Dundermath

Cathy Blunderdale laid the following accounting egg yesterday in the House of Assembly, an assertion of fact which went unchallenged in today's Telegram:

MS DUNDERDALE: Now, Mr. Speaker, since we started the development of oil and gas in this Province, the oil companies have earned over $11 billion, the federal government has earned $5 billion, and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador have earned just over $1 billion.

Now, anybody can do the math and figure out that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, under that scenario, are certainly not the chief beneficiaries, the principal beneficiaries, of the development of that resource. That has stopped. From now on, when there is development in this Province, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador will be the principal beneficiaries.

Apparently “anyone” can do the math.

But as any good math teacher, or better yet, math student, will know, getting the right answer is only half your mark.

The other half is showing your work.

So assume, for the sake of argument, and solely for the sake of argument, that Blunderdale's answer is right.

Can we then see the work?

Break it out: how much has the province received, and under what envelopes?

How much has the federal government received, and under what envelopes?

And how much the developers who actually put up the capital that allowed the other two to take their shares?

Show the work.

For extra credit: would someone, please, define the phrase “principal beneficiaries”?

Is it the same as “primary beneficiaries”?

You know, as in when Danny Williams says, “We will not develop the Lower Churchill unless the primary beneficiaries are Labradorians. You have my assurance on that.”