A Year to Forget

A Year to Forget

By: Ryan Young

It’s hard to imagine that it has only been a year since Dwight Ball’s Liberal Party took the reigns of government in this province. After more than a decade of Tory rule, people were eager for a change. The Liberal 5-Point Plan that served as their 2015 election platform was very specific, as were the promises that Ball repeated day after day on the campaign trail. Unfortunately, it quickly became evident that things would be par for the course under Ball’s leadership, and he wasted little time in beginning to break his promises. As far as the residents of the province are concerned it is just Liberal, Tory, same old story.

One of Ball’s most enthusiastic campaign promises was to repeal the 2% increase to the HST. Ball crossed the province telling people that the HST was a job killer and that a Liberal government would eliminate the unfair Tory tax increase. Ball did in fact keep his promise to repeal the increase shortly after taking office, but that only lasted until the budget speech, when the 2% increase was reinstated, making the whole effort to repeal it in the first place a colossal waste of time, money, and resources. The premier and finance minister claimed that they had no idea how bad the financial situation of the problem really was. Many people are skeptical of that answer, but it has started to make more sense when you consider the many other decisions they have made since. Maybe they really are that stun’d that they couldn’t see the forest for the trees, even if every engaged citizen in the province knew that we were in a tougher spot than the PC’s were letting on. When you consider everything that has happened over the past year, stun’d certainly seems to fit.

There was absolutely no need for the Liberal’s to make so many outstanding promises that they knew they would not be able to keep. The electorate was so fed-up with the PC Party that the Liberal’s could have ran on a very thin platform and still would have cruised to an easy majority. Somehow, Ball and the campaign team thought that it would be a good idea to promise the province the moon, knowing all well that they would have to make tough decisions in the days ahead. I’m sure that Dwight thought that he could follow the Clyde Wells model and get the tough stuff out of the way early on and hope that people will forget by the end of four years. What I don’t think he or anyone else in government realized is that the political landscape has changed since the 1990’s. The internet and social media have changed the way we talk about politics, and leaders are no longer able to hide behind the mainstream media. People are more engaged than ever before and they want real change and not just more platitudes with no action.

That brings us up to the disaster that was Budget 2016. With all of the promises in the 5-Point Plan, there was very little to prepare people for the extreme measures that were presented by Cathy Bennett during her first budget speech. We all knew that the government would need to take some action, but for most people, Budget 2016 was just too much too fast. People reacted, and the government was caught off guard by unprecedented protests against the budget all across the province. The public pressure caused the Liberal’s to backtrack on several decisions, and people are still actively protesting the government and demanding that they listen to the concerns of the people.

Things got really heated over the #MakeMuskratRight protests, and the government again found themselves mired in controversy. With the premier out of the country, emotions raged and the camp at the Muskrat Falls camp was ultimately occupied by fed-up Labrador residents who wanted their voices heard. After a marathon twelve hour meeting with indigenous leaders, Ball went out of his way to say that the protests played no part in the agreement that they had reached. Many saw this as another kick in the face and an example of how foolish Ball can be when he opens his mouth. The Muskrat Falls issue is far from over, and Ball, as the minister responsible for Labrador and Aboriginal Affairs, would be wise to make more than the four trips that he made to Labrador last year to talk about the issues.

As the old saying goes, the proof is in the pudding and we are seeing the effects of Budget 2016 all around us. Long-established businesses are closing, bankruptcies are up, housing starts are down, and unemployment is expected to hit a staggering 20% by the end of the current governing term. The biggest problem of all is that this government has not given us any indication that they have the slightest clue of how to get things under control. The Way Forward document is big on expectations but very thin on the details on how we will reach the very lofty targets that are outlined in its pages. There is no solid plan to address government spending and people have lost confidence that this government has what it takes to get the job done.

It has certainly been an eventful year and I am sure that Ball and Company are hoping that the next year will be a little smoother. Unfortunately for them, there is a large segment of the population that will be working hard to make sure that does not happen.The government has backed away from many of their controversial policy decisions and seem to be willing to fly through the next three years by the seat of their collective pants. When asked about what they are going to do, the best they can muster is a weak blaming of the Tories, but sooner or later they are going to have to stop blaming and start governing. 

You can be sure that the people of the province will continue to hold the Liberal's feet to the fire and it will be interesting to see how they will address the issues in the coming year. They don’t seem interested in listening to what stakeholders have to say, and they have proven repeatedly that they are not capable of making sound, long-sighted decisions, despite having had to repeal several of the decisions they made without adequate foresight or consultation. Just look to the levy and the library closures to prove that point.My advice for the future is to buckle up for the ride and get ready for another wild year of back-steps and misfires. I wish I could be more positive, but this rogue has to call it as he sees it. I just hope I will be here writing this time next year, instead of living up-along like so many others who are being forced to leave. Maybe Dwight is getting the Clyde Wells blueprint right after all...

Don’t Forget to Shoot the Messenger

Don’t Forget to Shoot the Messenger

By: Ryan Young

If you are scratching your head about the revolving door turnover of staff in the premier’s office over the last nine months, you are not alone. So far, we have witnessed the departure of the premier’s chief of staff, deputy chief of staff, director of communications, and press secretary. Certainly there is no doubt that the departing team members failed at their task of spinning the government message in a way that would be palatable to the public at large, but are the staff really to blame, or is it the message that they were asked to deliver?

How do you spin a budget like our government delivered last April? Even the top Manhattan ad houses would be hard pressed to find a way to convince voters that taking money out of their pockets every time they turn around is in their best interest. Even the most uninformed voter can understand when they are being taken advantage of, and voters have long memories. Just ask the Tories. The simple fact is that it doesn’t matter who crafted the talking points or media releases or who ordered the posters taken down from the parkway. The information they had to work with was pure crap and there was no way to spin it that would make this budget smell like anything else. They were dealt a 7-2 off-suit and were asked to play it like a pair of bullets.

