Just a big coincidence

Since the middle of June, the Ministry of Information has issued 106 press releases in which the government makes a funding announcement of one or more dollar amounts, and in which the the district or districts where the money is being "invested" is specifically mentioned.

This is usually in the context wherein the sitting Progressive Conservative Dunderdale2011 MHA for the district or districts where the money is being "invested" is named and "quoted" in the body of the press release.

This count does not include press releases in which the Progressive Conservative Dunderdale2011 announces:

- that it is spending money (or has spent money), but where a specific district or MHA (other than the Minister responsible) is not identified, even though the spending obviously attaches to a given local area. (However, if the Minister doing the announcing is also the MHA for the lucky district, it still counts);

- that it is spending money (or has spent money), but where the funding is provincial or regional in scope, and not attached to any particular district; or

- that it is doing something that necessarily involves (or involved) spending money, but where the dollar amount is not given — most conspicuously, in connection with highways work and Firetruck Summer (formerly Firetruck Month).

Only four of the announcements pertained, in whole or in part, to districts not currently held by a sitting Progressive Conservative Dunderdale2011 MHA.

By end of press release business day Friday, the Progressive Conservative Dunderdale2011 government and its MHAs had announced (or recycled) over $90-million in district- and MHA-specific funding.

This includes just the provincial share of federally or municipally cost-shared projects. It also excludes the recapitulations, often to be found near the bottom of the release (like this one) of past glories hand-delivered by the MHA, often in the form of oversized novelty cheques.

On the other hand, dollar figures which are obviously already spent are included in this total when they form the subject-matter of the release to immediate hand. Like this one and this one, both from Friday.

Now, here's where that dollar figure starts to get really interesting.

You will, of course, recall that two provincial cabinet ministers — Current Minister of Nothing, Derrick Dalley, and former Minister of Nothing Kevin O'Brien — recently reassured the concerned public that the putative ramp-up in spending announcements was nothing more than coincidence.

To suggest anything else, well, they might say, if they are still allowed to use the phrase, nothing could be further from the truth.

Now, far be it from this corner to deny the Ministers' firm denials. So, rather than do that, he will simply offer, without any attempt at explanation or editorializing, the following Pretty Chart, which shows the total amount of funding announced this summer, with specific MHA and district names intimately associated with the funding announcement, week by week. If it looks like there's a pattern, remember: that's just coincidence:

It will probably be fun to update this graph, on a go-forward bas—

Dang.

Phone is ringing.

Who the heck is this "CRA", and why on earth are they calling at this hour?

Not in a buying mood

The Minister of Everything tells the Ministry of Truth (Provincial) that the Danny Williams-Government, whose former Minister of Health once made “final” decisions, is now willing to talk to the people of the Flowers Cove area. And he issues an interesting pre-emptive denial:

We’re going to get together with them, and they’re going to tell us what they need in a building, and if they can come back with savings, then we will look at what they are proposing. However, we also made it clear to them, we’re not going to make this decision now in the by-election and try to buy a by-election.

He repeats the denial to the Ministry of Truth (Federal):

The premier told people in the area that we are willing to work with you. We’re not trying to buy the byelection.

Not buying a by-election? Well, that’s a refreshing change.

Translation: it's a big deal

From the Twilight Zone that was Kathy Blunderdale’s nearly quarter hour of rambling over the airwaves of the Ministry of Truth on Friday, comes this gem – among many, many, others:

Given the team that the Premier has put together at Nalco(r), given the strategy that we’ve developed, given the focused and methodical strategic way that we’re doing this, which is why we’re going back into the House next week, not because there’s any big thing, but you know we’ve got a process laid out, we’re gonna follow it, we’re not gonna delay three months, let’s just go in and get it straightened up and let things proceed.

Remember the cardinal rule with this crew: NOT(X)=X

Gee. You’d think such a talented team, who are so focused, and methodical, and strategic, would have come up with legislation that didn’t require an emergency sitting of the House to fix in the first place.

