tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-114667492024-03-12T20:46:01.200-03:00labradore"We can't allow things that are inaccurate to stand." — The Word of Our Dan, February 19, 2008.WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.comBlogger3862125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-90459793780451097312019-03-13T23:42:00.000-03:002019-03-14T11:43:07.670-03:00UndisclosureSo the plot thickens.<br />
<br />
Elections Newfoundland and Labrador is chronically incapable of posting public campaign finance disclosures within a calendar year of the statutory deadline for parties and candidates to submit their paperwork. <a href="http://labradore.blogspot.com/search/label/AccountabiliBuddy">That phenomenon has been documented in this corner ad nauseam</a>.<br />
<br />
More disturberesting, however, is the fact that at some point in the first half of 2017, Elections NL took upon itself to relieve us of all this disclosure by removing parties' annual financial disclosures from before 2009, and party election-campaign disclosures from before 2007, from its website.<br />
<br />
On February 27, 2017, the Elections NL website still held an archive of "annual" and "election" campaign finance reports going back to 1996, when such reports were first required under amendments to the provincial<i> Elections Act</i>.<br />
<br />
Sometime on or before June 18th, those archival reports were quietly bit-bucketed.<br />
<br />
There's probably an explanation.<br />
<br />
Not a very good or reasonable one, but an explanation nevertheless.<br />
<i><br /></i>
<br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com164tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-41933069662305588362019-02-13T00:04:00.002-04:002019-02-13T00:04:38.879-04:00Disclosure delayed (V)February 2019 is now nearly half over.<br />
<br />
At <a href="https://www.elections.gov.nl.ca/elections/PoliticalFinanceReports/index.asp">Elections NL</a>, there is still no sign of any political finance disclosure for calendar year 2017, nor for any by-election campaign held so far during the life of the current legislature.WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-89284780157194726162019-01-22T21:07:00.000-04:002019-01-22T21:07:01.680-04:00IncompetenceIt is January 22, 2019.<br />
<br />
Over at <a href="https://www.elections.gov.nl.ca/elections/PoliticalFinanceReports/index.asp">Elections NL</a>, there is still no sign of the 2017 political finance disclosures for registered provincial political parties, nor of the finance disclosures for the candidates who ran in that year's by-election in Mount Pearl North.<br />
<br />
(<a href="http://labradore.blogspot.com/2019/01/disclosure-delayed-iv.html">Previous post</a>)WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-31176611251324273632019-01-10T19:53:00.000-04:002019-01-10T19:53:00.158-04:00Disclosure delayed (IV)Per <a href="https://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/e03-1.htm#299_">s. 299 of the <i>Elections Act</i></a>, the detailed reports of each registered political party's incoming financial contributions must be filed with Elections NL on or before April 1 of each year. For calendar year 2017, that period expired on April 1, 2018.<br />
<br />
Per. <a href="https://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/e03-1.htm#304_">s. 304 of the same act</a>, the report of each candidate's incoming campaign contributions must be filed with Elections NL within four months of polling day. For the by-election held in Mount Pearl North on November 21, 2017, that deadline came and went on March 21, 2018.<br />
<br />
In both cases — the annual contribution reports for parties for calendar years 2017, and the election contribution reports for the four candidates who ran in the November 2017 by-election — the documentation, which was due into Elections NL at least eight months ago, is still nowhere to be found on that office's website.<br />
<br />
We are now ten days into calendar year 2019.<br />
<br />
<br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-47318341023851739712018-12-11T21:34:00.000-04:002018-12-11T21:34:10.486-04:00From the Memory Hole, episode infinity at this point<div class="tr_bq">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
From a front-page report in the St. John's <i>Telegram </i>of August 15, 2009.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In light of certain other recent developments, it's almost as if there was a pattern or something.</div>
<br />
<blockquote style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /><b>Briefings only oral for Oram</b><b><i>No paper trail outlining issues in Health department</i></b><br />Rob Antle<br /><br />It has a budget of $2.6 billion and is responsible for ensuring the well-being of more than half a million residents of Newfoundland and Labrador, but the Department of Health and Community Services says it does not have a single scrap of paper or e-mail provided to brief incoming minister Paul Oram about his new job. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The Telegram made a request under provincial access to information laws for any briefing materials provided to, or prepared for, Oram.</blockquote>
<blockquote style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The request included paper and electronic records.</blockquote>
<blockquote style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
The response? Nothing. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Oram said in an interview he prefers verbal briefings. </blockquote>
<blockquote style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
"I didn't ask for any briefing notes," the minister said. "To tell you the truth, I don't get much out of briefing notes. I get more out of people sitting and talking to me about what we've got to do."</blockquote>
WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-36682747557579447462018-12-04T22:24:00.003-04:002018-12-04T22:24:54.401-04:00Disclosure delayed (III)In 27 days it will be 2019.<br />
<br />
Over at <a href="https://www.elections.gov.nl.ca/elections/PoliticalFinanceReports/index.asp">Elections NL</a>, there is still no sign of the 2017 political financial disclosures which have been in the hands of the elections office for months. Public release of the documents was promised "in the near future"... <a href="https://www.thetelegram.com/news/local/nl-liberals-raise-five-times-more-than-pcs-and-ndp-combined-in-2017-234769/">back in August</a>.<br />
<br />
Is it the near future yet?<br />
<br />
That was the same time, incidentally, that the same elections administrator said that financial reports from the November 21, 2017 Mount Pearl North by-election would be finalized "in the coming weeks."<br />
<br />
The candidates in that by-election, per <a href="https://assembly.nl.ca/Legislation/sr/statutes/e03-1.htm#304_">s. 304 of the <i>Elections Act</i></a>, had until March 21, 2018 to submit that documentation.WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-62982793212774885542018-11-20T18:46:00.000-04:002018-12-04T22:17:18.030-04:00Disclosure delayed (II)With 41 days to go before it's 2019, the <a href="https://www.elections.gov.nl.ca/elections/PoliticalFinanceReports/index.asp">most recent Elections NL political finance disclosures</a> are from calendar year 2016.<br />
<br />
And on the eve of the anniversary of the electoral event, there is likewise no sign of the campaign finance disclosures for the November 21, 2017 by-election in Mount Pearl North.<br />
<br />
<br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-67284226326245849902018-11-07T18:05:00.000-04:002018-11-07T18:05:00.144-04:00Disclosure delayedWith seven weeks to go before it's 2019, the <a href="https://www.elections.gov.nl.ca/elections/PoliticalFinanceReports/index.asp">most recent Elections NL political finance disclosures</a> are from calendar year 2016.<br />
