What he would do

Mr. Speaker, if I were in the Premier’s seat, I would take responsibility.

- The Word of Our Dan, November 21, 2010

The Ministry of Truth reports this afternoon as follows:

Dunderdale Blames Jones for Mill Controversy

Deputy Premier Kathy Dunderdale says any controversies about the failure of discussions on a new operator for the former Abitibi mill in Grand Falls-Windsor can be laid at the feet of the Opposition Leader Yvonne Jones. Motion Invest, a specialist private equity investment company has announced it is withdrawing its interest in the facility. The company specializes in the takeover and re-organization of unprofitable, distressed or bankrupt industrial enterprises. Dunderdale says from the start, the province maintained a cautious approach. On VOCM Open Line with Randy Simms, Dunderdale, who is also the Natural Resources Minister, says while government was working with the company with due diligence, the Opposition began questioning government to find out if they had received anything from the company. Dunderdale says she had to answer truthfully that they had, but at that point could give no details of any proposal. The Minister says Opposition Leader Jones criticized government based on information obtained from the internet, stirring up the furor of the past week. Dunderdale says the conclusions made about the viability of the deal were based on a lack of information.

This follows the remarkable line of logic concerning the air ambulance decision, a controversy which raged for much of the spring, as argued by His Awesomeness on May 4th:

The decision has been made. The decision is final. The decision stands. That air ambulance has to move, thanks to the Leader of the Opposition who raised this in the first place and brought it up and wanted to have this air ambulance moved to Labrador.

And again on the 11th:

This issue was raised by the Leader of the Opposition. She brought a petition to this House. She asked that this particular service be moved to Labrador. We then conducted a study. I would have to say, quite honestly, that until that study was conducted I did not know where the chips would fall. I had no idea where the preference would be. We now find that St. John’s is number one, Happy Valley-Goose Bay is number two, and if, in fact, there was ever a third air ambulance it would be in Deer Lake. So, St. Anthony has been completely eliminated from the picture as a result of the actions of the hon. member opposite.

While that was happening and while that petition was being brought before this House and while that study was being done, the Member for The Straits & White Bay North, at no time met with the minister or asked for a meeting with any of us.

So, you are the author of your own misfortune. You asked for a solution, we gave it to you and now you are blaming us for it. That is not acceptable.

You know what else is not acceptable?

Not taking the responsibility as Premier that you said you would and, like any pathetic coward, blaming someone else for your own personal and public failings.

But hey, if you're still looking for some blame to shift, if it makes you so very happy, here are some other things, which Yvonne Jones had nothing to do with, for which you can blame her anyway:

Vuvuzelas
The Gulf oil spill
Rain
Crocs
The past fifteen years of writing on The Simpsons
Thomas Kinkade

No one should be shot over there

In response to questions on the Abitibi expropriation fiasco in the Bow-Wow Parliament on Thursday, Dippity Premier Kathy Blunderdale said:

MS DUNDERDALE: Mr. Speaker, the pulp and paper industry has been in turmoil worldwide for quite some time. A primary objective of this government from 2003 forward was to do everything that we could do to sustain the industry here in Newfoundland and Labrador. We worked hard to do that in Stephenville. We were working hard to do that with Abitibi in Grand Falls-Windsor. It became very clear in a very short period of time that our efforts were not going to be successful because of circumstances way beyond the control of the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. We realized that we had to move quickly – very quickly – to ensure that the assets that truly belong to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador stayed in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Mr. Speaker, in the rush to do that, there were mistakes made and we did expropriate a property in Grand Falls-Windsor, the mill itself, where we did not intend to do it. That is a reality that we have to live with. We cannot return it while the CCAA process is ongoing. Mr. Speaker, we will deal with it when the time is right for us to do so.

They call it Question Period, not Answer Period, for cause: it is notable that Danny Williams-Government himself wasn’t answering the Abitibi-related questions that were notionally addressed to him. However, scrummed by reporters outside the chamber, the Great Lawyer said:

It was something I wasn't happy with when it happened, but it was an innocent mistake that was made by an official in the department. As simple as that.

Passive verbs. Intransitive verbs. And an un-named official who conveniently exists to lay the blame on.