More nice money if you can get it.

Fresh on the heels of the Danny Williams' Administration's decision to fund 81% of the new arena in St. Anthony, comes the Danny Williams' Administration's decision to fund 75% of the new recreational facility for the northern suburbs of St. John's:

Province Partners with Towns to Build $6.5M Recreational Facility

Government has partnered with the municipalities of Torbay, Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, Pouch Cove and Flatrock to support construction of a new $6.5 million arena for the region.

The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador will contribute $4.9 million to the new facility through Municipal Capital Works funding. The remainder of the funding will be cost-shared by the Towns of Torbay, Logy Bay-Middle Cove-Outer Cove, Pouch Cove and Flatrock.

Once again, for the benefit of visual learners, here's a cleverly colour-coded pie chart:

Speaking in the House of Assembly on November 28, 2005, Glorious Leader said, speaking of the still-unbuilt Mealy Mountain auditorium in Happy Valley-Goose Bay:

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, I can give the hon. member opposite my firm assurance that there is absolutely no intention whatsoever to discriminate against youth in Labrador. I can tell you that. That is quite honestly and quite definitely.

What we have already indicated is that we are now giving favourable consideration to this particular facility. What we are trying to do is to lever as much money as we can out of the federal government in order to proceed with this.

And as Danny also said, of the same project:

Our government is endeavouring to work collaboratively with the Government of Canada to identify ways for the federal government to bear the majority of the costs of an auditorium project.

So here are two community infrastructure projects in Newfoundland. In the St. Anthony case, the province, including the taxpayers of Labrador, are paying 81% of the cost, and the federal government is paying 10%. In the other, the northeastern Avalon case, the province, including the taxpayers of Labrador, are paying 75% of the cost, and not one cent is expected or demanded of the federal government... let alone that Ottawa "bear the majority of the costs".

"It’s high time that Labradorians, instead of feeling like someone else’s treasure trove, started feeling like an integral part of our province," Danny Williams once said, a long, long time ago.

And yes, it is high time.

"We cannot expect fair treatment from Ottawa if we don't practise what we preach."

And no, you can't.