Making up for not running Our Dear Letter to the Editor

Our Dear Ex-Ambassador must be one of those nationalist Newfoundlanders who hasn’t read the Globe and Mail since Charles Lynch had those nasty things to say during the Meech Lake debate.

Never mind, of course, that Charles Lynch wrote for the Ottawa Citizen and the Southams.

Anyway – another exchange on today’s running of the Two-Hour Daily Hate:

Our Dear Ex-Ambassador: Every now and then you fall victim to the propaganda put out by the national press, the National Post and the Globe and Mail…

Caller Norm: You know what the Globe is like, they’re trash on Newfoundland.

For the record, the editorial in the Monday edition of Toronto’s National Newspaper:

Too often, Danny Williams has heeded the advice of a beloved provincial folk song - to rant and to roar like a true Newfoundlander - to the detriment of national unity. But the Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador has also eliminated the province's almost-perennial deficit, cut taxes, made peace with the offshore oil industry and embraced a policy of education and innovation in a province that has relied on employment insurance.

It is a populist and practical approach to government, and it will likely ensure another majority for his Conservatives in tomorrow's provincial election. Mr. Williams is so popular that he has openly mused about the need for a constructive opposition. "There's no benefit to me winning every seat, to be quite honest with you," he declared last month. Other provincial premiers would kill for the chance to make such a selfless proclamation.

Mr. Williams has a solid record. The province's economic growth rate could be the highest in the nation this year. His government is in the black, with a forecast surplus of $261-million in 2007-08.

His most recent budget included the largest tax reduction in provincial history, as well as practical spending on infrastructure, resource development and skills training. The former entrepreneur has worked hard to broaden the province's business base, including its tourism industry. This summer, after months of very public squabbling, he signed a memorandum of understanding with the oil industry to develop the Hebron-Ben Nevis field.

Perhaps most important, he has subtly changed Newfoundlanders' traditional image of themselves. Although he fosters the trite notion that Newfoundland is a victim of federal machinations, he has called for self-reliance through knowledge and skills on the campaign trail.

His education platform includes improvements in the mathematics curriculum and more debt relief for postsecondary students.

In contrast, Liberal Party Leader Gerry Reid has an earnest platform that devotes more time to proposals to share the wealth than to ways of producing it. The former teacher has tried to exploit resentment in poorer Labrador and in rural areas, where the population is declining as young people leave in search of jobs. In today's Newfoundland, it is an oddly anachronistic appeal.

Mr. Williams has huge faults. Upset over changes to the federal formula for transfer payments, he is waging a single-minded war against his fellow Conservative, Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

His election blueprint even denounced Mr. Harper as an opponent of Newfoundland's struggle for fairness within Confederation. That is ridiculous. After transfers, Newfoundland has the second-highest fiscal capacity in the nation this year. Its per-capita program expenditures were the highest in Canada in 2005-06. Mr. Williams's over-the-top rhetoric has strained the generosity and patience of hard-pressed taxpayers in other provinces, and unnecessarily damaged Newfoundland's relations with other provinces and Ottawa.

Still, he has been a savvy and conscientious premier, opening doors to a better life for his voters. He deserves a second term.