It's Time for a Revolution

Here’s an interesting article I found in the Gander Beacon today. Thought you folks might want to check it out.

The Future is in Our Past

Audrey Manning
The Beacon

It is time for a revolution. If we don’t stand up and be counted it will prove to all and sundry we really are too stunned to get out of our own way.

Must it be said again we have always stood by and watched our precious resources being squandered? How much longer will we be willing or unwilling participants in this game?

Let there be no mistake, the sky is going to fall. But, it is not only going to fall on Newfoundlanders, it is also going to fall on corporations that take the lifeblood from ordinary people without so much as a by your leave. If history is any indication, we are heading for hard, hard times.

Pretty soon, when we realize money can’t buy food and necessities, the penny is going to drop. Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but it’s coming. Maybe the cost of oil will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Or, maybe it will be the escalating war on terror. But it’s coming.

When ordinary people understand they are working for nothing to make a few rich they, will wake up. It is already… CONT..

Newfoundland Appoints Historian as Representative to Ottawa

Last week Newfoundland and Labrador Premier, Danny Williams, announced the appointment of historian, Dr. John FitzGerald, as the province's representative in Ottawa. According to the official announcement, the role will promote provincial issues and maintain an ongoing presence on the ground there. There are those who question the value of the liaison office saying that the 7 elected MPs and handful of senators already in the Nation’s capital are enough to do the job. I for one disagree with them and I applaud the Province’s move, although with reservations.

In my opinion the majority of MPs the Province has sent to the Hill over the years have turned out to be nothing more than Ottawa’s representatives to Newfoundland and Labrador, not the other way around. As soon as they step off the plane the provincial agenda is pushed aside in favor of internal party politics and the overall national agenda, not pushed forward by those who have been elected. The liaison office on the other hand might actually give the Province an opportunity to move its agenda forward, if those involved are up to the task at hand.

As I’ve said, I applaud the Province’s move but I wonder if Dr. FitzGerald will have the stomach to do what needs to be done in Ottawa. By all accounts FitzGerald is a good man who doesn’t carry any of the political baggage or party alliances that affect most members of the House and Senate. As a historian he is well versed in the cultural factors that play a major role in Newfoundland and Labrador life and his passion for the Province is unquestionable, but in order to be effective he will need to rub elbows with some pretty unsavory characters and I wonder if he is up to it.

Even though Premier Williams hasn’t actually said so, in reality Dr. FitzGerald’s role will be that of a lobbyist for the Province. Whether we like it or not politicians are simply the public face of government. Government’s direction and actions, more often than not, are pushed by lobby groups and bureaucrats from behind the scenes, not the politicians out front.

Ottawa is rife with lobbyists selling every agenda under the sun. The Forest industry, big tobacco, mining companies and others have had countless men or women on the ground wining and dining public officials for decades. It’s their agenda that is met most of the time, not the voter’s. Newfoundland and Labrador has learned this ugly reality and has decided to take its first baby steps into this hidden world, but you can’t go into an endeavor like this half way.

Personally I find the whole scenario sickening. That doesn’t change reality and the provincial government would be more than stupid if it didn’t take full advantage of the situation. My only hope is that Premier Williams and Dr. FitzGerald are both willing to push aside their own personal sense of decency and do what needs to be done.

The most successful lobby groups in Ottawa have deep pockets and they aren’t afraid to spread the green around. The provincial liaison will need to do the same. In Ottawa a lot more can be accomplished over a few rounds of golf or a night on the town than can happen in weeks or even months of official meetings and negotiations.

If it wants to be successful, the Province will need to ensure that the liaison office is staffed with politically savvy backroom support, in other words, people of minimal conscience. The Province has already seen the value of corporate lobbying now they need to take another page from the corporate world and start aggressively head hunting inside the most effective lobby groups already in place. Yes, these highly paid slime balls may be expensive to entice into the fold, but the knowledge and abilities they possess could be well worth the price.

Politics is a dirty business, no doubt about it. It’s sad that the Province may have to resort to playing this game but nothing else has been effective in the past 50 plus years and I don’t believe for a minute that Dr. FitzGerald will get anywhere by doing it alone. The good Dr. certainly brings with him the passion and knowledge needed to sell his agenda but unless he can make the right contacts, move in the right circles and find someone to grease the wheels for him, he’ll end up as nothing more than a lonely voice in the wilderness.

A successful recipe will require Dr. FitzGerald to put aside his personal ethics and allow himself to be supported by a nest of vipers. He will need to continue presenting the squeaky clean public image he is known for while looking the other way occasionally. Ottawa is filled with slime artists, sleaze balls, crooks and rogues and the big winners are usually those who can get the best of the worst to work for them. The way I see it, if the Province is going to delve into this nether world it needs to go all the way by ensuring that it has slimiest, sleaziest, most crooked rogues on its payroll, rather than on someone else’s.

Only if the Dr. FitzGerald can maintain plausible deniability, the province is willing to spend a few rubles and an effective shadow team can be put together will this turn out to be a successful venture, albeit a rather unpalatable one.

Canada's National Airline Abandons Newfoundland Route

On Tuesday May second, after months of discussions Air Canada announced that it will no longer continue its direct service route between St. John's, Newfoundland and London’s Heathrow airport. The Quebec based, tax payer supported airline claims that the connection is not profitable, however St. John’s airport authority president, Keith Collins, has said that the route is very lucrative.

It is rumored that complaints from passengers traveling to and from the Halifax area, who did not appreciate the stop in St. John’s, may have been a factor in the decision. In addition to this, some have speculated that intensive lobbying by Nova Scotia based interests, eyeing the potential for increased revenues from overseas supply shipments and passengers, played a major role in the decision.

Premier Danny Williams met with Air Canada management several months ago in an effort to convince them to maintain the non-stop flights and has now publicly denounced the airline for not doing so. He say’s he is very disappointed in the decision.

The move by Air Canada has come as a surprise and a disappointment to many, coming as it does at a time when the tourism industry between Newfoundland and Europe is growing fast. Over the last few years the number of Europeans flying into the area for vacation and business has steadily increased and there was an expectation of even further growth going forward. That may now be in jeopardy.

In addition to the tourism industry, the move will impact the province’s growing oil and gas industry. Oil rigs, ships and service vehicles often require parts and supplies from overseas and until now those supplies could generally be gotten overnight. With the departure of Air Canada from the direct European route, those supplies will now need to be de-planed in Halifax and an alternate delivery method found. This is expected to cause delays and additional expense for the companies involved.

Perhaps the hardest hit will be travelers themselves. Those traveling between the two destinations will now need to fly from St. John’s to Halifax, board another flight and double back over the province before heading on to England, with the reverse being true on the opposite leg of the flight. This is likely in increase the cost to travelers, cause unnecessary delays and during inclement weather, may even result in passengers being stuck in the Nova Scotia air terminal rather than making it to the island.

According to Keith Collins, the airport authority, accepts the decision and are pursuing a replacement for Canada’s so called national carrier. The route is a profitable one, the customer base is growing and the potential is great. He expects to have an announcement, perhaps involving a European carrier, very soon.

As many in the province see it, this is simply another case of Air Canada neglecting customer needs and service levels while forcing the flying public to pay additional and unnecessary charges. Many feel that the tactic is nothing new. In fact it’s been said that Air Canada is the only airline in the world that could get away with mistreating their customers the way they do and still survive. This is due in large part to the endless support shown by Canada’s federal government through the vast amount of tax revenue supplied by those same unhappy customers.