have the necessary budget, equipment or the will to carry the mission.

Simply put you are wrong.

Foreign nations do not have the right to fish in this area. Not in Canadian waters they don’t. Not unless you and the Canadian government give them that right and why would you do that when Canada’s fishing industry is suffering and stocks are so low?

Perhaps what you intended to say is that they have a right to fish outside the 200 mile limit? Once again you would be wrong, as wrong as a Newfoundlander in cowboy boots and a Stetson.

We all know foreign vessels are given quotas inside Canadian waters and this has to stop. In addition, if you and your PM actually enacted custodial management and utilized the United Nations Law of the Sea to extend Canada’s economic territory, as you promised to do before forming the government, Canada alone would decide who has the right to fish in that area and who doesn’t.

But you don’t want to be saddled with that responsibility do you?

Clearly you would rather oversee the destruction of fish stocks in order to appease foreign governments and enhance international trade for the manufacturing sector in Ontario and Quebec. Clearly this is more important to you than doing your job and protecting the fish off our coasts along with the jobs of Maritimers or Newfoundlanders and Labradorians alike.

You sir were elected on a platform that promised custodial management. To compare the mess that is NAFO with having full control of the Grand Banks and the Flemish Cap is an insult to the intelligence of every person who voted for you and to anyone who lives within a hundred miles of any coastline.

One of two situations clearly exists in your office today Mr. Hearn.

Either you have sold out your people and are desperately trying to convince them otherwise or you are a bigger idiot than anyone could have imagined. Either way you are a dangerous man to hold elected office and an even more dangerous one to be guarding the Atlantic fishery.

Myles Higgins

Let the Political Games Begin

With summer drawing to a close Ottawa’s elite are once again starting to drag their over stuffed bellies out from whatever rock they crawled under after the spring session.

Let the games begin!

First off the mark to play politics with the voters of Newfoundland and Labrador this season are two of our own, though few in the Province care to admit it. This week Liberal MP (and devout ultra-federalist) Todd Russell is facing off with Conservative Cabinet Minister John Eff… ah, sorry I mean Loyola Hearn.

It seems Liberal Todd is upset with Conservative Loyola because the Fisheries Minister hasn’t muddied his wing tips by paying a visit to Labrador after 18 months in office. Todd’s public ire was presented for the media wallow in this week after Loyola announced a small amount of funding for the area via video conference from Ottawa, rather than in person.

According to Todd, Loyola is neglecting the largest portion of the province by not even having the courtesy to show up and talk to the people there.

Russell seems to think this is news to the voters but I don’t think it comes as a shock to anyone that Hearn is neglecting Labrador. In fact it could easily be argued that he’s been neglecting the entire province since leaving the opposition benches for the government side of the House.

None the less Toddy boy raises a good point. Even if his concern has more to do with getting some press attention and less to do with fair treatment for Labrador, the fact remains, why would a provincial MP and cabinet minister not even bother to visit the “big land”?

Labrador is a place that has long been neglected by both the provincial and federal governments and one that’s provided untold resource riches to the Province and the entire Country.

Labrador is a place that has never asked for anything other than to have its most basic needs met, something most of us take for granted.

Could it be that since going to Ottawa Loyola has gotten so used to a pampered lifestyle the very thought of bouncing over the craters and mountain peaks that pass for a highway in Labrador is upsetting to his delicate constitution?

During an interveiw with CBC Russell noted, "They (the conservatives) promise all sorts of goodies at election time but deliver nothing after the election, and in that way I think they are very hypocritical and they've misled the people of Labrador”.

Strong words for someone representing the Liberal Party of Canada. A party renowned for making and breaking election promises like it was some sort of national pastime.

Russell’s observations about broken promises, though valid, come across more like political showmanship and pandering than anything else. Sort of like the pot and the kettle in a conversation over which is cleaner.

Loyola vollied back by saying he doesn’t want to plan a visit to Labrador until three major issues, including an announcement on the future of 5 Wing Goose Bay, have been resolved. He didn’t elaborate on what the other two issues might be.

For those not familiar with political doublespeak, let me translate the Minister’s statement for you. “The voters are ready to hang me over the Atlantic Accord and we’ve made a lot of promises to Labrador that we haven’t kept. If I show up there now I’ll be lucky to get away with just having my head handed to me on a pointy stick.”

Oddly enough Hearn went on to say he’s planning to visit Labrador this fall. A strange comment after having said he didn’t want to plan a trip to Labrador until three major issues were resolved.

Could this mean Hearn has finally accomplished something in Ottawa?

Could it mean that 5 Wing will finally get the military contingent and service role it deserves?

Could it mean Harper has finally cut a check for the millions promised to help fund improvements to the Trans Labrador Highway?

Could it be that Loyola has finally convinced Steve to dip into the public purse to help move the Lower Churchill project forward?

What could this talk of an actual visit to Labrador really mean?

Well, it could mean any of those things, or it might simply mean that Hearn, in a pathetic attempt to deflect attention from his total lack of success in Ottawa and his neglect at home, has once again put his size 8 squarely in his mouth and placed his sorry butt on the line one more time.

I know which one I’m betting on.