<br />
With two weeks to go before the anniversary of the electoral event, there is likewise no sign of the campaign finance disclosures for the November 2017 by-election in Mount Pearl North.<br />
<br />
<br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-38491454185920302312018-01-01T21:55:00.000-04:002018-01-01T21:55:03.563-04:00Lake Melville, December 2017<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Yes, that's open water.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywOzeuNESQxodqqyg9wHh4skPSMp0oKzu0CXENziyg8iuXvfq3Y_jqe6Bvi2joQsYh434o-EHlvPbz_e4U_n-3h_bH065MAXEo6z439n3sBNS-6pteyzKu_dhgp_8-3NJQEyi/s1600/IMG_3211%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="762" data-original-width="1600" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhywOzeuNESQxodqqyg9wHh4skPSMp0oKzu0CXENziyg8iuXvfq3Y_jqe6Bvi2joQsYh434o-EHlvPbz_e4U_n-3h_bH065MAXEo6z439n3sBNS-6pteyzKu_dhgp_8-3NJQEyi/s400/IMG_3211%255B1%255D.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-39510480606400501302017-09-30T16:03:00.001-03:002017-09-30T16:03:49.952-03:00DemocracyThe people have spoken. From two recent VOCM Questions of the Day.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnM8GjClzxPLuBQNb9hv_b5sw2FeWqk81JerE8CsXeMFBnKQTOKT6NlDZ1AnyPcKZYorMaxUtZ3Xdmwn22tHI77Y_dRhsLUs8MFxW4cWsR6waMl_c_vCTGlDeYrPu9yVXm08Mk/s1600/20170814+Vote+Municipal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="637" data-original-width="959" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnM8GjClzxPLuBQNb9hv_b5sw2FeWqk81JerE8CsXeMFBnKQTOKT6NlDZ1AnyPcKZYorMaxUtZ3Xdmwn22tHI77Y_dRhsLUs8MFxW4cWsR6waMl_c_vCTGlDeYrPu9yVXm08Mk/s320/20170814+Vote+Municipal.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4VgY9ve1tHcERSZmu1FVdZUCI1zxGOrH49bTiL2S1zhVp9LDJpgDMvgsGST0OPAtrrD6dpzc9sN_dcgm5Uq_Ej8t5rECPR8UIa3Ce5Co5M92B7md5N_9ApgMhrKDC3jLx_83E/s1600/20170926+Vote+Municipal.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="636" data-original-width="954" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4VgY9ve1tHcERSZmu1FVdZUCI1zxGOrH49bTiL2S1zhVp9LDJpgDMvgsGST0OPAtrrD6dpzc9sN_dcgm5Uq_Ej8t5rECPR8UIa3Ce5Co5M92B7md5N_9ApgMhrKDC3jLx_83E/s320/20170926+Vote+Municipal.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-73447826018041843622017-06-01T20:34:00.000-03:002017-06-01T20:34:05.125-03:00JunedayIt is June 1, 2017.
<br />
<br />
<br />
As of today, <a href="http://www.elections.gov.nl.ca/elections/PoliticalFinanceReports/index.asp">Elections NL has still not posted</a> a disclosure of campaign contributions to the candidates who ran in the November 2015 provincial general election.<br />
<br />
<br />
In one nod to very-delayed accountability, the disclosure of contributions to central party coffers was posted on May 18th. Contrary to the provisions of the Elections Act, Elections NL did not distinguish contributions made during the campaign period from other contributions during that calendar year.WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-74371873646036581442017-05-01T23:29:00.001-03:002017-05-01T23:29:32.673-03:00MaydayIt is May 1st, 2017.<br />
<br />
Elections Newfoundland and Labrador has still not posted annual and campaign-period political financing disclosure reports for calendar year and election period 2015.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b></b><i></i><u></u><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-45961319700338228232017-04-03T06:07:00.000-03:002017-04-03T10:08:56.826-03:00Access denied<a href="http://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/e03-1.htm#299_">Section 299</a> of the provincial Elections Act provides as follows:<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
299. (1) Where an authorized person, on behalf of a registered party accepts, in a year, a contribution, the chief financial officer of the party shall record the contribution as to amount and the name and address of the contributor. <br />
...<br />
(3) A registered party shall file with the Chief Electoral Officer, within the period during which an annual financial statement shall be filed, a return with respect to contributions that either individually or in sum exceed $100 setting out all the information required to be recorded under subsections (1) and (2). </blockquote>
Read in conjunction with <a href="http://www.assembly.nl.ca/legislation/sr/statutes/e03-1.htm#303_">s. 303</a>, the deadline for filing that return of "annual" political finance contributions is April 1st.<br />
<br />
<br />
That is, the deadline for registered parties to file their financial returns for calendar year 2016 expired on Saturday past.<br />
<br />
<br />
As of now, Elections Newfoundland and Labrador has still not posted such annual returns for calendar year 2015, which were due on April 1, 2016, nor the campaign-period returns relative to the 2015 election, which were due the day before that.WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-14252106387468768432017-03-28T19:40:00.000-03:002017-03-28T19:40:16.378-03:00In memoriamOn February 23, 1973, the recently-elected MP for the then-riding of Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador delivered his maiden speech in the House of Commons.<br />
<br />
Bill Rompkey went on to be re-elected four times in that riding, and twice in the future standalone Labrador riding whose creation he mused about in 1973. In 1995 was appointed to the Senate, where he served until the mandatory retirement age in 2011.<br />
<br />
Mr. Rompkey — "the Boss" to any of us who ever worked for him — died last week in Ottawa at the age of 80.<br />
<br />
Here, for the record, is the text of that maiden speech (scanning errors excepted.) As always, it is fascinating to note how many things have changed in the intervening four decades, and how many things have stayed the same.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
* * *</div>
<br />
<strong>Mr. William Rompkey (Parliamentary Secretary to Minister of the Environment):</strong> Mr, Speaker, it is a great pleasure to rise as a member of this House on the first occasion and it is a particular pleasure to take part in the budget debate. I want to say to you, Sir, I am very pleased to be here at this time as the member for Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador. May I also take this opportunity of saying to you and to those who occupy that chair how impressed I have been with the impartiality and fairness with which you conduct yourselves. I want to tell the House something about my riding. I will try to relate my remarks to the budget speech because certain aspects of the budget have very wide implications for my riding.<br />
<br />
This is one of the largest ridings in Canada, encompassing an area of about 130,000 square miles including a great part of the island of Newfoundland and the territory of Labrador of some 112,000 square miles. It is a wide-spread riding with diverse and divergent social and economic problems ranging from the problems of the woods industry in central Newfoundland through the beautiful Green Bay area with its great tourist potential, through the area of White Bay which is primarily concerned with the fishing industry, to the whole territory of Labrador. This area has been called the last great storehouse of natural wealth, but even in Labrador there are great contradictions. On the coast are the small isolated communities sometimes ranging from two or three families in the summer months to communities of 1,000 people. In the central part of Labrador we have the communities of Hamilton Inlet, Goose Bay—which is now undergoing a transitional stage—and in the west one of the greatest hydroelectric developments in the world at Churchill Falls. Farther west there are the great iron mines of Labrador City and Wabush. It is a land of contrasts. There, too, we have the Indian and Eskimo communities. These people are desperately trying to adapt themselves to the twentieth century. If we think we are having cultural problems in adapting to the rapid pace of technology, these people are suffering even more so in that regard. These changes baffle all of us who are Canadians whether we live in small villages or large cities. So, in a way, this riding is a microcosm of Canada with problems of regional disparity, problems of great distances to be spanned, problems of communication from one end to the other, and problems of economic and social development.<br />
