" The expression "having your cake and eat it too"
comes to mind. Some would go as far as to say that
it is preposterous.
Hon. Mr. Justice Clement Gasosn, J.S.C
____________________________________________
The admission this past week that the Provincial Government "accidentally" expropriated the old AbitibiBowater Paper Mill in Grand Falls-Windsor, and inherited all of it's environmental liabilities, comes as a bit of a shocker.
I still think the move to seize hydro assets tied to the continued operation of a mill in Grand Falls was the right move. The revelation that the Government messed up so badly is a real confidence shaker. I am trying to get my head around how our government would be in a Quebec Court room making arguments about AbitibiBowater's environmental liabilities, including the demolition of the mill, when in fact the owner of the mill is the government.
Sure you can fall back on the fact that we now own the assets and that the expropriation bill was passed in a rush. With the NAFTA proceedings looming, one wonders what else might have been missed or done wrong in the rush. What else was missed? What other accidents, or expensive Easter Eggs, are lurking?Beyond the AbitibiBowater issue there are a lot of other natural resource type cases on the front burner that impact our future economic security. The province has spent millions on legal work related to ownership positions in offshore oil projects, new royalty regimes, it is challenging the "good faith" and "fair play" provisions of Quebec's Civil Code related to the 1969 Churchill Falls power contract and Nalcor Energy was before the Régie de l'énergie, Québec's independent energy regulatory board to discuss issues associated with gaining access to Quebec's transmission system for the purpose of exporting power from the Lower Churchill Project.
All of these things are vital to our continued prosperity and our ability to continue to provide fundamental government services and maintain our infrastructure. If there was one thing many people took for granted, it was that the Premier had it all under control, that this government knew what it was doing. It had a plan, dotted the i's and crossed the t's.
The revelations of the past week should create a knot in your stomach, this glitch in the expropriation deal is the result of incompetence, not an accident. Premier Kathy Dunderdale said in a statement that "By not including descriptive language to specifically exempt these other properties, the province assumed legal ownership of them."
Incompetence is what supposedly has created all of the social and economic problems of the past. All of that stuff is supposed to be in the past, we are the masters of our new destiny, we are proud and determined, our government is supposed to know what it is doing. That is precisely why they enjoy the unprecedented support in the polls and have won landslide elections.
If this does not expose the emperor as having no clothes, it certainly shows his tailors do not seem to have a clue.
I am starting to understand why the Premier lashed out at Lorraine Micheal so harshly last week. He is frustrated, and who can blame him. It is hard to bear watching a decent, well meaning leader be utterly embarrassed this way.
Time to kick some ass Danny, the opposition is not making mistakes, look over your shoulders and behind your back.
9 comments:
I still think the move to seize hydro assets tied to the continued operation of a mill in Grand Falls was the right move. The revelation that the Government messed up so badly is a real confidence shaker.
Hey, you know what they should do?
Hold a rally.
Call on Danny to keep our trust and restore our confidence.
That's what they should do.
"It is hard to bear watching a decent, well meaning leader be utterly embarrassed this way."
You were referring to Ms. Michael, right?
Anything is possible. I love the input from the mainland guys. Wally, given the circumstances and the time back, I would not hesitate to organize that rally , for that purpose, all over again.
All I am saying is that someone messed up big time here. The Premier (who ever it is) should not have to double and triple check each and every line, of every bit of legislation that goes through the House.
The government has rafts of lawyers, dozens of policy experts and legislative council. I suppose one could argue that none of them would have questioned the information provided by GSL or who ever regarding the demarcation of property, but it happened.
Imagine if the lawyer handling my house sale made a mistake like this? Would it be labelled an accident? Not likely.
No doubt the rush, supported by all three parties , to get this legislation passed was part of the problem, but for Christ sake one would think with GIS information and computer simulations that thy would have known exactly what land they were expropriating.
So yea, I feel strongly that incompetence is responsible for this black eye. If I were the opposition, this would be the cornerstone of every speech given between now and the election.
I love the input from the mainland guys.
What's that supposed to mean?
given the circumstances and the time back, I would not hesitate to organize that rally , for that purpose, all over again.
But the question is, would you organize a similar one, for a different purpose, now? Why or why not?
So yea, I feel strongly that incompetence is responsible for this black eye.
Whose incompetence, though?
Just pointing out that I appreciate the comments from the mainland.It is nice to have perspective from the center of
Wally if these was a significant need to express public support for an issue of importance to the province and time allowed, I am sure I would be involved, or even organize it.
It would really depend on the issue. I felt strongly that our government MP's had let us down and the event evolved out of that.
It was not a partisan rally and was never intended to be one. It was a shame that the acting leader of the Liberal Party choose to boycott it!
Well at the end of the day, the buck stops at the Premier. It is sad that he can not count on his professional staff to get the job done. He puts the Minister and senior staff in place. Garbage in and garbage out
Just pointing out that I appreciate the comments from the mainland.It is nice to have perspective from the center of
Center of what?
What are you getting at? What is the relevance of location to this discussion?
Wally if these was a significant need to express public support for an issue of importance to the province and time allowed, I am sure I would be involved, or even organize it.
Ah, ok. You only organize rallies in SUPPORT of stuff. Understood.
I felt strongly that our government MP's had let us down and the event evolved out of that.
Has Danny let you down more, or less, than the Tory MPs did?
It was not a partisan rally and was never intended to be one.
Riiiiiiigghhht.
Well at the end of the day, the buck stops at the Premier. It is sad that he can not count on his professional staff to get the job done.
I heard he's a super-awesome lawyer, and a Rhodes Scholar.
He puts the Minister and senior staff in place. Garbage in and garbage out
And just plain garbage in the middle.
Are you blind? Deaf? Anosmic?
But, hey, by all means, go on painting Danny as the victim. I hear it's all the rage amongst his hockey buddies as well as sycophants who know him from non-hockey circles.
Wally:
I like the direction on some things. In this case, I am petty shaken up that it could have happened and it really makes me concerned about the highly technical nature of the other legal matters the province is engaged in.
The buck stops with the premier. Someone made a serious mistake and he has to wear it. It goes with the job.
I'll continue to question, suggest and critique right here in St. John's.
The buck stops with the premier. Someone made a serious mistake and he has to wear it. It goes with the job.
Yeah. "Someone".
"Someone" also suggested people should be shot. "Someone" does all kinds of stuff that he should wear.
I'll continue to question, suggest and critique right here in St. John's.
Good for you. Gold star!
Is there any point to your fixation with geography, Catherine?
Is Sarasota on the mainland?
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