Who's not laughing now?

An exchange between Glorious Opposition Leader, as he then was, and another Member, from the March 19, 2002 sitting of the Bow-Wow Parliament:

MR. WILLIAMS: ... When the ore goes to Sudbury, Newfoundlander and Labradorians are going to leave this Province and follow.

AN HON. MEMBER: (Inaudible).

MR. WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, my comments are not political. They are quite sincere.

SOME HON. MEMBERS: Oh, oh!

MR. WILLIAMS: Honourable members may laugh, because they laugh at the condition of this Province. They laugh about out-migration. They laugh at 40,000 Newfoundlanders leaving this Province. I cannot laugh at that. I am sorry, I cannot share your laughter.

In the thirteen quarters between January 1, 2004, and March 31, 2007, 44,465 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians took up residence in another province or territory of Canada. Another 443 emigrated outside of Canada entirely.

That's more than the 36,507 who left the province in the same span of time leading up to the end of 2003.

That's more than the 44,335 who left in the last thirteen quarters of the Tobin administration, and more than the 39,714 who left in the last thirteen quarters of the Wells administration.