Over the past few months we have heard countless stories of the real effects of Budget 2016. From seniors who have to choose between food and medications to towns having to cancel plans to hire more firefighters, to food banks who are struggling to keep shelves stocked, this budget is causing real pain to the people of this province. No matter who the government brings in to spin the changes they have made, the people have to look no further than their bank statements to know the real truth. It is much too late for carefully crafted messaging and media relations coaching. This government has lost the trust of the people and it will take more than a few info-graphics and photo-op's with big federal cheques to win that back.

The addition of a new media relations manager and a new content manager to the premier’s office should help the way that future messages are delivered, but unless this government takes a drastic turn away from the path they have chosen, there is no amount of spin doctors or media relations experts that can improve their image in the public eye. The proof, as they say, is in the pudding.

Libraries Flip Flop: Is it a Win or a Stay of Execution?

Libraries Flip Flop: Is it a Win or a Stay of Execution?

By: Ryan Young 

Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dale Kirby announced today that he has asked the libraries board to “suspend" its decision to implement a regional library model while a complete organizational and service review of libraries is conducted.” Kirby told reporters that the decision was based on heavy pressure from the public.

At first, I read the headline and jumped for joy at this unexpected victory for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador. But then I looked a little closer at the news release to see what this announcement really means. The first clue is the word “suspend.” This indicates that the regional library model is not dead, it has just been postponed until a review of the libraries system is completed. Such a review is what you would have expected a competent Minister and a competent government to do before they went about slashing and burning budget lines with reckless abandon, but as we all know competence is not this governments strong suit.

As outlined in the official news release: A steering committee will be formed including members from the Provincial Government and Provincial Information and Library Resources Board. The review will include:

• Provincial stakeholder consultations;

• Analysis of the current service delivery landscape including locations, types of services offered, usage and service delivery methods;

• Review of the governance structure;

• Review of library service standards including operating hours, programs and types of services offered; and

• Research of trends and leading practices from other jurisdictions.

The review will also consider broader governmental objectives that focus on the use of innovation, modernized service delivery and alternative use of buildings and service locations.

During his statement today Kirby said that the review will be done by Ernst & Young and will be completed in mid-winter. A long-term decision on libraries will be made at that time.

So in short, they will be looking at all of the things that they should be looking at before considering changes to the way library services are delivered. Why wasn’t this done before the cuts to the library board were made in the first place? As outlined in my recent video, Rogues & Liars: Episode 1, Dale Kirby was a very vocal supporter of public libraries while in opposition and his sudden change of heart came as quite a surprise to many of his long-time supporters. The desire to toe the party line without having any real evidence to present is exactly the sort of thing we have heard Mr. Kirby speaking out against before he was put in a position to change things. Now the non-stop onslaught of phone calls and messages that he has received regarding the library cuts have forced his hand in trying to deflect some if the criticism away from himself.

Make no mistake, many of the library closures will still happen. This is just a tactic to buy some time and take the pressure off while they gather the evidence that the should have gathered before the decision to cut library funding was made in the first place. The whole point of evidence-based decision making is…well…evidence. The problem is that decision makers have a tendency to bend the evidence to fit their own narrative.

Some libraries may survive this review, but it will depend on how determined the communities are to keep them. This announcement is not a victory, but it is encouragement to keep up the pressure and demand that more of these short-sighted decisions are reversed. Our words and actions do matter. Don't let this announcement fool you, the fight to save our libraries has only just begun.

Official Government News Release: http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2016/edu/0630n04.aspx

Three Cheers for the Grassroots

Three Cheers for the Grassroots

By: Ryan Young

Yesterday we marked the seven week anniversary of arguably the worst budget in provincial history. A small but boisterous crowd turned out to a march and rally at Confederation Building, organized by the grassroots group, Coordinated Approach, to “Scrap the Gas Tax.” It is no surprise that the numbers were small as there is a bit of a feeling of a lull in the air. People are getting rallied out and are ready to turn their attention to summer. Over the last seven weeks we have witnessed dozens of protests and rallies all across the province, with no less than 5 major events at Confederation Building. The people have been eager to bring the anger and disappointment straight to the doorstep of those who created it. They have taken to social media in a way that has never been seen before in this province, and the open line shows have been flooded with pissed off citizens who want better from the crowd up on the hill.

It has been a wild ride for sure. I remember hearing more than one commentator expressing the opinion that these protests would be short lived and would fizzle quickly. We can’t blame them for expecting as much. Traditionally we are a very docile and forgiving people when it comes to politics. I know from experience that mobilizing people in direct action is often a near impossible task. To expect more of the usual was only to be expected. That is probably why the media has been so quick to jump behind the protests when it became apparent that the people were not going away.  That too was a pleasant surprise, as too often they give our elected officials a free pass. It has been nice to see some hard-hitting journalism gracing our news pages again.

Certainly the unions did a good job of mobilizing and being outspoken. I know some will criticize the unions and their place in our current fiscal situation. This blogger himself has commented on more than one occasion about the need for reform in our public sector. But the simple fact that we need to remember is that the union members that are showing up at the marches and rallies across the province are hard-working rank and file members that will be affected by this budget as much as anybody else. They deserve a lot of credit for organizing and uniting around the cause.

The real stars of the show, however, were the people. It was the average Newfoundlander’s that marched in the street, bombarded their MHA’s with emails and phone calls, and were active on social media to spread the information around that the public needed and wanted to know. They deserve the real credit for the major shift in political thinking that has occurred over the past seven weeks.  It was because of their actions that we saw Paul Lane soul search himself right out of the governing party because he heard the call of the people. It was their actions that forced the governments hand at scrapping most of the levy. And it was the grassroots action of the people that has managed to awaken the beast in so many people that were previously in a deep slumber when it came to the state of politics in this province. This might be the most important victory of all as it may finally open the door for a real discussion about change in our political system.