<br />
It is to areas such as mine that this budget is mostly aimed. I take issue with the term that our areas are have-not provinces. They have been described as such in the past. We may be have-not in economic terms, but there is a great cultural heritage there and a great historic background from which to draw. In these areas there is a sense of identity and a sense of community which my friends from Quebec may understand very well but which I believe is lacking today in many areas of North America and, indeed, in the world where the impact of technology has been felt. So there is a lot there to be thankful for.<br />
<br />
I hope that when we plan our future in these areas we will take into account our way of life and find the kind of province we want. Like all parts of the world, we have felt the impact of rampant technology. Industry today is becoming capital-intensive rather than labour-intensive. Jobs are disappearing whether a man works in a fishing boat, in the iron mines, in the mills, or wherever it happens to be. Those who have prided themselves on their independence are dismayed and frustrated now in having to accept government assistance. It is my hope and belief that this budget, reflecting as it does the policies of this government, will alleviate the economic problems from which my riding suffers. <br />
<br />
I was extremely pleased to see the proposed increase in pensions for the elderly and the veterans. I think we have a responsibility to both these groups. Money in their pockets should represent an asset to the economy. But I believe we must do more than that. We must not simply look after our elderly people; we must create a positive role for them in our society. I am very pleased to see the New Horizons program and the extension of it this year. This should be a positive way whereby we can draw on the experience of the older people in our society so that they may play a useful role with the knowledge and experience only they possess. <br />
<br />
We must solve the unemployment problem. We must give people in the disadvantaged areas, people who pride themselves on their independence, an opportunity to get back their self-respect. I was particularly pleased to see the tax cuts. This should be of great help to people, particularly those in the lower income group. The mothers in my riding, I believe, will be particularly pleased to see the tax taken off children's clothing and other food items. This will help combat the high cost of living in many areas. <br />
<br />
I may say here that I look forward to the time when the government introduces the revised family income security plan. These two measures together should be of great help to the people in the lower income group. There are other pressing problems in my riding which obviously could not be dealt with in the budget speech but with which the government must deal. This will mean positive expenditure and government action.<br />
<br />
Perhaps I might say a few words about the fishing industry in my area because it is particularly important. At the present time this industry is in a transitional stage. The time really has passed when a man could survive through the use of a small boat in the inshore fishery. Nevertheless, we have a responsibility to that man. He is the man who prosecuted the fishery for years, who survived on his own, who wanted to make a contribution to society and who is prepared to be independent. We all know there is far too little of this in the world today. So we must preserve the fishery in so far as possible. This industry has felt the impact of technology, as have other industries in the province. Yet there is an increasing demand for food, and prices are improving. We must help the inshore fishermen. I think the government is dealing with that problem and will continue to do so. <br />
<br />
I take issue with those on the other side who criticize the department which is presently administering those policies. I want to tell them that the Minister of Fisheries (Mr. Davis) is not dead. He is alive and well. He is administering a very capable department served by a very capable staff in the fisheries branch, many of whom I am very pleased to say are Newfoundlanders, I have great confidence in that branch and in the department and I am very pleased to be associated with it. <br />
<br />
This year there is a great need for improved icebreaking services in our province. I note with satisfaction that there is provision in the estimates for at least one more ice-breaker. However, I feel this will not be enough and that there will have to be more expenditures in this region if we are to help the woods industry in central Newfoundland and the fishing industry on the Newfoundland and Labrador coasts. I look forward to the time when government will provide even more funds for this very necessary service. <br />
<br />
I was pleased to note that live television has come to Goose Bay. I am disappointed that it is not yet in Labrador West. I look forward to the time when the people on the Labrador coast will also receive live television. In fact, it may very well be that they will receive live television before they have a telephone service, because there are still communities in that area which do not have this very necessary service. Communication in northern Newfoundland and in many parts of my riding is far from acceptable either in terms of telephone or mail. It is still extremely frustrating to me to try to communicate with my constituents in that area. I urge the government, either directly or through agencies connected with it, to try to solve this problem and take steps immediately to improve these essential services which all Canadians should enjoy and to which they are entitled. These people still are not in the mainstream of Canadian life, and meanwhile the rate of change is increasing. <br />
<br />
I was very pleased to hear my colleague, the Minister of Regional Economic Expansion (Mr. Jamieson) speak of the decentralization of his department. This is a most important department to us both in terms of infrastructure development and industrial incentive. The idea of bringing decision-making down to the local level is something to which we have looked forward for some time. It will allow us, in that area and in all areas, to do our own thing, because I believe it is not simply enough for government to provide goods and services for people; we must ask the people at the local level to assist and take part in the decision-making process and assume responsibility for the policies and programs that will affect their lives. <br />
<br />
