Le Globe et le Mail

For a fellow who doesn't have much time for the Globe and Mail, who doesn't care what the Globe and Mail has to say about Him or the province (if the two can be distinguished), and who sees the Globe and Mail as part of a Great Big Conspiracy, Danny Williams sure spends a lot of time reading the Globe and Mail:

December 11, 2002: Mr. Speaker, the headlines in the national newspapers, The Globe and Mail and the Financial Post, last week read as follows: Inco’s Goro project in limbo. Inco shares tarnished over Goro, and higher costs threaten Inco’s Goro Mine. In fact, analyst David Charles said, "The major casualty of all these changes... is the credibility of Inco’s current management team and the uncertainty created by the review."

April 30, 2003: Mr. Speaker, we are a proud, hard-working people in Newfoundland and Labrador. The federal government is attempting to destroy our culture, our pride and our way of life, but we are resilient, we will bounce back. Since 1992, our rural communities have been hit very hard. We hear today about the wonderful GDP, how our Province is growing, how we are the toast of the country. The Globe and Mail is talking about the great GDP we have. What does that mean to the fishermen in the gallery? It means absolutely nothing, because their lives are being devastated by this particular closure and how the government can get up and talk about a GDP. We have to talk about what is important to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

March 22, 2006: Just listen to this piece in last Wednesday’s Globe and Mail report on business, March 15. Headline: Revival on the Rock. The opening line reads: It has been a good year to be a Newfoundlander - we could add to that, and a Labradorian, but this is a verbatim quote, Your Honour, Mr. Speaker. It goes on to state and quote: A recent report prepared for Petroleum Research Atlantic Canada, funded in part by the oil companies and the Newfoundland Government, concluded that Newfoundland’s economy isn’t just surging; it has been transformed. Companies are now more ambitious, more competitive, and more confident.

March 28, 2007: Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams went on the offensive Wednesday with a series of newspaper advertisements that attack Prime Minister Stephen Harper... The advertisements appear in a number of newspapers, including the Globe and Mail.

May 31, 2007: I noticed, actually, in The Globe and Mail today there was a comment by, I think, the President of the Canadian Association of Radiologists that actually indicated that the number of misdiagnoses or items that are missed during a review of X-rays and other types of technology, that the error rate is up to 25 per cent, which is quite alarming, quite frankly. That is the Canadian Association saying that one out of four can be wrong.

December 8, 2008: Mr. Speaker, last week I had a – I would consider a very curt and brief conversation with Mr. Paterson. Myself and the minister, and Cabinet and government found out in The Globe and Mail that this mill was going to be closed down. So when I spoke with him I expressed my displeasure to him at that particular time as to the manner in which this message was conveyed to the people of Grand Falls particularly and surrounding areas, and the communities, the wood and mill workers and everybody involved, and of course, the government on behalf of the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.

December 17, 2008: If it is any consolation, the Globe and Mail today nailed me for it, and that is a good thing, because if they are criticising it, we are definitely doing something right, there is no doubt about that. The other interesting thing is, look at the reaction that has come into the Globe and Mail from ordinary Canadians, ordinary individuals right across this country who were responding to that particular article in the Globe and Mail and nearly to a man and to a woman, they are supporting the actions of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador and what we have done in order to protect our natural resources.

December 18, 2008: The ultimate compliment was when the Globe and Mail decided to put us and the paper mill on the front page for the first time. They do it when we do something to stand up for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians.

September 9, 2009: Now goodness knows I’m not one to take to the bank the opinions of the Globe and Mail. But I would like to quote from a recent editorial some very unsettling and relevant comments.

Quote: “As analysts slice the numbers to determine the recession’s winners and losers, one often forgotten demographic, with modest aspirations, is starting to stand out. As a group, youth expect three things: that jobs will be available to them; that opportunities for further training and advancement are within reach; and that they will not be saddled with costs bequeathed by previous generations. In each regard, young Canadians are getting a raw deal.”

Well, folks mark down the date. Because I agree with the Globe and Mail. Indeed, several years ago I committed to the youth of this province that not only would our government start by hearing what they have to say; we would actually listen.