So where so we go from here? Several groups and movements, from direct action groups to those aspiring for new political parties, have been popping up almost daily. It has become apparent that Newfoundland and Labrador is ready to finally start a real conversation about change. It will be up to the grassroots to keep that conversation going and to steer it in a meaningful direction. I have heard rumors about a new grassroots group that is being formed with plans to visit every nook and cranny in the province to develop a true platform of the people. I think this is exactly the type of step we need to take to rebuild this province that we all love so much. People are no longer willing to sit idly by and watch our government sell us out. They are ready for action and they need a direction. The grassroots will continue to provide that direction and to give the people the voice that they have never had before. It turns out many people like having a voice in democracy! If I was an MHA that wasn't Paul Lane, I would enjoy my summer because more pain is coming in the fall and not just on the budget sheet.  The movement of the people has only just begun. Consider yourselves warned. 

The Great Defection

The Great Defection

By: Ryan Young

Some may call Paul Lane an opportunist, maybe even a political pariah, but no one should doubt his courage in the light of his announcement yesterday that he would be voting against the budget. Traditionally when a member of the government votes against a confidence motion such as a budget, they either resign or are booted from caucus. If he does not resign, he puts Dwight Ball in a very tough position. If Paul Lane is allowed to vote against the budget and remain in caucus, many others who toed the party line, perhaps at the expense of their future election prospects, will be very upset with the Premier and his leadership. Worst case scenario, it could lead to an all-out caucus revolt.

Now of course this is not the first time that Lane has been at odds with his own party. In January 2014 he resigned from his position as a backbencher with the former PC government due to a lack of confidence in the leadership of then premier Kathy Dunderdale.  The answer he gave for his decision then was much the same as the one he is giving now. His constituents told him that this was what he should do, and he listened. One can question the motives of Mr. Lane and others like him who cross the floor, but an MHA’s ultimate responsibility is to the people of their district. In that regard Paul Lane may be the most successful politician we have ever had. Lane hasn’t gone anywhere yet, but if he does cross the floor he will be the first person to ever do so twice. I don’t know if that is a good record or a bad one, but if nothing else it proves that Paul Lane is not afraid to go his own way.

So what does it all mean in the grand scheme of things? At this point it is too early to tell for sure, but we can expect that the Liberals will move to vote on the budget sooner rather than later. Paul Lane will be propped up as a champion of the people and be paraded in the media as a hero. If the other backbench MHA’s who are wearing down under the pressure see him getting so much praise, they might consider crossing the floor themselves. I have heard rumblings from several insiders who say that several MHA's have been weighing their options. If the budget vote does not happen fast, there may be more Liberal casualties as a result of this defection.

So where does Paul Lane go now? Back to the Tories may seem like a logical fit at first glance, but I don’t think that will happen. Even though he could probably un-burn that bridge, the current PC caucus does not seem like a natural fit for Lane. The NDP is also unlikely but perhaps not out of the realm of possibility. They would be certainly more than willing to accept him into the fold, but doing so may make it harder to get re-elected based on recent NDP results in Mount Pearl. More likely, he will sit as an independent, at least for now. There is no reason for him to rush his decision. There is no obvious successor to power as was the case when he left the PC caucus for the Liberals. By sitting as an independent he can buy himself time to do some soul-searching and gauge the will of the people in his district before making a final decision.

With a grassroots movement for change gaining momentum daily, Lane might be wise to wait it out and sit as an independent house insider for the ever growing numbers of people who are getting fed up with our revolving door party system. The pushback from the people for change has never been so hard and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a new, legitimate challenger appear before the next election.  If Paul Lane is really a man of his people, he might decide to go down that road and become a true champion of the grassroots. Anyone who has followed Paul’s career would know that he has always been a supporter of the “little guy.” An independent voice of the people in the House of Assembly might just be the perfect fit for him.  In any case, the voters of Mount Pearl South will not forget his decision to listen. They will likely remember his decision most at the voting box, just as they did last fall.

Finally, what does this mean for the Liberal Party? They will will pass it off as being no big deal to lose one member on such a controversial vote. They may even get away with it as long as Lane is the only one. If others start crossing with him, however, Dwight Ball might have a bigger problem on his hands than he bargained for. It would be unprecedented and extremely unlikely for him to lose the other ten MHA’s it would take to lose the government on a confidence vote, but once the floodgates open there is no telling what might happen. This is #nlpoli after all. The most likely scenario is that the Liberals might lose one or two more members before the dust settles on budget 2016, but ultimately most will continue to toe the party line and the budget will pass. If they had all remained united, the party might have even have been able to overcome this negative budget before the next election came around. Unfortunately, however, Paul Lane’s defection will serve as a constant reminder to the voters of how many MHA’s failed to listen and voted in favor of the budget.

*Author's Note (4:55pm May 19th, 2016) : Since this post was published, Paul Lane has been removed from the Liberal caucus and will now sit as an Independent MHA. For more visit: https://www.facebook.com/roguebayman/

Jerry Dean and the Out of Touch Liberals

Jerry Dean and the Out of Touch Liberals

By: Ryan Young

“Let’s talk about blame.” That’s what Exploits MHA Jerry Dean said during his statement last night at the late sitting of the House of Assembly. After proceeding to blame everyone from Joey Smallwood to Brian Peckford to Clyde Wells to Danny Williams, Dean delivered the jaw dropping bombshell that the people of Newfoundland and Labrador are to blame for this budget. To quote Jerry Dean directly: “Everybody here tonight and everybody throughout this province, it’s time for all of us to take the blame.” He went on to say “we collectively, the current population and previous populations are to blame.”

Now granted, politicians say plenty of stupid things, it is kind of their forte, but the level of arrogance and contempt in Mr. Dean’s statement is absolutely unacceptable. How dare an elected member of the people’s house stand up and blame those same people for the mess that has been created. Does he not understand why people are rising up and taking action all around the province? If there is any blame to be taken by the people it is that we did not start standing up against this type of arrogance and contempt sooner. But here we are, better late than never. Mr. Dean can stand up in the house and blame the people all he wants because the tables have turned and the people are no longer willing to be the victims. His time in government will be as short lived as the amount of thought that went into the preparation of his statement. Just as fast as the red tide rose, it is now receding and the Liberals should be reminded that we have long political memories. That is the reason they were stuck in opposition for twelve long years. By the time the dust settles next time, they will be lucky not to be the third party or worse.