I hope the government will make an effort to build a highway across Labrador which is one of the last great areas of the north to be opened up. We have seen what has been done in the Yukon territory and the Northwest Territories. We have seen that area being slowly opened up by the construction of highways. I hope the same thing will occur in northern Labrador. I hope the government will give every consideration to building the highway across Labrador to open up that great area and to the highway up the northern peninsula from the national park which is presently under construction, as well as the road from Baie Verte to La Scie which will connect the communities in Green Bay. These are some of the problems I shall be bringing before the government during the coming months.<br />
<br />
While there are problems, there is great potential, particularly in the Labrador area. I believe it has a great future; and having lived there for eight years and now having the honour to serve in the House, I am proud to be able to help build that future, I believe that the economic development of Labrador has great meaning, not only for that area of the province and the whole province but indeed for the whole of Canada. And when we are made aware of power shortages that exist on this continent, such as have been experienced recently, we realize how much emphasis we must give to the development of the power potential in that area. <br />
<br />
Labrador needs a great deal of attention. To this end I believe it should have a member representing it in the House, a member wholly and solely for Labrador, as have the Northwest Territories and the Yukon. I give notice now that I shall be introducing a bill in the House which I hope will be debated and will receive a great deal of consideration, a bill which will ask the House to provide a member for Labrador in its own right so that its problems and its potential are put in their proper perspective. <br />
<br />
We in Grand Falls—White Bay—Labrador want to make our own unique contribution to the Canadian mosaic. We must create the kind of province we want. But the kind of province we can have depends on the responsiveness of the government of Canada, I believe this budget is an indication that the government is listening and is prepared to respond.WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-66495072226546841602016-10-23T06:25:00.000-03:002016-10-23T06:25:09.714-03:00RecyclingIn its last electoral platform before winning power in 2003, the PC Party under Danny Williams pledged:<br />
<blockquote>
<span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: x-small;">The Elections Act limits election campaign contributions and spending, and attempts to promote electoral fairness by allowing candidates to recover part of their campaign expenses from public funds. The intent of the Act is undermined by loopholes that allow political parties to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money before an election is called, as well as unlimited contributions and spending on candidate nominations and leadership contests. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "tahoma"; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial"; font-size: x-small;"> A Progressive Conservative government will take the following actions to close those loopholes: </span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial"; font-size: x-small;"> Limit political contributions by a person, corporation, or union in any year, including an election year, to a total of $10,000 to a registered political party and a total of $5,000 to one or more district associations of a registered party or one or more candidates in a provincial election in relation to their candidacy, by way of cash, cheque, money order, credit card or goods and services, but excluding the purchase of tickets or passes and donations in kind to fundraising events sponsored by a registered political party or district association of a registered party. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial"; font-size: x-small;"> Legislate contribution and spending limits for Party leadership contests and nominees in Party candidacy races. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial"; font-size: x-small;"> Require full disclosure of contributions and expenditures in party nomination contests and elections. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial"; font-size: x-small;"> Require disclosure of contributions to leadership campaigns as they occur and disclosure of independently audited expenses within three months after the election of a new leader. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "tahoma" , "arial"; font-size: x-small;"> Enact provisions requiring leadership candidates to return unused contributions to their leadership campaigns. </span></li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
At its <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/pc-party-policy-agm-1.3817106">first annual convention since losing power in 2015</a>, the PC Party under — Sandy Collins? — contemplated overhauling the campaign finance rules:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The party will also decide whether to adopt positions to limit corporate and union political donations, encourage more trade with the UK, as it exits the European Union, and grow more food locally.</blockquote>
<b></b><i></i><sub></sub><sup></sup><strike></strike><br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-353892311179422992016-08-31T20:34:00.002-03:002016-08-31T20:34:16.851-03:00Elections Dannystan rides againAs happened after the <a href="http://labradore.blogspot.ca/2008/05/numbers-junkie-still-twitchy.html">2007 election</a>, and as happened after the <a href="http://labradore.blogspot.ca/2012/07/info-delayed-is-info-denied.html">2011 election</a>, Elections Newfoundland and Labrador, for some inexplicable reason, took the full nine months given to it under statute to publish the "book" containing poll-by-poll results of the latest provincial election. <br />
<br />
This length of time to publish such detailed results is entirely out of line with the practice in every other province; each of which, with the exception of PEI, has more polling stations, votes, parties, and candidates whose vote tallies need counting and verification.<br />
<br />
This corner is not going to link to that "book".<br />
<br />
Why not? Because for equally inexplicable reasons, Elections NL has published a PDF "book" that clocks in at an absolutely staggering 218.9 megabytes in size.<br />
<br />
Try downloading that in Makkovik.<br />
<br />
That bloated file size, incidentally, runs counter to the provincial government's own <a href="http://www.ocio.gov.nl.ca/ocio/itresources/OCIOWebStandardsforGNLWebsites.pdf">web-publishing standards</a>, which state:<br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><blockquote class="tr_bq">
Compression and optimization techniques should be used to keep file sizes small. This includes all files which are delivered to the web browser, such as html/css/scripting files, images, audio and video files, and document/application files (pdf, word, etc.) </blockquote>
<br /></span><br />
By way of comparison, here are the file sizes for the PDF version of the last six provincial election results. The first two of these (1996 and 1999) are simply black-and-white graphical scans of a printed copy, because apparently computers and internets and digital pre-press and so forth didn't exist in the mid- to late-1990s.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_Gj4ZInW-ciN-RFDtkOCSIwoPMCX2pGsU4t7acg2w3OGKazz_YTYyVhLwx0zXB2rgG7vCy3K-oucWrCmdQkkvJrPlghDYeEOdraFc3ESJV74i5iFTbzVR8JIxsVC8rkONXd9/s1600/bloat.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1_Gj4ZInW-ciN-RFDtkOCSIwoPMCX2pGsU4t7acg2w3OGKazz_YTYyVhLwx0zXB2rgG7vCy3K-oucWrCmdQkkvJrPlghDYeEOdraFc3ESJV74i5iFTbzVR8JIxsVC8rkONXd9/s400/bloat.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