Unplanned

An interesting report from Cheryl Gullage over at the Ministry of Truth about Thursday's double-shuffle:

The province has turned over a new leaf in health care as Premier Danny Williams switches a pair of cabinet postings. The cabinet shuffle comes the regional health authorities prepare to release final numbers on ER/PR testing....

The ellipsis is VOCM's. In the accompanying voiceover, Gullage elaborated on the elided point:

Today's ceremony trumped a planned release of updated ER/PR numbers from Eastern Health, but Premier Danny Williams says that wasn't planned.

Of course it wasn't.

Nothing could be further from the truth, as might say the guy who usually brags about how much effort he puts into planning stuff.

Cabinet-making, deconstructed

Quoth The Provincial Government:

I know, when we first got in, we were, when we were, y'know, basically trying to achieve efficiencies and savings, that we streamlined and cut that cabinet back to the best of our ability, but we've expanded it, not because of a preference just to bring people into cabinet, to be quite honest witya, it's to try and deal with the massive doodies and obligations that we have.

1) Is there any objective evidence at all that when We, The Provincial Government, first got in, we tried to achieve efficiences and savings?

2) Is there any evidence that We succeded?

3) Invoking the rule of opposites, if We, The Provincial Government, say that we've expanded it, not because of a preference just to bring people into cabinet, to be quite honest witya, then, in fact, we've expanded it, because of a preference just to bring people into cabinet, to be quite honest witya.

Dunderdale denies deed done

Via Orwellian Spin:

"This is not all being done from the Premier’s Office like it was done under Premier Grimes [sic] Administration, Mr. Speaker."

NOT(X) = X

Our Newfoundland and Labrador Cultural Heritage

From the Bow-Wow Parliament on Monday:

MR. KELVIN PARSONS: I thank the minister for his non-answer again. It is a pretty straightforward question: Can we get it now or not? You have just indicated that there are lots of templates in the country you can use. It is not rocket science to take one of those and adapt it to our situation, I would suggest...

Mr. Speaker, there remains a culture of secrecy within the health care system. People are afraid to speak out because of punishments they may receive from administrators. We haven’t seen the promised whistleblower legislation which was promised some two years ago.

I ask the Premier: What is government going to do to protect the people who want to bring attention to issues in our health care system and other parts of government? When will we see the whistleblower legislation?

MR. T. MARSHALL: In our party’s blueprint in the last election we did indicate that in our second term we would develop whistleblower legislation, and we are in the process of doing that. Of course, we already have a form of whistleblower legislation. All members of this House joined in the passing of what I call the Green act which is the House of Assembly Accountability, Integrity and Administration Act which provides for protection for those public servants who might disclose information about wrongful activity on the part of a member of this House, an officer of the House, or an employee of the House.

The next step is to move to extend that protection to those who disclose information, who see any wrongdoing about general civil servants.

[...]

MR. KENNEDY: What I would say, Mr. Chairman, despite the comments by the Opposition House Leader, there is no culture of secrecy. What we are doing is that we are out there talking to people, saying: How can we help you? What is it you would like to know about the way government operates? That is what these pre-Budget consultations allowed us to do, Mr. Chairman. More importantly, Mr. Chairman, or perhaps most importantly, what these pre-Budget consultations allowed was for a human face to be given to the needs and requests of various people.

[...]


MR. KELVIN PARSONS: The interest clock. The clock got a lot of interest, I will say that too. We never heard much about that this year, the interest clock. I do not know if they have it put in storage or what happened to the interest clock. With a new minister, I guess a new broom sweeps clean. Anyway, we did not see much of the interest clock; that was put away.

Another comment the minister did mention, and I would like to mention, he made reference to this member referring, in Question Period today, to a culture of secrecy. Folks, there is, whether you want to believe it or not, there is a culture of secrecy. Of course it is pretty common for the persons who are in power to always say there is no such thing. Anybody who wants to speak out in this Province has the right to speak out, the ability to speak out, and they ought to have no fear of retribution for speaking out, that no such thing would ever happen.