If Jerry and his blame game tirade was an isolated incident, then maybe we could move past it and write it off as the frustrations of one weak MHA who is cracking under the pressure. Sadly, however, this is not the case. Every day the Liberals step up to the microphone and add more ammo to the cause due to their utter inability to connect with the common folk. Take Cathy Bennett and her comments about the junk food tax. Her excuse was that nobody else in Canada was doing it and that it would be too complicated to administer. What happened to all of that outside the box thinking the Liberals promised us during the election campaign? By saying we can’t try it because nobody else has tried it is the ultimate cop out. We need more funding for health care and here is a great idea of how to get it, but Minister Bennett refuses to even entertain the idea. We already have specialized taxation like the deposit we pay on bottles. The implementation of that program went smoothly, and it soon started adding millions of dollars in revenues for the province. Does it have anything to do with the fact that Minister Bennett makes her money from the very products that will be taxed? Some people seem to think so. It is unlikely, however, that people would eat less junk if it was taxed. It would just be a straight up money grab, which is why I find it very hard to understand why we don’t give it a whirl in our time of need.

Oh and then there is Education Minister Dale Kirby telling us that cutting teachers and combining classrooms will have no effect on outcomes or that closing more than half of our libraries will help to improve literacy rates in the province.  His latest attempt at defending Liberal incompetence was shaming parents for setting a bad example to their children by protesting. Yes, we are talking about the same former protester Dale Kirby, who dedicated most of his adult his life to standing up for education and literacy, until he was given the opportunity to actually do something about it and make real change. I guess Mr. Kirby would rather us teach our children that it is better to get through life by living a lie and saying what you need to say to get where you want to be, than to stand up for what is right, even when it means making real tough choices. For a bunch that talk about “tough choices” like it is the ultimate buzzword, they don’t seem to have any real grasp on what the term actually means.

Siobhan Coady says that the people just don’t understand the budget, and Neil King feels that it is not fair that he has to lower himself to listening to the criticism of his constituents. In each and every district, people are asking their MHAs for changes to this budget and they are being treated with pure political platitudes and disdain. They seem to have the idea that the people just don’t know what is good for them. The arrogance they are showing is not just to outsiders though. It is also being directed at the people who supported them and helped them get elected. These are the people who organized events and got people out to them.  These are the ones who made phone calls and drove voters to the polls. These are the people that the Liberals need to keep close and instead they are treating them like lowly peasants and dismissing their concerns out of hand. To see how much tensions are really rising within the party, just look at the dissension in Bay of Islands where the president of the district association resigned in disgust. From everything I have heard from long-time Liberal supporters, they are disappointed and angry with the communication thus far from government. Like the rest of us they want to be taken seriously and have their concerns heard. Instead their MHAs are turning a blind eye and a deaf ear.

The continued lack of communication and outright arrogance on display from this government is adding fuel to the fire and I fear that if we have to hear any other announcements such as wealthy judges getting a pay raise that the anger will boil over into something negative. Just yesterday, in two separate incidents in the House of Assembly, visitors to the gallery were unable to hold back their disgust and spoke out in opposition to the blatant disrespect shown by our government. I was able to speak with one of the visitors, Adam Pitcher, who spoke out and left the gallery yesterday, to try and report the true story of the events as they happened since the mainstream media reports seem to have differed in their versions of what actually happened.

Mr. Pitcher said:

On 10 May, around 2pm in the afternoon session, MHA Lorraine Michael was presenting a petition about library closures, and was talking about how the government is attacking residents of the province with this budget. Members of the Liberal party either walked away or were milling about on their phones and iPads, and having conversations with each other. Cathy Bennett and the Speaker, Tom Osborne, were having their own conversation. Nobody was listening to the speaking MHA at all. This is standard behavior, though it is rarely, if ever, shown on the public television feed. You can hear it though.


One visitor in the gallery, after the MHA finished speaking, spoke up and told the Liberal MHAs that they “should be listening,”, and that they’re being paid over $90,000 and “should be listening to her.”


The Speaker of the House advised, “Visitors to the gallery are welcome to observe the proceedings of the House, ah, but they are not to-”


“They should be listening!” called the visitor again.


“Visitors to the gallery are permitted to observe the proceedings of the House, but are not to demonstrate or to participate in the proceedings on the floor,” said the Speaker. “I ask visitors to the gallery to be respectful of the proceedings in the House of Assembly.”


“Do you think their behavior is respectful?” I called out.


“These are petitions that we are signing,” said the first visitor.


“These people are trying to destroy our province and they’re not even listening,” I said.


“Over $90,000 is a waste of our money, for each of you,” the first visitor finally called out.


“I would ask that the visitors in the gallery that are disrupting the proceedings to leave,” replied the Speaker.


At this point the first visitor was on his way out, and I was leaving behind him when a security guard put his hand on my shoulder, when I unexpectedly said more loudly than I wish I had, “This is f***ing bullshit anyway.” I also called out “shame” as I was leaving.


I’m fully aware of the potential negative public reaction to profanity. It was certainly never my intention to say anything at all in the House that day, and I certainly do not condone the use of profanity in protest - however I do not apologize for what was said. Perhaps, as one person said, there has never been a more appropriate use for the word “bullshit.” 

If this government was in tune with the people who elected them, they would realize that the anti-government movement that has been sparked by this budget is growing and not fizzling out as many predicted. With members like Dale Kirby and Jerry Dean continuing to fan the flames with outrageous comments and statements, the mood of the people continues to swing against them. They may feel comfortable in their four year majority mandate, but perhaps while they are ignoring petitions in question period, they can get on the line with Kathy Dunderdale and ask her how quickly things can fall apart. If they continue to treat the people like children acting out of turn, they may quickly find that the will of the people united is stronger than electoral law. If any of these members, especially backbenchers with no pension, want to have some real job security in their future, they might want to think about listening to some of what their constituents have to say. The people have had their fill of arrogance and they are not going to stand idle and watch this new government act exactly like the old government after waiting so long for change. They should open the windows at Confederation Building for the next rally. Not only will they be able to better hear what the people are saying, but they may catch that new smell that is in the air in Newfoundland and Labrador, the smell of change.