To their credit, Elections NL did, <em>for the first time ever</em>, publish the detailed results on-line in a machine-readable format. (<a href="http://www.elections.gov.nl.ca/elections/ElectionNight/2015GEResults.zip">Zipped Excel file link.</a>)<br />
<br />
To their debit, each electoral district is a separate page. Sheesh.<br />
<br />
And, <a href="http://labradore.blogspot.ca/2012/07/info-delayed-is-info-denied.html">not for the first time</a>, the "book" of detailed election results was not actually published for more than a month after the date which the "book" itself bears:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKilX_OkCaY2t4Ncl4RobNMgX1_nSaoscLCb0_2O_VYAD3yePJyFWBtqZuTc4pH2UIbjpOMYEebzys_aVIaszPDTHPfhP-rsDU-9-fIWeOyu3VNxrskAT8Cx_5omC-CwnqslQJ/s1600/bookdate.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKilX_OkCaY2t4Ncl4RobNMgX1_nSaoscLCb0_2O_VYAD3yePJyFWBtqZuTc4pH2UIbjpOMYEebzys_aVIaszPDTHPfhP-rsDU-9-fIWeOyu3VNxrskAT8Cx_5omC-CwnqslQJ/s400/bookdate.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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But wait! There's more! The PDF version was not posted to the internet for computers for more than two weeks after the date on which the incredibly bloated PDF was generated using InDesign:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbpR3hUNdqAdJcAA9j-_QTHgWXu1Fe_Ya724QLQaJ56ep-CSbCAo_tF-NCi2Ezha5SOp3FP-GoRaiFllrmgHy6KBeHp9KJq9WeA1DsWvE0EGnif5beLS4Kn1tLbS4OOmEYR1ad/s1600/filedate.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="398" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbpR3hUNdqAdJcAA9j-_QTHgWXu1Fe_Ya724QLQaJ56ep-CSbCAo_tF-NCi2Ezha5SOp3FP-GoRaiFllrmgHy6KBeHp9KJq9WeA1DsWvE0EGnif5beLS4Kn1tLbS4OOmEYR1ad/s400/filedate.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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The poll-by-poll data itself has existed in its final form for <em>months </em>— at least since early June, if not before. For reasons that remain mysterious and unique to Elections NL, it was not made public until now.</div>
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Again, this bears repeating and underlining: <u>just because the statute gives you a nine-month limit in which to do something for the public's benefit, does not mean you have to take all nine months.</u></div>
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The acting Chief Electoral Officer also alludes to the forthcoming report on candidates' expenditures. If past shoddy practice at Elections NL is anything to go on, the financial returns relative to the 2015 general election campaign, and political contributions for calendar year 2015, <em>may</em> be published by December. (Next door in Nova Scotia, the 2015 financial figures, which incorporates many more data points than the comparable NL reports, were published in June.)</div>
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If the provincial government is looking to engage in a little democratic reform, as promised at <a href="https://www.poltext.org/sites/poltext.org/files/plateformes/liberal_party_of_newfondland_and_labrador_2015.pdf">para 1.4.2 of their election platform last fall</a>, tightening up the practices of the elections office, which are completely out of wack with comparable practices in every other Canadian jurisdiction, would be a most excellent place to start.</div>
WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-49006283729465419642016-08-16T21:15:00.002-03:002016-08-16T21:15:51.618-03:00Raising awarenessThe new Information Commissioner <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/substantial-increase-in-access-to-information-requests-since-2015-says-new-n-l-privacy-commissioner-1.3710179">spots a surge</a>:<br />
<blockquote>
"It's my understanding that there's been a substantial increase in the number of requests since 2015," said Molloy.<br />
<br />
"One public body that I dealt with last week asked for an extension because amongst other things they said they had more requests this fiscal year than they had in the previous three." </blockquote>
<blockquote>
Molloy has been at the helm of office since July 22, and he said the changes and increased number of access to information requests have made the job more demanding for many in the office. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
"It's a real struggle right now in terms of volume, keeping up with the number of requests."</blockquote>
During the 2014 review of the Access to Information Act designed to undo the unaccountable and undemocratic Bill 29 changes made during the Dunderämmerung in 2012 – changes made to satisfy the intolerance towards access to information shown by Danny Williams – Commissioner Ring, who never met a Williams-era attempt to restrict access that he couldn't enthusiastically endorse, compiled some statistics in his supplemental submission of August 2014. (See p. 21 of <a href="http://www.parcnl.ca/documents/OIPC_Supplementary_August_2014_R.pdf">this PDF</a>)<br />
<br />
Supplementing these statistics with a quick search of the <a href="http://atipp-search.gov.nl.ca/">completed requests database</a> (not quite apples:apples, but close enough), and graphing the result, one can’t help but spot less of a “surge”, and more of a return to business as usual.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0dbmOlaPm9rd-b_Fp4tZ8cd6xSTVb8ehk0gpBQvWwVDCDo31iGF0qfglhMRmZwDkZdc0FQOMoRNUpAT4Fb7cT8K-MZdTXxaIYUU6pmH1gHKcGE8cUxYAyHs76EFelBSUpTBC/s1600/ATI.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="287" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid0dbmOlaPm9rd-b_Fp4tZ8cd6xSTVb8ehk0gpBQvWwVDCDo31iGF0qfglhMRmZwDkZdc0FQOMoRNUpAT4Fb7cT8K-MZdTXxaIYUU6pmH1gHKcGE8cUxYAyHs76EFelBSUpTBC/s400/ATI.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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<br />
Between fiscal years 2008-09 and 2012-13, there was a slow but steady increase in the number of ATI requests being made, averaging about 535 per year until 2012-13, when there truly was a mini-“surge” to nearly 700 requests.<br />
<br />
That “surge” during that period could well have been in response to Bill 29, which came into effect part way through that fiscal year, as frequent users of the Act tried to cram their pre-Bill 29 requests in “under the wire”: Bill 29 had a transitional clause which provided that requests received before a certain date would be processed under the law as it existed before the Danny-Dunderdale Tories gutted it.<br />
<br />
(Many departments and agencies cleverly short-circuited the transitional provision by simply refusing to open mail addressed to their ATI co-ordinator until the day after Bill 29 received Royal Assent.)<br />
<br />
Did Bill 29 have the Danny-Dunderdale desired effect of suppressing ATI activity? You betcha. For the first two full fiscal years that Bill 29 was in force, ATI request volumes dropped to nearly half their pre-29 levels.<br />
<br />
Mission accomplished!<br />
<br />
After the Wells commission reported, the Davis government, tail between its legs from having been beaten up on the issue for three years, passed the new Act recommended in that report. A few months into fiscal year 2015-16, the new, de-Bill-29’d version of the Act received Royal Assent.<br />
<br />
Lo and behold, request volumes returned to their pre-29 levels.<br />
<br />
So far this fiscal year, 343 ATI requests have been completed. Projecting forward, and assuming that the pace of request-completion stays constant throughout the year, that works out to 800-and-some requests completed for the year, which <em>would</em> be something of a surge compared to Bill 29 levels, and even, to a lesser degree, compared to pre-29 levels.* <br />
<br />
