How Not to Be Autonomous (II)

People with memories longer than is conveniently short will remember the Great Autonomous Throne Speech of 2007, to wit:

My government will harness the desire among Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to cultivate greater cultural, financial and moral autonomy vis-a-vis Ottawa.

It's hard to say the the desire has gone out, what with the nations of Canada and Newfoundland currently, and Labrador, battling it out over how much money should flow from the Canadian government to the Newfoundland government, and Labrador, in order that the latter be fiscally autonomous.

Moral and cultural autonomy, we'll set aside for now.

So it was a bit odd to see Transportation and Works Minister Trevor Taylor take time out of his busy schedule — this time of year, after all, being usually tied up in working with the Premier's political staff to take the politics out of PRIP allocations for the coming six months — to talk about ferries.

No, no, not the federal Gulf ferries. As an unattributed piece buried in the C section of the Telegram on Saturday reported:

This week's federal budget did nothing to address the serious need for fleet replacement on the Gulf ferry service, says Trevor Taylor, Minister of Transportation and Works.

Instead, it was the second para that makes an informed body go "huh?":

And if the federal government was truly serious about economic stimulus, especially in the shipbuilding sector, it would have entertained ways of building a new ferry for the Strait of Belle Isle ferry service, a provincial service that is contracted out to a private company.

Why on earth would the federal government "entertain ways of building a new ferry for the Strait of Belle Isle ferry service", which, the article points out, is "a provincial service", in respect of any province, let alone one which — remember 2007 — seeks to "harness the desire among Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to cultivate greater cultural, financial and moral autonomy vis-a-vis Ottawa."

How on earth could the good Minister get away with such a suggestion unchallenged and unquestioned?