Undisclosure

So the plot thickens.

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. That phenomenon has been documented in this corner ad nauseam.

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.

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 Elections Act.

Sometime on or before June 18th, those archival reports were quietly bit-bucketed.

There's probably an explanation.

Not a very good or reasonable one, but an explanation nevertheless.

Differently competent – 2014 edition

It has now been over a year since the provincial by-election in Carbonear–Harbour Grace, the second of two provincial by-elections, the other being Cartwright–L'Anse au Clair, held in 2013.

Over at Elections Newfoundland and Labrador, there is no sign of the candidate financial disclosures for either of those two by-elections.

Naturally, neither is there any sign of the party contribution disclosures for 2013 – an ongoing, well-documented lassitude at the electoral agency.

And the report, mandated by s. 299 of the Elections Act, which requires the agency to produce a report documenting contributions made to parties during the campaign period? The report for the 2011 provincial general election is still not available – assuming it was ever created – more than three years after that election was held.

On the electoral administration side of things, there is also no sign of the poll-by-poll return for the St. George's–Stephenville East by-election, which was held three months ago.

A grand total of 3738 votes were cast in that by-election.

By contrast, Elections Ontario published full poll-by-poll results for June general election for the entire province — nearly five million votes cast in nearly 25,000 polling divisions in 107 electoral districts — the week after the election was held.

In Quebec, DGEQ released full poll-by-poll results of the April provincial election in May — 4.2-million votes in 125 electoral districts, subdivided into about 18,000 polling divisions.

In both cases, the provincial electoral offices released the detailed poll-by-poll results in machine-readable format, which allow researchers to use the data, and marry the numbers to cartographic files.

Elections Newfoundland and Labrador? When the do eventually get around to publishing the figures, such as those for Virginia Waters, more than five months after polls close, their format of choice is... PDF.

Don't even dream of getting the polling division boundary files.

What, on earth, is wrong with Elections Newfoundland and Labrador?

Through the electoral looking-glass

On October 7 — a week ago — Elections Dannystan, in conformity, presumably, with one of Danny Williams' more creative brain-farts, announced that Special Ballots were now open in the by-election to fill the vacancy in Trinity–Bay de Verde.

Elections Dannystan even posted a button on its website:

Today, a by-election writ was issued.

To fill the vacancy in Conception Bay South.

Accordingly, Elections Dannystan added another button to its website:

That is to say: For a week now, Elections Dannystan has been promoting early voting in a by-election which does not yet exist, but did not promote early voting in a by-election which now, as of today, does exist.

This.

Is.

NUTS.

Комяаdе Кеит is heard from

A dissident makes a bold, if foolhardy public display of counterrevolutionary sentiment.

The State Broadcaster reaches Steve Kent of the Congress of People's Deputies for comment:

"Premier Dunderdale is a compassionate and principle-centered leader. I remain inspired by her vision and strength," Kent wrote.

"We have to ensure that our province stays on the right path toward a sustainable future. It's about providing responsible stewardship and being innovative in the delivery of services."

Kent added that Dunderdale enjoys the full support of the PC caucus.

Komrade Kent's comment comes just days after a senior member of The Party's Central Committee professed his undying admiration for the Iron Lady*.



* With Compassion.

Down the rabbit hole

Just so we're clear here:

• The government that fought for two years against releasing the prepared texts of speeches on "privacy" grounds, because the names, which is included in "personal information" of identifiable people were mentioned — including, among others, the name "John F. Kennedy" — releases an audio voice recording of a third party, including phone numbers.


• One thin-skinned Minister in said government complains of being "intimidated" or "threatened" by the contents of said voice recording, while an equally thin-skinned cabinet colleague of his does this.

Dannystan lives.

Welcome to Dunderstan

Thanks to the utterly idiotic law brought in by Great Lawyer, the good residents of Humber West can now vote in a by-election that hasn't even been called yet.

Teach your children well

Item:

Even highly-educated teachers have taken leave of their senses, caught up in the euphoria to the point of indulging in propaganda. My son brought home a high school assignment, from his NL Studies class, that made the following dubious claim:

“During his time as the leader of our great province Mr. Williams has brought prosperity and hope back to our island.”

This teacher needs a crash course in both history and geography. First, the province is more than an island. Second, the premier did not deliver all this prosperity – despite attempts to take credit for same, in his boastful farewell speech.

Item:

Speaking of Liam. He just informed me that his class is writing a farewell letter to Danny William's thanking him for his contribution to the province while Premier. Liam though it was strange that his class was thanking Danny Williams for leaving. I chucked, thinking of a few people who might be able to draft that one. I had to explain to him that the letter was thanking him for a job well done and that he is retiring. Kids say the darnedest things.

I wonder how many school children from Nain to Cape Ray are writing letters to Danny? I also wonder how many school children did that when Clyde Wells and Brian Peckford resigned?

