Paul Oram

From the proceedings of the Bow-Wow Parliament, March 26, 2007:

MR. ORAM: It completely boggles my mind when I hear anyone talk about the little deal that was done on equalization, the little deal that was done on our Atlantic Accord. It was a major deal and I give the Premier, I give this government, 100 per cent marks for making that happen to this Province.

Thank God, by the way, thank God that he did it before this new federal government got in, this new crowd that got in there, that said on a little bulletin here that my hon. colleague from St. John’s North just showed a few minutes ago, where they said they would absolutely make sure that they gave us 100 per cent of our Atlantic Accord. They said for sure they would not put a cap on it. They would not do any of that stuff. Now, all of a sudden, we are talking about a crowd now that says: Hold the phone, now. We just decided that this deal is just a little bit too good for Newfoundland and Labrador. We do not really want Newfoundland and Labrador to have a great deal like that. Sure, we want Newfoundland and Labrador to do okay, we would like them to do all right, but we are not going to give them what they need to do really, really, well. Therefore, because it is not hardly so good for Ontario, or because it is not hardly so good for some other province in Canada, we have to stop that. We cannot let that deal go through.

What a bunch of silliness. Then, to listen to people opposite almost - I will not they are, I will say almost - supporting that deal. Well, I cannot believe it. The fact of the matter is, the Prime Minister of Canada made a deal, made an agreement, and now he has decided that he is going to pull back from that deal, he is going to put a cap on it. He cannot let Newfoundland and Labrador do any better than anybody else in Canada, and that is very, very scary. I wonder who we are going to be able to trust in the new election. That is the question I have to ask.