Speech from the Phone
It will be interesting to hear what John Crosbie has to say this afternoon about Uncle Ottawa.
Why?
So we can compare it to two years ago, when the Speech from the Phone (which Danny b’y calls in) was used to bitch-slap the Stevie Harper administration and the government of Canada in general.
Top 3 Crosbie quotes from the 2008 Phone speech:
No. 1: “In the federal forum that once mattered most, Newfoundland and Labrador is treated with little but contempt and condescension.”
No. 2: “Ours is not the only provincial government to be treated with disdain by the Harper government, but no province has been treated more dishonourably.”
No. 3: “Their actions are not only disingenuous but also dishonest. They have proven they cannot be trusted, but their great betrayal will do nothing to prevent us from achieving our goals on our own steam.”
I couldn’t believe those lines were delivered from Crosbie’s lips — he being a federalist, not a nationalist.
But then Crosbie himself has said he left his “knockers” outside the door to Government House.
Ottawa’s 8.5 per cent Hibernia stake is worth a lot of cash. The feds had received $1.2 billion in profits up to the end of March 2008.
As pointed out in the Weekend Telegram, Williams has said he’s willing to pay “market value” for it.
That’s not what was stated in his government’s 2007 Energy Plan.
The plan outlined how the stake should be “transferred” to the province — to make up for the “historical inequity that existed prior to the renegotiated 2005 Atlantic Accord.”
So much for that.
Has Danny gone soft?
The provincial government could still make a fortune from the Hibernia stake — even after paying market value.
Which is critical.
We’ll need every cent to pay off Danny’s deficits.
(Update: Forgot to ask: Danny must love the bow ties in the Kevin Tobin editorial cartoons in the Tely? There was one again this past weekend. Joey would be some proud.)
Why?
So we can compare it to two years ago, when the Speech from the Phone (which Danny b’y calls in) was used to bitch-slap the Stevie Harper administration and the government of Canada in general.
Top 3 Crosbie quotes from the 2008 Phone speech:
No. 1: “In the federal forum that once mattered most, Newfoundland and Labrador is treated with little but contempt and condescension.”
No. 2: “Ours is not the only provincial government to be treated with disdain by the Harper government, but no province has been treated more dishonourably.”
No. 3: “Their actions are not only disingenuous but also dishonest. They have proven they cannot be trusted, but their great betrayal will do nothing to prevent us from achieving our goals on our own steam.”
I couldn’t believe those lines were delivered from Crosbie’s lips — he being a federalist, not a nationalist.
But then Crosbie himself has said he left his “knockers” outside the door to Government House.
Ottawa’s 8.5 per cent Hibernia stake is worth a lot of cash. The feds had received $1.2 billion in profits up to the end of March 2008.
As pointed out in the Weekend Telegram, Williams has said he’s willing to pay “market value” for it.
That’s not what was stated in his government’s 2007 Energy Plan.
The plan outlined how the stake should be “transferred” to the province — to make up for the “historical inequity that existed prior to the renegotiated 2005 Atlantic Accord.”
So much for that.
Has Danny gone soft?
The provincial government could still make a fortune from the Hibernia stake — even after paying market value.
Which is critical.
We’ll need every cent to pay off Danny’s deficits.
(Update: Forgot to ask: Danny must love the bow ties in the Kevin Tobin editorial cartoons in the Tely? There was one again this past weekend. Joey would be some proud.)
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