But, apart from a hypothetical surge during the balance of the fiscal year, the statistics do not support the Commissioner’s concerns. On the contrary, they show that the Bill 29 “reforms”, meant as they were to suppress the public’s access to government records, worked, and worked well. To the extent that there has been a surge in request volume since the 2015 unravelling of Bill 29, that may just as easily be accounted for by the fact that, in the post-Bill-29 era, the public is simply more aware of their right to access public records, and, thanks to the elimination of application fees and the praiseworthy creation of an online filing system, more able to exercise that right.<br />
<br />
That, in a deliciously perverse way, might be the best legacy of the process, kick-started by Danny Williams in 2009 and dutifully completed by his successors, that was intended to gut that access and deny such accountability in the first place.<br />
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<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">* The projected figure for the rest of this fiscal year is "ghosted" in the graph above.</span>WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-3642947420651670332016-08-11T19:41:00.000-03:002016-08-12T11:45:00.582-03:00How'd they vote?As usual, it is taking Elections Newfoundland and Labrador an unusual amount of time, compared to its peers in other Canadian jurisdictions, and given the small number of data points involved, to publish the final poll-by-poll results of last November's provincial election. <br /><br /> So here they are, in cleverly colour-coded map format. Enjoy.<br />
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<iframe frameborder="no" height="600" scrolling="no" src="https://fusiontables.google.com/embedviz?q=select+col0+from+125pDPjOEhX_e_fPn9h5QqpbfL_QfGQjuHZAh5H4T&viz=MAP&h=false&lat=51.16656838340293&lng=-53.35572923730467&t=1&z=6&l=col0&y=2&tmplt=2&hml=KML" width="600"></iframe><br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-75776562558064046452016-07-19T00:01:00.000-03:002016-07-19T00:01:01.655-03:0070 years ago today<h1 align="CENTER">
The National Convention (Labrador) Act, 1946</h1>
<div align="CENTER">
S.N. 1946, No. 29 </div>
<div align="CENTER">
<b>An Act relating to the Election of a Representative to the National Convention for the Electoral District of Labrador.</b> </div>
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[<i>19th July, 1946</i>] <br />
</div>
<i>Be it enacted by the Governor, by and with the advice of the Commission of Government, as follows:</i> <br />
<br />
1. In respect of the election of a representative to the National Convention under the <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">National Convention Act</a>, 1946, (hereinafter referred to as the said <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">Act</a>) for the electoral district of Labrador (hereinafter referred to as the said district) the provisions of this Act shall apply together with such provisions of the said <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">Act</a> as are not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act. <br />
<br />
2.--(1) A person eligible for nomination as a candidate for the said district shall be deemed to have been validly nominated if there shall, within the period between the date of the Proclamation mentioned in Section 3 of this Act and the expiry of the time for nomination set by Section 25 of the said <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">Act</a>, have been delivered to the Returning Officer copies of the following documents: <br />
<dl><dd>(a) a document signed with his own hand by such person stating his full name his address and occupation and his desire to be nominated as a candidate for election to the National Convention; and </dd><dd><br /></dd><dd>(b)a document signed with their own hands by at least five electors of the said district certifying that to their knowledge such person is an ordinary and <i>bona fide</i> resident of the said district and is qualified to become a candidate for the said district. </dd></dl>
(2) The documents provided for under subsection (1) shall be delivered to the person in charge of a telegraph office within the period in the said subsection mentioned for telegraphic transmission to the Returning Officer. <br />
(3) Nothing in this section contained shall affect the validity of nominations made in accordance with the provisions of Sections 26, 27, 28 and 29 of the said <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">Act</a>. <br />
<br />
3.--(1) The Governor in Commission shall, by Proclamation, fix the day and place of nomination for the said district and constitute in the said district polling centres and may designate a ship as the polling station for any or all of the said centres: Provided that the Deputy Returning Officer may establish the polling station in a building at any polling centre. <br />
(2) The Proclamation issued under this section shall fix the day and hours of polling in each of the polling centres of the said district and may fix different days and different hours in the same day for polling in different centres and may direct postponement of the poll in any or all polling centres until such time after arrival of the ship at polling centres as the Deputy Returning Officer may decide. <br />
(3) The provisions of sections 19 and 23 and subsections (1) of section 54 of the said <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">Act</a> shall not apply in respect of the election in the said district. <br />
<br />
4.--(1) The Chief Electoral Officer shall appoint one or more deputy returning officers and poll clerks for all the polling divisions of the said district. <br />
Appointments made under this section and oaths taken by persons appointed shall be in the form prescribed by Sections 16 and 17 of the said <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">Act</a> with such modifications as the Chief Electoral Officer may deem desirable to render them applicable. <br />
<br />
5. There shall be a separate ballot box for each polling centre and immediately after the close of the poll in each such centre the deputy returning office shall follow the procedure prescribed in subsections (6) and (8) of Section 67 of the said <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">Act</a> and upon receipt by the Returning Officer of all ballot boxes for the said district he shall proceed to count the votes in accordance with the procedure for counting provided in the said Section 67 and the provisions of Sections 68 and 69 of the said <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">Act</a> shall, in so far as they are capable of application, apply to such count and the declaration of election. <br />
<br />
6. Notwithstanding the provisions of Section 46 of the said <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">Act</a> conferring voting qualifications upon certain persons in a district in which they have been resident for two months immediately preceding the day of polling, any person who is not ordinarily and <i>bona fide</i> resident in the said district on the day of polling in the polling division in which he seeks to vote shall not be eligible to vote in the said district. <br />
<br />
7. The forms in the Second Schedule of the said <a href="http://www.oocities.org/yosemite/rapids/3330/constitution/1946nc.htm">Act</a> shall, with necessary alterations to render them applicable, be used where such use is necessary. <br />
<br />
8. This Act may be cited as the <em>National Convention (Labrador) Act</em>, 1946.WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-23200779972203546652016-06-29T04:36:00.000-03:002016-06-29T10:05:44.391-03:00From the Memory Hole, XIThe ever-astute <a href="https://twitter.com/BillThomas_NL/status/747859171190640640">Bill Thomas notes on the twitters</a>:<br />