Minister Kirby, Please Don’t Close Our Libraries

Minister Kirby, Please Don’t Close Our Libraries

By: Ryan Young

The decision to close 54 libraries to save $1 Million as part of this year’s budget cuts may be the most unpopular thing that our provincial government has ever done as part of a budget measure. As mad as people are about the increased taxes and fees or the levy, the cutting of more than half of the libraries in the province cuts right to the heart of Newfoundlander's and Labradoreans. People are gearing up for more public protests and the literary community has promised to “rise up” against this attack on literacy. The NLLA started an online campaign to Save NL Libraries that has grown to almost 2000 followers in just a few days and they are just getting started. The writing seems to be on the wall – pun intended – for the Liberals. The battle to save our libraries has only just begun.

Just last week, Education Minister Dale Kirby publicly stated that he believes that closing libraries will actually help to improve our dismal literacy rates. The government position is that our literacy programs were not having good success and as such keeping the libraries open didn’t make sense. There was no mention of how our libraries were underfunded already and that the government does not have a viable strategy to deal with the issue of literacy rates. That was conveniently left out of the discussion as Minister Kirby seemingly abandoned the past principals that he had developed while in opposition as a vocal supporter of our children and our libraries. When Paddy Daly pressed him on VOCM Openline last Friday on how his position could change so much in such a short time, the answer given by the minister was that he had the luxury of criticizing while in opposition because he did not have all of the facts that he has now. I don’t know if Mr. Kirby realizes what a bold admission that was. It is not often that we have a Minister willing to publicly admit that they were basically full of it while on the opposition side. The irony is not lost on me personally, as just last fall I sat in on a panel discussion that featured Minister Kirby, Lorraine Michael, and then PC minister Clyde Jackman. In one feisty exchange, Mr. Jackman told Kirby that thinks look different from the government side when hard decisions have to be made. The answer from Dale Kirby was along the lines of “we’ll see.” Well indeed we are seeing, and it looks to me that the vision at the top has not changed at all.

All of the comments I have heard from the education minister have revolved around no loss of service. He tells us that children would still be able to drive to a library a half hour away or order books through the mail. He says that communities may be able to step in and save their libraries through their own initiatives. What he doesn’t tell us is that 15% of the population will now be up to an hour or more away from the nearest library. He also doesn’t tell us that many of the people who use local libraries are low income earners who don’t have the means to travel to use a computer to complete an assignment or pay a bill or check in with loved ones. He doesn’t talk about the reading circles and the early learning programs that are hosted by our libraries to the great benefit of our children. He doesn’t talk about the adult reading programs that have changed lives all across this province. Most of all he doesn’t talk about how the libraries are so important to their communities. Libraries are a place to gather and share and learn. Libraries are about so much more than books, they are essential to the very fabric that holds our rural towns together. Closing these libraries for such meager savings is wrong for so many reasons and it is just one more example of how our elected officials are so out of touch with the needs the people.

I don’t think that Dale Kirby has suddenly become a bad person or lost his marbles. I still hold a great deal of respect for him as an educator and an intellectual. I have always felt that he is very well spoken and his points are generally always well researched and on-point. I have had the pleasure of personally speaking with the Minister many times and I have always felt that he was one of the few people in government that truly “gets it.” For many people his sudden turnaround comes as a shock, but if you understand how our revolving door party system works, you already know that long-term vision in government is limited to the end of the current election term. We can be angry with Minister Kirby, but at the end of the day what choices does he have? He is simply personifying everything that is wrong with party politics. Word from above said to find cuts and cuts were found. Despite everything we throw at him about what he said in opposition, he has no choice but to go along for the ride. Like many before him he most likely believes that this pain is just a short-term sacrifice that will lead to the opportunity to make positive changes in the future. It is a great and noble idea, but sadly one that has been embraced many times before. Most politicians gets involved in public life for the right reasons, but those reasons always find a way to get pushed aside in the quest to stay in power and toe the party line.

One positive story worth mentioning was hearing Liberal back-bencher Scott Reid speaking out about the need to revisit library closures. After connecting with communities and volunteers in his district, he quickly learned how valuable libraries were to these communities and that the residents of his district were not about to accept the closures without a fight. It is never an easy decision to speak out against a party decision and Mr. Reid deserves credit for standing up and sharing the frustrations of his constituents.

The Liberals have failed miserably in their attempt to communicate this budget but I am not sure that they understand just where they failed. With so many cuts, the people needed to be shown a long-term plan to justify such harsh measures and they need to know how they plan to rebuild. Without that we are left wondering; “what’s next?” Closing libraries or taxing books are not the answers to any of our problems. It is an easy way to achieve meager savings but is it really worth what is lost? I know the two have absolutely nothing to do with one another, but when you see Ed Martin walking away from Nalcor with a severance pay of nearly $1.4 Million while we close 54 libraries to save $1 Million, it is hard for human nature to not connect the two and feel angry. Our children are already beginning to bear the brunt of bad decisions and how far will it go unless we take a stand and say enough is enough? Do what you can to stand up and demand that our libraries stay open. Write the minister and your MHA, support the NLLA, go to a public protest, or maybe best of all get your child to write a letter or postcard to Minister Kirby at Confederation Building to let him know what he is doing is hurting our children. It might not change his mind but the message will be loud and clear. We need our libraries.

