And nobody cared?
Buoyed by soaring oil prices, the Newfoundland government projected a surplus Monday of $881.8 million – more than triple its most recent forecast – and in doing so accepted a deal from Ottawa that Premier Danny Williams previously denounced as unacceptable.
[…]
[Finance Minister Tom Marshall ] acknowledged the province will receive an additional $66 million from the federal government by opting into a new equalization formula introduced March 19 – a deal Williams said he wasn’t prepared to accept because it offered less than what Prime Minister Stephen Harper promised.
After Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald accepted the same deal two months ago, Williams accused Harper of “preying on the weak” and MacDonald of saying “yes to less.”
“It’s not a plan that we want,” Marshall said, noting the province will accept the deal for this year but may opt out in the future. “If we can use it to the advantage of the people of this province, well obviously we’re going to do that.”
Last month, Williams met with the prime minister in St. John’s and emerged to say he would be willing to end his equalization feud with Harper, but it would take about $10 billion over 15 years in compensation.
At time of posting, this is the only news report on the new Newfoundland equalization deal that I could find on Google news. It’s 7 hours old.
Funny, I saw it on Global National, and Williams was not talking to reporters, that in itself has to be a first!
Bet he didn’t get that 10 billion over 15 years he wanted.
So, PM Harper visits, and shortly after, they sign the deal from hell? HA!
I am sure that will be plastered all over the MSM.
They just love to spread the word whenever Mr. Harper is proven right…again
I love the ndp mouthpiece: “I’m really bothered by this focus on the paying down of the debt,”
Maybe they can turn that into a bumper sticker.
Ignore Ms. Michaels: She is a lovely woman in person, that can be said for her, but her economic policies are typical NDP drivel. I think I may have been the only Newfoundlander who (reluctantly I will admit) accepted that the new deals being offered were quite far from a ‘betrayal’ – how can the offer of more money be a betrayal? And William’s bluster about Harper not honouring the Atlantic Accord was just that – the Accord was never in jeopardy, and this province has the option of choosing the best of the two deals from year to year, depending on which is more economically beneficial. All the same, I will give kudos to Mr. Williams for Knuckling Mr. Martin down in order to get the Accord deal signed – it’s nice to be in control of your own house, and soon we will. March 2009 – Peckford’s prophecy comes true?
Come on Kate, you’re not trying to say that Canada’s pressitutes would ignore a story in order to keep a negative bias of the PM alive are you?
Say it aint so…
Ontario might well need equalization payments soon. I am curious to how the other provinces will react to that.
If things keep up like they are Ontario may be entitled to equalization payments soon. I am curious as to how the rest of the country would react to that.
To hell with Danny Williams. He’s gone from needy to greedy, doesn’t want to play by the rules of equalization.
As for News Media coverage of any agreement with Harper, that would not fit into their agenda of smashing Conservatives, looks too good for Harper’s negotiation abilities. He took Danny to the back shed and he suddenly got real, saw sense.
The best the little blusterbutt could manage was “we agreed to disagree”.
Now go away and shut up for a while Danny boy, go hide behind a rock.
For the record, I heard this on CBC Radio this morning driving in to work…there is at least some coverage. The report seemed relatively balanced…I didn’t note any blatant spinning.
Let me start off by saying I was born, raised and to this day live in NS. I lived in NL for two glorious years as well. BUT, I am a Canadian, first, last, always.
This whole billion dollar vote grab by Martin and now perpetuated by Harper is a total and complete travisty. Can someone explain to me how oil and gas revenues from the North Atlantic fall to two provinces that have no jursidiction in the said North Atlantic? The provincial boundrys end at the water’s edge, not at Hibernia or Deep Panuke.
We all knew that Danny Boy would come crawling back just like the Fiddler did. This new travisty was a better deal than the old one. Everyone knew it, but it just looked so much better to the cameras to play the local hero to the yokels. To my ever lasting shame, the people of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland fell for that crap.
Newman also covered this on “Politics” yesterday.
He asked the Newfoundland reporter whether Williams’ ABC campaign was still on for an eventual federal election, and the reporter said yes, because Williams still sees the dispute as a broken promise on the PM’s part.