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<b><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Bill </span></b><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"></span><span class="username js-action-profile-name" data-aria-label-part=""><s><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">@</span></s><b><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">BillThomas_NL</span></b></span><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">Funny I can't seem to find a copy of either of these reports anywhere. They used to be on MF web </span><a class="twitter-atreply pretty-link js-nav" data-mentioned-user-id="17963341" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/edhollett"><s><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">@</span></s><b><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">edhollett</span></b></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><a class="twitter-timeline-link" data-expanded-url="http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2012/nr/1101n01.htm" dir="ltr" href="https://t.co/9p0CL9MvYe" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="http://www.releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2012/nr/1101n01.htm"><span class="tco-ellipsis"></span><span class="invisible"><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">http://www.</span></span><span class="js-display-url"><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">releases.gov.nl.ca/releases/2012/</span></span><span class="invisible"><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nr/1101n01.htm</span></span><span class="tco-ellipsis"><span class="invisible"><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">…</span></span></a><span style="font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;"> </span><a class="twitter-hashtag pretty-link js-nav" data-query-source="hashtag_click" dir="ltr" href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/nlpoli?src=hash"><s><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">#</span></s><b><span style="color: #0084b4; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif;">nlpoli</span></b></a></div>
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<span class="metadata"><span style="color: #999999; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">2:28 PM - 28 Jun 2016</span></span></div>
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</blockquote>
At some point in recent history, The Most Open And Accountable Government Ever (TMOAAGE), a Nalcor subsidiary, saw to it to bit-bucket the entire contents of the former powerinourhands.ca rah-rah website, including the two reports referred to in the tweeted link. These were an in-house one by the Department of Natural Resources entitled "<i>Labrador mining and power: how much and where from?</i>", and a report by Our Dear Economist, commissioned for the same department, entitled "<i>Economic Impact Analysis of Iron Ore Mining Industry in Labrador 2011-31</i>".<br />
<br />
Here's what you get when you follow a fossilized link to that formerly-active content:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcWmZxJkA1cMjQEJL5KRwLauNf4ofkhgaUgmESSRncqD0knaZCfzvLSebNfFHwQiXZz-hLo0NFIxEzd26_5CZBFcxBacSy_cQw_WBwBsSPPdGgCB26qKGuabiFEUUz_AtIpVgK/s1600/notthere.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="163" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcWmZxJkA1cMjQEJL5KRwLauNf4ofkhgaUgmESSRncqD0knaZCfzvLSebNfFHwQiXZz-hLo0NFIxEzd26_5CZBFcxBacSy_cQw_WBwBsSPPdGgCB26qKGuabiFEUUz_AtIpVgK/s320/notthere.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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Obviously, TMOAAGE, the government which produced the information-improving Bill 29, and gave Steve Kent the job of opening all of the government, must have removed these files from the internets by mistake.<br />
<br />
So here they are, in case you missed them the first time around.<br />
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<a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/316999771/Economic-Analysis" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Economic Analysis on Scribd">Economic Analysis</a></div>
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<div style="display: block; font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 14px/normal "helvetica" , "arial" , sans-serif; margin: 12px auto 6px;">
<a href="https://www.scribd.com/doc/317002994/Labrador-Mining" style="text-decoration: underline;" title="View Labrador Mining on Scribd">Labrador Mining</a></div>
<iframe class="scribd_iframe_embed" data-aspect-ratio="undefined" data-auto-height="false" frameborder="0" height="600" id="doc_68108" scrolling="no" src="https://www.scribd.com/embeds/317002994/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&show_recommendations=true&show_upsell=true" width="100%"></iframe><br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-90482652884792615012016-06-24T23:20:00.003-03:002016-06-24T23:20:28.760-03:00N'oublions jamais<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YcbxEFCz9JdFEVdH10fp1Z1Hwr_CSoLHKN5NkIw4Ve2g_JnOBjs2QKUixYlACaLjdrC-wWnm3kimbRjQ2WpxApkvFt7thXcdckU6_4-nNGNh1vVyDekI2WwEYXdQxM8Srpl2/s1600/nl-danny-xmas.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3YcbxEFCz9JdFEVdH10fp1Z1Hwr_CSoLHKN5NkIw4Ve2g_JnOBjs2QKUixYlACaLjdrC-wWnm3kimbRjQ2WpxApkvFt7thXcdckU6_4-nNGNh1vVyDekI2WwEYXdQxM8Srpl2/s400/nl-danny-xmas.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-49557920751025772002016-06-11T16:53:00.003-03:002016-06-11T16:53:58.635-03:00On the settling of scoresThe Newfoundland and Labrador <em><a href="http://assembly.nl.ca/Legislation/sr/statutes/h13-1.htm">Human Rights Act</a></em> provides:<br />
<blockquote>
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<br />
<strong>9.</strong> (1) For the purpose of this Act, the prohibited grounds of discrimination are race, colour, nationality, ethnic origin, social origin, religious creed, religion, age, disability, disfigurement, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, marital status, family status, source of income and political opinion.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
<strong>11.</strong> (1) A person shall not, on the basis of a prohibited ground of discrimination,
<br />
(<em>a</em>) deny to a person or class of persons goods, services, accommodation or facilities that are customarily offered to the public; or
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(<em>b</em>) discriminate against a person or class of persons with respect to goods, services, accommodation or facilities that are customarily offered to the public.</blockquote>
The <a href="http://www.lawsociety.nf.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/2016-Jan-Code-of-Professional-Conduct.pdf">Code of Conduct</a> of the Newfoundland and Labrador Law Society provides:
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<blockquote>
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<strong>6.3 HARASSMENT AND DISCRIMINATION
</strong> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
6.3-1 The principles of human rights laws and related case law apply to the interpretation of this rule.
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6.3-2 A term used in this rule that is defined in human rights legislation has the same meaning as in the legislation.
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6.3-3 A lawyer must not sexually harass any person.
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6.3-4 A lawyer must not engage in any other form of harassment of any person.
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6.3-5 A lawyer must not discriminate against any person.