You can send your mail to:

Dale Kirby
Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development
3rd Floor, West Block
Confederation Building
P.O. Box 8700
St. John’s, NL
A1B 4J6

Phone: (709) 729-5040
Fax: (709) 729-0414

For more information about Save NL Libraries visit:

https://www.facebook.com/savenllibraries/?fref=ts

The Red Tide Recedes as the Grassroots Rise

The Red Tide Recedes as the Grassroots Rise

By: Ryan Young

I don’t think that either Dwight Ball or Cathy Bennett realized what they were doing when they tabled the latest provincial budget on April 14^th. It probably didn’t look too bad on paper, just a series of revenue actions and expenditure actions.  They probably expected a bit of blow-back and resistance, but nothing of the magnitude they have seen dropped at their doorstep over the past two weeks. People are making noise and have become politically charged to the likes of which we haven’t seen here since Danny’s flag flap roused our inner nationalism back in ‘04. Liberal approval ratings have dropped a full twenty points since the budget dropped, with both the PC’s and NDP almost pulling even with the big red juggernaut that came to power just five months ago in a landslide election victory. The tide is turning on the Liberals, but unfortunately for them, and ultimately us, they don’t understand how big and bad things have gotten, let alone how much worse they are about to get.

It should come as no surprise to anyone who follows politics in this province that the Liberals are now looking like a bunch of moose caught in the headlights up on the Viking Trail. They don’t know what to do. They just can’t understand why people are so mad at them for trying to clean up the mess left by the Tories. They can’t seem to clue in on the fact that people are frustrated with the rhetoric and they want straight answers from the Premier and their MHA’s. Unfortunately, straight answers are not generally offered by party politicians, least of all the current incarnation of Joey’s Liberals.

For anyone who has listened to Dwight Ball speak since he became Liberal leader in 2013, there should be absolutely no surprise at the way he dances around questions like some weird, tongue-flamenco mutant. The man has not answered a straight question since he entered in politics. Mums the word for Dwight and he is the master at duck and cover politics. It has become painfully obvious to all but the most partisan supporters that the Liberals never had a plan to begin with. In fact they never even really tried to make us believe they did. They promised to make lots of plans to make plans, but what they have put together for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador is exactly what Minister Bennett accused the opposition of weaving in the House of Assembly, a tapestry of bologna.

The saddest part about it all is that the Liberals insist that the budget backlash is a communications problem. Well I agree. The communication problem is that they are not willing to listen to the people of the province when they stand up and say “no!” As the people have been quick to remind the premier this week, if you can't listen, you can't lead.Thousands have marched and rallied all across the island and in Labrador to protest this budget and the Liberal deceit and yet Education Minister Dale Kirby dismissed their concerns as” nonsense.” If 10 000 union and grassroots activists converge on Confederation Building next Saturday will they call that nonsense too? The unions have already booked the buses and are calling in all the troops to ramp up the “Dwight-Lied” campaign. I expect that the shouts of the protesters that day won’t be able to be so easily ignored. If Dwight Ball wants to keep leading, he better learn to listen.

Let us not forget that this is a government that was swept to power on the sole merit of not being the Tories. They promised a more open and transparent government and they promised that they would work with the people to come up with solutions. They even spent millions of taxpayer dollars promoting their silly Government Renewal project, offering the illusion of democracy, while at the same time selling out those who elected them to be their protectors. I wonder if Dale Kirby realized that his “nonsense” comment was a direct echo of the arrogance and disdain that we endured under the PCs for all those years. I doubt it. The common sense train seems to have left the station right about the same time he tried to explain to us poor simple folk how closing libraries would actually improve our abysmal literacy rates. It makes it easier to understand how they put this budget together when you start to realize just how stupid they think we are. The Liberals can do their best to keep defending the budget but they should have opened the window at the last rally to hear a thousand angry people saying that they won’t be fooled again. For the ones who have not yet earned their pensions the fear should be very real by now.

I was privileged to be a part of the most recent march and rally on April 29^th. I have been involved in protests and marches before, I even marched with a crowd of thousands in Ottawa during the occupy movement in 2011. While each of those experiences was special, the buzz in the air as a thousand people marched upon Confederation Hill was something I had never experienced before. These were not union leaders and politicians, they were real people. Seniors and students, moms and dads, locals and CFA’s all marching side by side. It was the first time I have ever witnessed such a grassroots display of solidarity in our province in my lifetime, and it really brought home how much this budget is going to affect everyone. People are tired of bearing the brunt of the burden. The arrogance is so great on the 8^th floor that they don’t even notice that real people are getting mad enough to stand up and take action. People are tired of being lied to and taken for fools. One of the speakers, Gemma Hickey summed it up the best when she said: “We went from have-not, to have, to been had.”

If the Liberals think this movement is going to fizzle out, they may be more out of touch with reality than I thought. A multitude of protests and rallies have already been held all across the province and even more are being planned for the coming weeks and months. That anger will be helped along when the gas tax kicks up in June and when the levy starts hitting paychecks on July 1^st, the same day that we are supposed to be honoring the bravest of all Newfoundlander's and Labradoreans for their great sacrifice. And if that is not enough to fan the flames over the summer, Cathy Bennett has promised another budget in the fall. With lots of public sector layoffs expected and even more cuts, the Liberals should be preparing for a long four years. If the next two budgets are anything like this one, I wouldn’t rule out the possibility of pitchforks and an angry mob. The grassroots are rising and people have had enough. As much as this budget stinks, it has inspired people to work and come together in search of the real change that we have been swindled out of so many times before. Our time is now Newfoundland and Labrador. This is your home, stand up and fight for it! 

Budget 2016 - Who Pays for Rainy Days?

Budget 2016  - Who Pays for Rainy Days?

By: Ryan Young

There was doom and gloom hanging in the air of the House of Assembly yesterday as Finance Minister Cathy Bennett stood to deliver her maiden budget speech. You could have almost mistaken the event for a funeral. The only difference being that a funeral would likely be a more uplifting event. There were more than a few shocked gasps and whispered “oh-my’s” going around the gallery as Minister Bennett delivered the news and there was a look of shell-shock on the faces of many advocates and officials that were trying to digest a very difficult afternoon. If reaction on social media is any indicator the funeral analogy is quite apt as many people see this budget as the end of Newfoundland and Labrador as we know it. That may be a bit of a stretch, but there is no doubt that people are worried about what this budget means for them.

