Patience is a virtue

Last Wednesday, mere hours after Chantal had stopped raining on Danny Williams Parade of Pettniess, the four-year-old Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador told a radio reporter that the people — scratch that, The People — should be patient with the province when it came to disaster relief and rebuilding.

In the same breath, however, he exhorted His adoring masses to be impatient with Canada Occupational Government. "The federal government moves slowly, sometimes not at all, quite frankly," he said.

But back to that first part, y'know, about patience with the provincial government. It's probably sound advice on Danny's part.

As Jamie Baker reports in The Telegram today:

Overtures from the province suggesting the federal government is not anteing up its share in disaster relief money is disingenuous at best, and downright wrong at worst, says federal Fisheries Minister Loyola Hearn.

Hearn confirmed Monday that the federal government has funneled millions in disaster relief to this province, much of it in upfront payments, in recent years.

He also mapped out several specific events - including floods at Badger and Stephenville - that remain hanging in funding limbo because the province simply hasn't forwarded the bills to Ottawa.

"We know the amount of work and documentation that some of these departments deal with and that part is acceptable and forgivable - but if that's the case, don't turn around and blame somebody else for not giving you your just desserts if you haven't even applied or sent the necessary documentation," Hearn told The Telegram.

"If the province had submitted claims to Ottawa that were not paid, all I would need is to make one phone call to see where it is. There would be no excuse.

"But if the documentation isn't in, it's no good to go checking because there's nothing to hang your hat on."

The provincial government's laxity is documented in a separate sidebar:

2000 storm: Advance payments totalling $2.2 million; waiting for provincial documentation to support further claims.

2001 storm: Advance payments totalling $2.6 million; waiting for extra provincial documentation to support further claims.

2003 Badger flood: Advance payment of $1 million; waiting for provincial documentation to support any further claim.

2003: West Coast floods: Advance payment of $1.2 million made; waiting for provincial documentation to support any further claim.

2005 spring flood: Waiting for provincial documentation to support advance payment and any further claim

2005 Stephenville flood: Waiting for provincial documentation to support advance payment and any further claim

2006 rain storm: Order in Council approved August 2006 to deal with situation, but no advance payment has been requested. Waiting for provincial documentation to support any claim.

Three of those seven events took place during the Danny Williams era. Another two happened during the 2003 election year, which means, given the timelines usually associated with the federal Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements, that the tardy paperwork was retarded by the current provincial administration.

Moving slowly and sometimes not at all. Quite frankly. Indeed.