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
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<br />
<em>Commentary</em> </blockquote>
<blockquote>
[1] A lawyer has a special responsibility to respect the requirements of human rights laws in force in Canada, its provinces and territories and, specifically, to honour the obligations enumerated in human rights laws.</blockquote>
<br />WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-12935693602806969262016-06-09T22:14:00.000-03:002016-06-09T22:14:07.417-03:00Word-challengedGreat, <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/babbish-meaning-1.3622479">another "comedian"</a>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMb8fqJ-OyV11o_gQtXR1scRwhjnkY4bpJ25kfz4OHZnono58VXg11LUZwn0z9Bxv6Af4xSohotfGjHGtL_2z7rIv-WyEs-yHW005IO-3RxrQFWhfNUOReZ3RyYMxMxjxpVj0Q/s1600/babiche.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="183" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMb8fqJ-OyV11o_gQtXR1scRwhjnkY4bpJ25kfz4OHZnono58VXg11LUZwn0z9Bxv6Af4xSohotfGjHGtL_2z7rIv-WyEs-yHW005IO-3RxrQFWhfNUOReZ3RyYMxMxjxpVj0Q/s320/babiche.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /><br />
1. "NL" does not stand for Newfoundland.<br />
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2. Babiche ("babbish") is not a Newfoundland word; it is a Labrador one. A Newfoundland and Labrador one, even. But not a Newfoundland one. It is a loanword from Innu-eimun, via the French (hence the giveaway -<em>che</em> spelling).<br />
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3. Babiche is not "like, snowshoes". It is what the webbing of snowshoes was traditional made with.<br />
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4. Call me old-fashioned, but aren't comedians supposed to be, like, funny?WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-74145640369403132992016-06-08T20:40:00.000-03:002016-06-08T20:40:05.265-03:00Govsplaining is bad, mkay?<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
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Oh my, gov member explaining various things. Has said "for those who don't understand" 3 times; Just said "it's hard for people to grasp."</div>
— Milly Brown (@Millybrown8) <a href="https://twitter.com/Millybrown8/status/740600662455508992">June 8, 2016</a></blockquote>
<script async="" charset="utf-8" src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js"></script>
<br />
Some choice govsplaining quotes from the former Hon. Member for Virginia Waters while she served as Premier:<br />
<blockquote>
If it would help the members opposite understand what we have agreed to with Emera better, then I am prepared, Mr. Speaker, to talk to Nalcor and to the Department of Natural Resources to prepare further briefings for the members of the Opposition. (December 6, 2010)
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<blockquote>
Mr. Speaker, I am embarrassed for the Leader of the Opposition. She does not even understand the kind of process that is required to settle a boundary dispute. (March 31, 2011)
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Mr. Speaker, I am not prepared to commit that outright here today because, first of all, it is not affordable power. This is a $6.2 billion project that has to be paid for by ratepayers. You see, Mr. Speaker, that is the problem, that is the problem we have here in the House of Assembly. They do not even have the fundamentals of hydro or electricity generation down. They do not understand what they are talking about. (April 6, 2011)
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<blockquote>
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Mr. Speaker, these are serious accusations that are being tossed across the House by the Leader of the Opposition, and I do not know quite where they come from. I am not quite sure if she is not aware of the facts, that she does not understand how the transmission of electricity works in this Province, and that there is a regulated rate of return when people invest in utilities in this Province, and that is what Emera has taken advantage of, Mr. Speaker, or there is some other plan afoot. (April 12, 2011)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
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Mr. Speaker, we get good return through our royalties from our oil and gas. We are going to also get a return from our equity, through Nalcor, because of what we are doing in oil and gas, Mr. Speaker. Electricity is a regulated activity in this Province, something we are well aware the members of the Opposition do not understand, Mr. Speaker. Anybody who has been listening to the debate on Muskrat Falls must be scratching their head in wonderment that three members who are part of a government, two part of a Cabinet, do not understand the regulation of electricity in this Province. (May 18, 2011)
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<blockquote>
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Mr. Speaker, this is the kind of foolishness that one has come to expect in this House of Assembly on questioning around Muskrat Falls. When you understand how a utility operates, how debt is incurred, how that debt is paid down, and the responsibilities of rate payers, Mr. Speaker, then we understand what the cost of electricity is to the people of the Province. We have spent the last year explaining that. You tried to commission this project twice under your own Administrations. You think you would have understood that. Perhaps if they were not trying to give it all to Hydro-Quebec to do, they might have been a bit more successful and they might have understood some of these processes better than they obviously do. (April 26, 2012)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
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Mr. Speaker, yesterday I encouraged the Leader of the Third Party to read the MOU. Mr. Speaker, I am going to give her the same advice today. Yesterday, we heard the former Minister of Fisheries speak about the fact that he was twenty-three months in that portfolio without a question from the Leader of the Third Party, Mr. Speaker. Now we know why, because she does not understand about the fishery. (May 8, 2012)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
Mr. Speaker, one of these days I would be absolutely delighted to hear from the Opposition Parties – both the Liberals and the NDP – what their issues are around Old Harry, because I do not believe either one of them understands the project. (November 26, 2012)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
You might not understand all the engineering decisions and all of the market complexities: selling on the spot market; selling high and selling low; that you blend power out of Bay D'Espoir with power coming out of Muskrat Falls; that your transmission system can only integrate so much wind; that you have backstop wind; tidal energy is not sophisticated enough yet to be fully commercialized; and whatever else is out there, Mr. Speaker. People get up and they throw things around. (December 20, 2012)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
He clearly does not understand the difference between capital, investment, and current. I truly, sincerely invite you to a briefing where we can explain the difference or you will stop pretending that you do not know the difference, because it is not good enough, Mr. Speaker, for the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to be subjected to these kinds of false arguments. (March 12, 2013)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
Mr. Speaker, I find the position of the Leader of the NDP absolutely incredible. Obviously, she does not understand again the structure, or she pretends she does not understand, although she claims to represent a significant portion of the labour movement in Newfoundland and Labrador. (April 18, 2013)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
It is nothing short of incredible, Mr. Speaker, that we are at this stage in the development and the Opposition does not understand that the court case in Quebec is about continuous power under the 1969 hydro contract, Mr. Speaker, and not about water management. (November 14, 2013)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
Mr. Speaker, I do not believe the members opposite understand anything about the ATIPP legislation. Fifty per cent of the requests, by the way, that we get at the ATIPP office come from the Opposition Parties; 24 per cent come from the media. There is only one-quarter of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians looking for information, Mr. Speaker. (November 19, 2013)
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
Mr. Speaker, more information on this project has been released than any other project in our history. I get that the Opposition does not understand that, Mr. Speaker, because they still think that Muskrat Falls falls under the ATIPP legislation, and it does not, Mr. Speaker. (November 20, 2013)</blockquote>
WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-11466749.post-52258413404438439732016-06-08T19:42:00.000-03:002016-06-08T19:42:01.704-03:00On the cost of filibustersTom Marshall, before his brief stint as Premier, speaking on <a href="http://www.assembly.nl.ca/business/hansard/ga47session1/12-06-12.htm">June 12, 2012</a> — so long ago, and just the other day — during the opposition filibuster on Bill 29:<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote>
<b>MR. MARSHALL: </b>Thank you, Mr. Chair. </blockquote>
<blockquote>
<br />
<br />
Once again we are here debating amendment 124 to section 6 of the act. I do not know how many amendments have been brought forward – I am sure there is plenty – over and over, bringing in amendments to the same piece of legislation and wasting the time of the Legislature of the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador. <u>This is a filibuster and the people of Newfoundland and Labrador are looking on television to see what is happening in this House, and looking at the waste of money and waste of resources on this.</u></blockquote>
WJMhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08070910923518931583noreply@blogger.com0