But Williams will take the extra $66 million, though.
Newfie history repeats itself…they just can’t resist a persuasive fed with candy in their hand.
Danny “whine for wine” Williams the head of the province with the highest rate of duffism (sitting on ones duff) succeeds in another money grab from the rest of canada. the only good thing about this is SHPM was right again, can we expect an apology from the MSM that took the whiners side.
Here we go again…more pogey jokes and ‘newfie’ slurs…As for Jim’s comment, Newfoundland controlled the Atlantic continental shelf before and after it came into confederation. It was taken away in a court case by the SCO, I believe, during Trudeau’s tenure. I am surprised westerners aren’t more supportive of NL’s demand for greater ownership, given the West’s experience with the NEP.
This is what the rest of Canada should really be upset with danny about:(http://www.fraserinstitute.org/commerce.web/newsrelease.aspx?nID=5094)
“Global petroleum survey views investment in Newfoundland as carrying same risk as Russia and Iran”
$90/bbl oil and no-one is drilling exploration wells off of NL – even though the last field discovered – the orphan basin – is rumoured to have reserves of 4 to 8 and possibly up to 15 billion bbls.
Regulatory and royalty policy in NL is so bad that even that kind of potential a thousand miles from the eastern seaboard of the US isn’t considered worth the risk.
The lack of bitch, whine & complain coming from Danny “The mouth that Roared” is indeed blissful.
Danny-boy – muted, neutered & toasted.
Good work Steve, good work.
Ok, Griff, tell me. Where are the provincial boundries for the two provinces today? Not six decades ago, not three centurys ago, but today? You know, where both of said provinces are part of a little thing called Canada?
New flash, the revenues resourses extracted from the shelf are the revenues of Canada and all Canadians, not just those that politicians attempt to bribe with money taken from the rest of the country.
To compare this to the NEP goes beyond apples and oranges. Alberta, Saskatchewan and for that matter every province, including Nova Scotia and Newfoundland & Labrador is entitled to benifit from resources wiithin their own boundrys. I guess you have not bothered to look at a map. See the blue stuff around NS and NL? Not theirs.
I am in Ft McMurray and whenever I hear a Newfie say Danny’s doing a great job for Nfld I ask them if that’s what they were thinking when they packed up their lives and family and headed to this paradise.
“Danny’s looking after me” – by doing everything he possibly could to delay holes being drilled and good men working. Alberta should finance a visit by Nfld politicians on how to deal with their housing crunch. Or did Stelmach already get advice from Williams before the Royalty Review?
Jim:
If NL were to return to being a nation in full standing those resources would be NL’s not Canada’s. As language is to the core existense of the quebecois, so is the continental shelf to NL -is was/is its economic reason for existing. The Atlantic Accord attempts to recognize these realities.
But Kate the big news in Canada according to CTV and CP is whatever Dion, as former environment minister, has to say about Canada’s policy.
He’s got the camaeras and reporters in Bali hanging on every Green Guru word, and they all play the game so well.
Why would they bother covering PMSH at work here in Canada?
Sorry Gord, but NL is not a country, but part of one.
The accords were nothing more than a billion dollar bribe by Martin that Harper, to his shame, has continued.
Jim:
And the Accord is signed so by your logic the point you make is moot.
NL brought those assets into confed’n in ’49. None other than clyde wells said that NL would ultimately have to leave CDA if the Accord or something like it was not made.
Sorry Jim, but as a Maritimer (New Brunswick) who has lived in the west for 20 years, I can’t say I agree with you. I agree that the continental shelf has not been part of Newfoundland (at least since Trudeau), but I cannot help but think that Newfoundland will do a better job of managing the resources than Ottawa would. Ottawa has done a very poor job of managing natural resources in the past. See the rape of the Northern Cod fishery as an example. If it had been left to the Newfs, they would have managed it well.
So, I say good on Newfoundland. It is high time they caught a break, and not just more crumbs brushed from the laps of our Upper and Lower Canada overlords.
bluetech- “Why would they bother covering PMSH at work here in Canada?”