Cabinet government (II)

Well, we know what'll be discussed at the next cabinet meeting.

Cabinet government

In the 2003 election campaign, platform Danny Williams pledged to make government more accountable, including by expanding Access to Information laws to allow the release of cabinet documents.

That, of course, didn't happen. Indeed, he has made government more open and accountable by making it less open and accountable.

War is Peace. Freedom is Slavery. Government by Opposites.

But despite the clampdown, these past 48 hours have offered an unprecedented, and bizarre, look into the cabinet room.

This is what His Premierosity, and his hapless, hopeless, government, spend their time on.

This.

The Telegram also spoke to O’Brien Wednesday.

The minister said the email was discussed at the cabinet table in March 2009, and he’s been “stewing” about it ever since.

This.

The Email.

This is what they burn up cabinet time talking about.

That is, when cabinet isn't interrupted by an urgent message from outside the room that someone said Something Bad about His Premierosity on the talk radio machine, and so He rushes out of the cabinet meeting to the nearest phone to respond before the host signs off.

This what they spend time and money on.

This.

Unbelievable?

No — eminently believable.

A person's mental health is there own business.

But there is something — for lack of a better word — crazy, going on inside the machinery of his government, for something like this to have ever been brought to the cabinet table of a province of Canada whose Premier isn't named Maurice Le Noblet Duplessis.

Shudder

Here’s an interesting exchange, made even interestinger in light of subsequent and recent events, from CBC Radio’s The House, which aired on February 7, 2009, in which host Kathleen Petty sat down with Dear Leader to deconstruct the “ABC campaign” of 2008:

PETTY: But perhaps you alienated [Harper], and that's why you're seeing these measures in the budget. Do you look back and wonder whether this "Anybody But Conservative" campaign in the federal election was such a good idea?

DEAR LEADER: I would shudder to think so. I mean, I live in Canada. We live in Canada. It's a great country. It's a democracy. Freedom of speech, our right to vote as we see fit, and, you know, if the people of Newfoundland and Labrador disagree with the fact that Stephen Harper made a very express, strong written commitment to them for ten-billion dollars and turned his back on us, then we have a right to vote against him in the next election and... or the past election, so for him, on a go-forward basis [That’s quite enough – ed.]

Democracy.

Freedom of speech.

On a go-forward basis.

Shudder to think that, in a democracy, the governing party might mete out petty retribution for an electoral outcome.

Shudder to think, that in a democracy, in Canada, in the 21st century, citizens might have their freedom of speech and expression; nay, their very citizenship and loyalty, put into question, by such a great lawyer, such a great civil libertarian, such a great defender of the common man.

Shudder to think.

Shudder to think.

Enemies, domestic and foreign

Dear Premier doesn’t like threats:

I don’t respond very well to threats. I don’t listen to threats. Nor will We honour those threats. So its up to nurses to do what they wanna do there… We’ll deal with it. We’ll just deal with it. ButIgottatellya, threats of mass resignation in order to extort benefits or extra salaries or extra leave from government, it’s not on for Us.

No, He really doesn’t like threats:

This Government does not respond favourably to threats or misleading information.

Well, he doesn’t like receiving threats, anyway.

Making them – that’s sumpin’ else, as we learn, again, today. This time, the target is one Sam Synard:

If only the Mayor would watch what he’s sayin’ down there, We’d be a lot happier.

He added, minutes later:

That’s Sam, he doesn’t count.

It’s pretty well inevitable: when, for a variety of reasons, internal and external, you can no longer go to war against Ottawa every ten days, you have to find your enemies somewhere else.

Quebec, the Burin Peninsula. Whatever. They’re both near St. Pierre, aren’t they?

File under: Bwa-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha hoo boy

Danny Williams-Government might just have, inadvertantly, written His own government's epitaph. As quoted today by Dave Bartlett of the Quebec Daily Newspaper:

"When you get terms like 'toxic' being used and it refers to a work environment of mistrust ... low morale, suspicion and as well, that there are people who are settling scores, being passive-aggressive, who are hostile and intimidating. You know, these are personality issues and I think it's really unfortunate."

Meet a 'stan

First Dannystan, now Afghannystan:

Karzai's decree, published last week, gives him authority to appoint the five members of Afghanistan's Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC), according to reports from the BBC and U.K. newspapers the Guardian and Telegraph.

[...]

The commission, headed by Canadian Grant Kippen, helped expose massive fraud in last year's presidential race, forcing Karzai to call a second vote.

"A strong and independent ECC is vital for the future of a democratic Afghanistan, and any efforts to weaken this body are disturbing," Cannon said in a statement released after his interview with CBC.

Gee, if only there were some kind of organization in Canada that would, like, keep a watch on democracy or something.

And while we're in the neighbourhood, look! India has some wacky laws!