For many it was not the budget that they expected or wanted. Most people expected harsh measures but I don’t think many could have predicted what actually came down. As I wrote in my pre-budget analysis, I was not expecting any major public service cuts. On that issue I was correct. On the issue of taxes, however, I was dead wrong. The HST raise will create plenty of rhetoric in the house after all that Dwight Ball has said to defend his cancellation of the plan that had been put in place by the previous administration to raise it by 2 points. You can expect Paul Davis to beat that horse to death and back again during question period. Minister Bennett pulled no punches in delivering the bad news, sparing least of all the PC’s who she blamed for creating the financial mess we are in. Bennett said the tough budget was made necessary by a "failure to plan" by former governments, and oil royalties that once accounted for 30 per cent of revenues dropping to just over 7 per cent.

Bennett promised that a new zero-based budget approach would be taken as we move towards future budgets. This approach would see future budgets being costed from the ground up and not based on budgets from previous years. As a show of good faith cabinet members took a 10% pay cut for themselves. The gesture will save the province just over $60 000. With a mini-budget planned for the fall and more bad news expected in 2017, it looks like this is only the beginning of the rainy days for Newfoundland and Labrador.

So what does Budget 2016 mean for you?

The Good

There were certainly no sunny ways to celebrate in this budget, but despite words to the contrary by Cathy Bennett this week, it did include a few positive investments. The province put up about $60 million for innovation and diversification including funding for culture and heritage initiatives, tourism marketing, improving rural broadband capability, and research and development. They will invest a further $13 million to expand opportunities in seafood, mining, forestry and agriculture. There was also $11 Million earmarked for planning for the new Corner Brook and Waterford hospitals and an additional $2 million for long term care planning.

Some of the better parts of the investment plan were strangely absent from Minister Bennett’s speech in the house. $570 Million was announced for infrastructure spending but the minister failed to mention the $63.7 Million that was earmarked for the Trans-Labrador Highway. I had the pleasure of sitting next to the Mayor of Red Bay in the gallery and she had traveled to St. John’s with the hopes of hearing an announcement on the TLH. She left feeling that Labrador had gotten the shaft again. In fact, even though there were several budget initiatives aimed at Labrador, Minister Bennett failed to mention a single one of them. It kind of puts the “left-out” feelings of the people of the big land in better perspective.

There were also a few social spending surprises in the budget. The major announcement was $76.4 million for a new low income subsidy and an expansion of the existing senior’s benefit. Not included in Bennett’s speech but found in the budget highlights were also announcements for $12 million for renovating and modernizing public housing and improved supportive housing. There was also $119 million for inclusive education initiatives and $1 million for an expansion of the existing family court facilities. These are all well needed initiatives but we can’t help but feel that this budget did not go very far to address the extra pressure that will be added to our social systems as a direct result of the financial measures contained in Budget 2016.

The Bad

An additional $882 million annually will be raised from Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans through what Minister Bennett calls a series of “revenue adjustments”. Personal Income taxes are going up by 2% in each bracket over the next 2 years. HST is also going up 2 points, despite Dwight Balls previous insistence that the HST was a “job-killer” when he canceled the PCs plans to raise it just after the election in November. The gas tax will double with a rise of just over 16 cents. Tobacco taxes will increase, and there will be over 300 fee increases and 50 new fees added to government services. HST will be applied to insurance premiums as well, meaning residents will pay more on their insurance bills starting this year.

Some other less than favorable announcements included deferred infrastructure funding for some schools and capital works programs as well as increased class sizes in schools. The previous administrations decision to replace student loans for post-secondary students with grants has been reversed and $14 million has been cut from the budget at MUN. The province will leave the decision to keep the current tuition freeze in place with the university.

In the public service, 450 full time positions were cut from agencies, boards, and commissions. Another 200 positions in the core civil service have also been cut, however many of these employees will be restructured instead of losing their jobs outright. These cuts will have a negligible impact on the overall bottom line of the province but it is not surprising that they were so few as the government is about to start collective bargaining with the unions. More cuts should be expected in the fall.

The Ugly

The worst part about this budget is the fact that it puts the burden of past mistakes squarely on the backs of regular working families. In addition to the tax and fee increases, the government also announced a new temporary deficit-reduction levy that will range from $300 per year for lower income earners to $900 per year for top earners. Bennett promised a rollback of the levy would start in 2018 but for right now each and every worker in this province will have to pay just a little more. For someone earning $200 000 annually, $900 is a non-issue, but for a family living on $35 000, $300 will hurt. It is the regular taxpayer left holding the bag again.

The government estimates that the average worker will pay an additional $3000 per year based on their budget estimates. When you factor in the elimination of the baby bonus and the increases on gas and insurance premiums, it becomes clear that working-class families will bear the brunt of this budget. For many people the $1.3 Billion earmarked in the budget for Nalcor will be too much. On top of all of the increases we will also have to deal with constantly rising power bills starting this July. When asked if the massive hydro-electric project was a mistake, Bennett said the risks of cancelling the project are "enormous" but added, "We're going to make the changes that allow our government to have strong oversight on that project."

That might be hard to swallow when Ed Martin and his $600 000 salary are still in charge of the ongoing quagmire of construction delays and cost overruns that is known as Muskrat Falls. Cathy Bennett is very familiar with Ed Martin from her time as the chair of the Nalcor board and she should have some first-hand insight into how the corporation is run. Dwight Ball said over and over before the election that he had faith in the Muskrat project but not in its management. His solution to the management problem since the election, however, is to keep everything the same and issue Ed Martin  $1.3 billion to spend as he sees fit. This budget might be a little easier to take if it were not for the gathering shadow that Muskrat Falls has become.

Looking Forward

With an all-in philosophy on Nalcor being made quite clear, Cathy Bennett has delivered a budget that will be very hard on the working class people of this province in order to continue the development of Muskrat Falls. While we all realize that there needed to be strong and decisive action taken to begin repairing our fiscal outlook for the future, the decisions brought down by the minister yesterday will have a very negative effect on our economy and on the confidence of the young families that are left wondering if they have a future in Newfoundland and Labrador.