Canadians need to face the fact that Canadian MSM are leftist to the core regardless of how corrupt Liberals administrations have been , MSM still cleaves to the rot the ‘natural governing party’ embodies.
Unless we get truly right leaning media in Canada such as FOX Cable or another Conrad Black national newspaper nothing will change in this country.
How else could the thieving bastards have governed this country without the enabling of a corrupt news media as well?
As an Ontarion….can we just get the damn bleeding to stop.
I am tired of sending cheques to Newfoundland and then hearing complaints. I dont want cheques from Newfoundland, I just want to stop sending them there now and forever more. If NFLD cant make oil work then I guess there is no hope.
But the blessed silence coming from St Johns is welcome indeed.
After I saw this item on “Politics” I did a Google search and found that Macleans had a story on their website about 20 mins after CBC reported it.
To be fair, I have to give credit to the CBC (this is not something I’m used to) for reporting this.
I still haven’t seen it mentioned on CTV’s website. I’m kind of surprised that CBC is carrying this story and CTV seems to be ignoring it.
Hey, wat about me!! Don’t I gots rights? If day finds diamonds in Saskatchewan, I wants dem all! Dems is our diamonds!!
Seriously, why do we bother with a federal government!! That little Irish twerp Williams needs a whack over the head with a salted cod!!
As a taxpaying non-Newfoundlander might I ask for what exactly am I to compensate Newfoundlanders? If it’s for living in Newfoundland, I’d be willing to chip in for a moving allowance. If it’s for being born then the solution is simple — commit suicide. If it’s for loss of the old way of life, then trash the TV and radio, shut off the electricity and get out into the woods to chop wood for the stove. If none of the above, then shut up and start drilling
Hi everyone.
The premier has stated that “I guess where I agree with him on certain issues. I have issues on senate reform, but there are other areas where I could find agreement. When it comes to discussing his position at the commonwealth and where he is on Kyoto and where he’s positioning Canada at this particular point in time in Kyoto, that may be an area where I could agree with him. I won’t take my personal disagreements on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador and use those to disagree with the prime minister on every national issue because that’s not in the national interest.”
The media has failed to mention this statement made by Williams to reporters after his meeting with Harper. Their champion Harper basher is Anti-Kyoto.
Seems like a case of having your cake and eating it too. Money from the oil AND payments from Canada too.
Sweet deal if you ask me but please don’t give me any “historical precedent” crap otherwise I’ll find you a long lost ancestor of the Beothuks who will claim it all.
The purpose of the Atlantic Accord was to give NFLD and NS oil revenue so it would cease having to take Ontario and Alberta’s money.
Now Danny Millions has hoodwinked (blackmailed) Martin and Harper into giving them Canada’s resource for their exclusive benefit PLUS Ontario and Alberta’s money.
I would be happy to see them join a separate quebec.
CTV and Fifer and Olly-ver are trying to get some words from Danny to make this an anti-Harper message.
Oh, and minuteman,
Ontario will not be collecting equilization regardless of their fiscal position as the program was designed so that this could never happen. Ontario is the only province which couldn’t qualify even if their economy dropped to the level of Sudan while the other 9 provinces reached the level of Monaco.
Hell, even Alberta collected for a very short time (paid back in full about 100 times since.)
From CTV.CA last spring
Key changes to the equalization system include a 50 per cent inclusion rate for non-renewable natural resource revenue; a higher 10-province equalization standard; and a fiscal capacity cap.
Some provinces will get a bigger share of the equalization pie.
Quebec — currently embroiled in a provincial election campaign — will see the greatest benefit under the plan, which sets out about $3.2 billion in new money for the provinces.
Based on its population, Quebec will get $919 million of that amount, just shy of one-third of the transfers allocated to the provinces in Finance Minister Jim Flaherty’s Budget 2007.
That figure includes the equalization funds, and the new portion of transfer payments such as the Canada Health Transfer; the Canada Social Transfer; the environmental EcoTrust program and infrastructure funding.
During a news conference with Flaherty, Industry Minister Maxime Bernier said the budget marks an “historic day” for Quebec.