...a record 17 people died every weekday on the city’s suburban railway network in 2008.

The figures, which were obtained for The Times using India’s Right to Information Act, show that most deaths were people being run over while trespassing on the tracks.

[Emphasis and hotlink added.]

What colour the files?

Anyone else see a pattern starting to develop?

Ross Klein, Enemy of The People:

During the session with reporters, Williams also accused MUNFA president-elect Ross Klein, one of the most vocal critics of the government's involvement, of a double standard.

"Professor Klein actually wrote me last year a two-page letter concerned about the fact that he had not been given enough funding for a venture that he went on with the university," said Williams.

Holly Pike, Enemy of The People:

Later Williams described the tone of the letter sent to him as “snotty.” When asked if his comments were directed at acting principal Holly Pike specifically, Williams said he does not question her competence or qualifications, but does take exception if she does not support government’s approach to moving Grenfell forward.

“(When) I get the leadership of that college reluctantly agreeing to go along for the ride, I have a big problem with that,” said Williams. “That, to me, is not showing leadership and also is an indication from Holly Pike that perhaps she’s not prepared to sit or attend on that (senior executive) committee at Memorial University. If that’s the case and she’s not prepared to do that, she should get out of the way.”

One has to wonder: are letters like these, ready to be brandished against their authors and senders, kept neatly stored in Purple Files*... or are these particular files some other colour altogether?





--

* Of course, there is no such thing as a Purple File.

Precedent

From the proceedings of the Bow-Wow Parliament, May 3, 2005:

MR. GRIMES: [...] He is betraying his own people in his own District in Port Rexton who thought he was seriously coming out to help them get a couple of teachers, to maybe get our teachers back. They thought that was what the meeting was about.

MR. E. BYRNE: (Inaudible) point out to the Leader of the Opposition and to the House, and to ask you to rule on it. It is fine that the Leader of the Opposition can say that government has betrayed people on policy matters and we can debate that all day but he cannot impute motives on another member in this House and say that a particular member betrayed somebody, his own people or anyone else in this House. That is not parliamentary. It is unparliamentary. It imputes motives on a member and it causes disruption in the House. Clearly, Mr. Speaker, that language is unparliamentary and I ask you to rule on it or ask, before you do it, the Leader of the Opposition to do the right thing and withdraw.

MR. SPEAKER: The word betrayal, as the Government House Leader points out, when you direct it towards an individual is clearly unparliamentary, and taking into consideration the tone that the Leader of the Opposition put forward, the Chair rules that it is out of order and I ask the hon. Leader of the Opposition if he would kindly withdraw that remark.

It's really unfortunate when one of our own betrays us like that

Danny and The Minions continue to find new bottom in a very deep barrel, and not just in the sorry excuse of a legislature. Over on the Telegram's comment boards:

tcollingwood from terra nova, nl writes: JONES is a JUDAS there are times when we should unite and this is one of them.
Posted 01/12/2009 at 9:36 AM Link to comment

The Train from NL writes: Sometimes I wish Yvonne Jones just SHUT HER TRAP.
Posted 01/12/2009 at 10:56 AM Link to comment

And over at the VOCM Question of the Day:

Colin P. Said: Yvonne Jones and the Liberals are traitors. If they were in power, they would sell out the Lower and Upper Churchill developments to Quebec at the very first opportunity. Just look at them - they can't wait to do another (bad) deal with Quebec. It makes me sick. Yvonne, stand up for your province for a change.

Not fit for it

Actually, the person who uttered this is not fit for anything in public life, really:

PREMIER WILLIAMS: Mr. Speaker, the level of betrayal of the hon. member opposite to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador never ceases to astound me.

Vote of confidence

The Word of Our Dan:

Williams, coming off a byelection loss to the Liberals last month on the province's Northern Peninsula, said the win erases the disappointment of that defeat.

"The people of Terra Nova have just restored my confidence in the electorate."

Y'all can put away the "Danny Chavez" joke now

Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez, dismissing golf as a "bourgeois" luxury, looks to seize the country's courses and turn the land over to the government.


In Dannystan, the local strongman is not just a golf enthusiast, but a golf architect and golf subsidizer.

Meet the Stans

Dannystan:

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Premier Danny Williams has such an iron-clad clutch on power in Newfoundland and Labrador that some political watchers have dubbed the province "Dannystan."

That may be changing.

Afghanistan:

Afghanistan's top election official must be removed before the country casts ballots in the Nov. 7 run-off vote, says presidential candidate Abdullah Abdullah.

Azizullah Lodin, chairman of Afghanistan's Independent Election Commission, has "no credibility" and must be replaced immediately, Abdullah said on Monday.

[...]

Lodin has denied accusations he is biased in favour of incumbent President Hamid Karzai. The former foreign minister is Karzai's run-off contender in the presidential election.