While more cuts to the public service are coming, it is likely that they will be based on seniority and will have an even greater effect on young families who want to stay in the province. The overall impact to our economy will reduce our real GDP by 3.2%. For those who don’t follow economics that translates into less jobs and a decreased tax base which means that the “temporary” measures outlined in yesterday’s budget may not be as temporary as the government would like you to believe.

There is some hope for this budget but only if major, targeted public service reductions follow it in the fall or next spring. If we can trim another $500 million and if oil goes back up in the neighborhood of $55 a barrel we could be back to running manageable deficits where any additional oil revenues could be used to balance the budget or pay down the debt. In the absence of that, however, this budget falls flat on the backs of our working families. We, the people, will continue to bear the brunt of loose fiscal management and be responsible for funding the Muskrat Falls project for generations to come.

If one positive thing can be taken from this budget it is that more people may begin to realize that the politics that they wish to ignore are about to start hitting them where it hurts. People might just begin to listen to what the politicians are saying and start to hold them accountable for their actions. Everyone’s wallet is about to get a little thinner and the only thing we will get out of it is a power bill that is three times higher. The people who didn’t care before might just start to take notice of what is really going on in this province. We can’t solve new problems with old ideas and there is nothing new or innovative to be found in Budget 2016. As far as I see it we have 2 choices. We can bend over and grin and bear it or we can start to come together and say enough is enough. If we want our government to be accountable, standing on the sidelines may no longer be an option.

The Honeymoon is Over - Pre Budget 2016

The Honeymoon is Over - Pre Budget 2016

By: Ryan Young

As Finance Minister Cathy Bennett prepares to table her first budget in the House of Assembly tomorrow, the public eagerly waits to see if we will finally be let in on the Liberal “plan.” Dire words came from the minister this week when she said that “not a single happy choice” would be found in Budget 2016. Those are certainly ominous words to hear from a finance minister just a few days before a provincial budget. Based on what we have seen from the Liberals thus far and the admission that the budget will actually be a three-part series that will include the 2017 budget as well as a mini-budget sometime in the fall, I don’t expect tomorrow’s budget to be quite as gloomy as the minister would like us to believe. Certainly there will be a few painful cuts and tax increases, but overall I don’t think that the real pain will come until a year from now when the Liberals finish up their government renewal initiative. Let’s take a look at what to expect in tomorrow’s budget.

Taxes and Fees

Despite the desperate need to raise some revenue, I don’t expect that this budget will backtrack on the Liberals decision to cancel the HST increase. That may come in 2017, but I am not sure that Dwight Ball feels confident enough yet in his shoes as premier to stand up and try to defend that decision in the house. More likely we will see increases on gas tax as well as on so called “sin taxes” such as tobacco and alcohol. You can also expect government fees to increase. Things like driver’s license renewals and hunting license fees could all see a moderate increase in this year’s budget. It is possible that we might see an increase in personal income taxes but that will, again, likely come in the fall or most likely, next spring.

Public Service

The disproportionate size of our public service has to be addressed. Indeed, this province spends half of its expenditures on salaries and benefits for public employees. With the Liberals promising no civil service layoffs as part of their election platform, they will be very wary about any cuts that they make this year. With contract negotiations with public sector unions looming in the very near future it is more likely that the government will, for the most part, leave the public service unscathed in this budget. What we might see from Cathy Bennett is some consolidation of certain positions that have proven to be clear redundancies during the line-by-line assessment of the government books. Most likely though, those positions will be retained and shuffled elsewhere, possibly in positions that have been vacated through attrition. Speaking of attrition, it will be the only real thing that we will hear from the Liberals this year on the issue of the public service. They will outline their continued plan for attrition (which by the way Dwight Ball opposed while in opposition) and promise a broader review of the public service following contract negations with the unions.

Program Cuts

This is the area that worries me a little. With Cathy Bennett telling us that “everything is on the table” we don’t really know what to expect in terms of cuts from this budget. Certainly there are some areas where programs may be outdated, underutilized, or redundant. In these cases it would be wise to consolidate or cut funding to inefficient programs that are not benefiting residents in the way that they were intended. On the other side of the coin, we have to be very careful about which social programs and tax credits that we eliminate without first performing due diligence on what the repercussions of such cuts might be. It will be interesting to see what balance Minister Bennett tries to achieve in her attempt to streamline government programs and services.

No Sunny Ways

Unlike the sunny ways budget brought down by Minister Bennett’s federal counterpart last month, we have already been put on notice that there will be no rays of sunshine from the budget she delivers tomorrow. Doom and gloom is leading the way and even the false optimism and political platitudes that we are so used to hearing at this time of year are strangely absent from the Liberals. One would expect that with so much of the Liberal election platform centering around diversification that we might see a few crumbs to encourage some small scale economic growth. With promises to get work underway for a new Corner Brook hospital and a new Waterford, we might have even expected to see at least some basic expenditure to tell us that these projects are moving forward, even if at a snail’s pace. And what happened to all of that social infrastructure money that was announced in the federal budget? Won’t any of that money be funneling down to our province to fund affordable housing, child care, and clean water initiatives? It is hard to swallow the sunny ways mantra when our own finance minister is singing songs of despair. Maybe the minister is just having us all on a bit so that when the budget comes down she can point to a few sound investments that say to the public that they are not giving up. Yes the situation is bad, maybe even dire, but there is still a province that needs to be governed and you can’t cut your way to prosperity. Growing our local economy was part of the Liberal platform and in order to do that you need to invest in local industry. If this budget fails to provide any new economic investment at all it will make it even harder for Dwight Ball do defend the diversification claims he made during the election campaign.

Hard Times Yet to Come

As we move towards the fall mini-budget and the general provincial budget in 2017 the message from the finance department will only continue to get worst. Muskrat Falls cost overruns, obscene debt servicing payments, and what we can only expect will be a shrinking tax base as even more people seek employment in other provinces and beyond, will force the governments hand at dramatically reducing expenditures. Whether they will do it through across the board cuts (most likely) or through targeted, independent audits (less likely but a better option) remains to be seen. Whatever they decide, they will need to do it soon so that we can all forget the pain before the next election.