Following the budget’s release, Bloc Leader Gilles Duceppe announced he would support it. The Tories needed one of the three opposition parties to back the fiscal plan, or an election could have been triggered.
“This gives us a lot of satisfaction in the sense that we have fought for this for a number of years, and now the federal government has moved substantially on this issue,” Quebec Premier Jean Charest said.
Greg Sorbara, Ontario’s finance minister, said the budget “made real progress and we’re pleased with that progress.”
Vote-rich Quebec and Ontario are expected to be key battlegrounds in the next federal election.
Under the new equalization program — the scheme that determines how much “have-not” provinces receive from the federal government to ensure they can provide similar services at similar taxation levels as “have” provinces — Quebec will receive $7.2 billion in 2007-08.
That marks an increase of $698 million over the guaranteed minimum the government set out earlier, and $1,621 million above the 2006-07 payment of $5,539 million.
Following are the 2007-08 per-capita equalization payments for the receiving provinces with the 2006-07 payments in brackets. (All figures in millions):
N.L.: $477 ($632)
P.E.I.: $294 ($291)
N.S.: $1,308 (1,386)
N.B.: $1,477 ($1,451)
Que.: $7,160 ($5,539)
Man.: $1,826 ($1,709)
Sask.: $226 ($13)
B.C.: N/A ($260)
So let me get this straight. From the above figures we can biasly interpret that a 632 million$ investment in NL leads to a decrease in the following year of 155 million$ from Ottawa whereas 5.539 billion$ invested in Quebec leads to an increase the following year of an extra 1.621 billion$ from Alberta/Ontario taxpayers.
Yes, by all means. Blame NL for all the problems with equalization.
Now I can finally renew my CPC membership.
Glenn,
so you point out that Quebec is more of a leach than NL (although certainly NOT in per capita terms) and you think you’ve scored a point?
Fool, most conservatives would like equilization to be eliminated for all provinces. It’s a subsidy of mismanagement and failure and allows granstanding and scapegoating by scumbag premiers (not that equilization is the only thing they grandstand about – see McShifty for exibit A though ZZZ on shifting blame from his pathetic mismanagement to the feds.)
Wow, some of the comments are beyond the pale.
What the hell is wrong with you people? Have you guys seen the latest poll numbers? No where near the majority the CPC is seeking.
Did you guys even notice that over the next 2 years there will be 3 fewer provinces considered have-not than there was in 2005? That means that there will be 3 fewer provinces receiving and instead these 3 provinces will be paying in.
Why can’t this be celebrated? Why can’t the CPC take credit for this accomplishment like the Liberals took the kudos for every good thing occurring under their watch? Isn’t that the point of Kate’s post, that something good is occurring here and the MSM is failing to report in a big positive way because it would mean giving the CPC good press?
Why do conservatives feel the need to sh!t on everybody around them including their own? Haven’t we figured it that the reason the Liberals were able to stay in power so long was because of their ability to circle the wagons?
Rethinks renewing membership.
Warwick,
the world which exists in your glorious mind is not reality.
Whether you or a handful of conservatives believe that this practice should end is fantasyland. It won’t and isn’t going to happen.
But using your logic I should cheer on the end since after 2009 it will cost NL to stay in the plan.
Hey, wait a minute.
Glenn,
Last I checked, none of the people hear are spokesmen for the Conservative Party of Canada.
Our opinions are our own.
When it comes to debate on any issue, I argue my own opinion – not CPC policy. Ditto everyone else here.
I can disagree with any CPC policy or action knowing that I’ll vote for them anyway given that the other parties are all worse. Never let the perfect be the enemy of the good.
Point taken Warwick.
“· Conservatives’ ideology is their ideology: tax cuts, law and order, and so on. That kind of stuff. The Liberal ideology is, to be blunt, winning. Grits like to win, and they’ve had a lot of practice at winning. They’re good at it. Right now, they’re miserable, sure, because they LOST. But there’s no better motivator for a Liberal than a loss. It gets them to where they most like to be: with their foot on a Conservative or New Democrat windpipe, watching them gasp for air until Election Day. That’s when Liberals are happiest. It makes them smile. ”
Posted by Warren Kinsella on 6/21/2006 10:28:56 AM
Permalink
@Warwick (11:56 AM):
“I would be happy to see them join a separate quebec.”
Sounds like a good idea for a gag, for anyone who can simulate an extremely guilt-ridden multi-culti.
Funny thing about Glenn’s post of figures …
Per Capita …. would be the amount calculated for each individual … these numbers are obviously NOT per capita figures … unless you believe that any individual is going to get millions!
A small detail perhaps but just as you fail to see the fact …. you seem to selectively ignore the decades of systemic abuse of transfer payments.
Williams as the point was made is no more the hero of NL in this matter than Harper is the villain.
Williams screwed the deal first with the oil companies and then with the federal government.
And now the people of the province are no further ahead than if he had kept is big yap shut and acted like an adult in the first place.
Jim: Apples and Oranges? Hardly. We had our continental shelf taken from us, forcefully, by the Federal Government. Not through negotiations, not through any method that involved compensation for the loss. When we joined confederation, it was ours. Trudeau took it from us.
And then proceeded to demolish the fish stocks, decimating the main industry supporting many Newfoundlanders.
So you *will* excuse us Newfoundlanders for getting ‘uppity’ and wanting what was rightfully ours all along. It’s just yet another example of how successive federal governments have mismanaged the natural resources brought into confederation by Newfoundland and Labrador. For decimating the livelihood of *two entire generations* of Newfoundlanders, you are g*ddamned right that I and many other Newfoundlanders feel that we are owed something. And the right to be in charge of our own resources is the least of it all.
Not covered by the news?
http://news.google.com/news?q=newfoundland+williams+harper&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wn
Wow…thanks for that Ted. Looks like CBC posted it a full 6 minutes before your comment…4 hours after Kate’s post.
I’m impressed…but not with CBC.
Griff:
For the record it should be acknowledged that the decimation of the cod stocks was as much NLer’s fault as anybody’s – John Crosbie was the minister at the time if you will recall and overfishing – criminally under-reporting of catches – was beyond a widespread occurence but rather it was the accepted practice. It was probably the finest example of the “poverty of the commons” principle ever.
OMMAG,
what’s your point?
Quebec gets more now because the numbers are adjusted to reflect the per capita basis. Nice deal eh? The numbers are total to the province. I am not trying to neglect anything.
What is the end game when it comes to equalization for Quebec? We can see the end game in BC, SK and NL’s case, as their totals decrease in one column and will begin to increase on the other side of the ledger. The line item in Quebec’s column will continue to increase.
Why does Quebec get a free ride?
There’s plenty of opportunity in NL. Danny Williams will be gone as premier within the next 12 months. There’s a 75 billion dollar play in Hebron. How much of that do you think will flow into Ottawa’s coffers?
How much of Quebec Hydro money flows to Ottawa? How much of Quebec’s hydro revenues are counted against equalization?
Answer=$0
Bluetech:
It’s called an update. Kate’s post was at 1:00 in the morning by the way.
Newfoundland did not bring the continental shelf into confederation in 1949, at the time the recognized limits were three miles off the furthest projection of land. All of the these oil discoveries in the deep water are way further out than that.
some fun info
The presence of hydrocarbons within the Humber Zone of western Newfoundland was recognized as
early as 1812 from the numerous occurrences of oil and gas seeps, bituminous residues and oil shales.
The first well was drilled in 1867 and since then a total of 60 wells have been drilled. Most of these wells
are fairly shallow (less than 700 metres) and only two exceeded 1000 metres. Although none of the wells
were drilled with the benefit of geophysical data and very few were drilled with any geological control,
more than half of them encountered some form of hydrocarbon. Some minor production was achieved in
the early 1900s.
But Cal2, if NL were to leave confed those areas would leave with it.
personally I like to see everything east of the ottawa river plus a 50 mile radius around ottawa leave. kind of an east pakistan becomes bangledesh paradise.
Im not sure the 200mile limit is actually recognized by all nations. and remember labrador is claimed by quebec. hiberia et al out there were subsidized by the federal government in the early days, another elaborate transfer scheme that Danny Whiner fades to black on with his memory.