Well, I had a little experience today. We often - in Opposition of course you get the brown envelopes they call it. You often get brown envelopes from somebody who is disgruntled with government or disgruntled with some minister or some department, but we have been getting a lot of brown envelopes. We are going to have an interesting session in the spring of 2009 when we get to open up some of the brown envelopes.

You talk about the non-existent culture of fear. I had an experience today when a public service worker called us today, whispering in one of the washrooms in Confederation complex, about a certain issue and did it because he was afraid to do it any other way. Now, that is not a false statement. That is an absolutely true statement - passed on some information, passed on the concerns, and they will be followed up on in due course. So let’s not talk about the non-existent culture of fear. This person, a long-time member of the public service, is so fearful about what is going on, and the fear of retribution, that they had to call from a bathroom stall, whispering – but it will not be held in secret. That is why we ask for things like the whistleblower legislation, so we can protect some of these people. They do not have to fear that there will be some retribution.

So there is legitimacy and we will unfold some of that as time goes on, between now and when the House closes this spring sitting. We will see then if the words, no such thing as fear, exist. We already saw how the government reacts, and the Premier reacts, to somebody who dares disagree.

The Leader of the Opposition alluded to a certain individual in Central who had the gumption to speak out. Mr. Griffin had the gumption to speak out about what he thought about what was unfolding in Central Newfoundland. God forbid, he is a traitor. He is a traitor, he was told.

LOLposition

If, as the Western Star puts it, "Opposition gets high marks from premier", and if, as Premier says:

"It's an effective opposition down there," Williams said. "They're bright, capable people who are well researched ...and ask the difficult questions. And that makes us a better government.

"I think the opposition that's there now, with four people, is more effective than the larger opposition that was there before. They seem to be very focused on the issues and from that perspective they keep us on our toes."

then something is rotten.

If you don't have Him sulking off, "I do not know why we even bother to answer questions that are asked by the Leader of the Opposition"; if he is not "disappointed" in the "silly, foolish, political game that is going on over there is shameful"; if, in short, Danny Williams is calling you an "effective opposition", then you are not being an "effective opposition".

Or, perhaps in words you can all understand, nothing could be further from the truth.

Speaks for itself

For immediate release
Wednesday, October 15, 2008

House of Assembly Management Commission working just as it ought to: Burke

The Honourable Joan Burke, Minister of Education, MHA for St. George's - Stephenville East and Government House leader today responded to unwarranted accusations by the Leader of the Official Opposition that the House of Assembly Management Commission is ineffective.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," said Minister Burke. "In fact, decisions like those made today underscore the purpose of the Management Commission which is to ensure that decisions made regarding taxpayers expenditures on Members of the House of Assembly are done with great thought and consideration. The Commission is not just a rubber stamp to hand out money to the opposition parties. The people of the province expect more than that; they expect better of their politicians."

No, but apparently it's a rubber stamp to hand out money to The Governing Party.

And way to mindlessly parrot Our Dear Catchphrase, Joan and Donna. The more you deny it, especially with that eight seven-word string, the truer it looks.

We know what we're fighing for

Tom Marshall, defending the ABC campaign on VOCM Backtalk, earlier this week, once again invokes the NOT(X)=X rule:

Our fight is not with Canada, not at all.

No, Tom, to the extent that Our Dear Fight isn't with Fabian Manning, Our Dear Premier sends out plenty of dog-whistles today that Our Dear Fight is, in fact, with "Canada".

NOT(X)=X, or, Denial is a river in Newfoundland

Among the many other truly surreal bits of Jerome! Kennedy's! exclamation! point! laden! appearance! 1867! Churchill Falls! Grace Harbour! on Nightline this evening was the following exchange with host Linda Swain, concerning alleged intimidation reported yesterday by CTV Newsnet:

Swain: They're not making this up are they?

Kennedy: Yes, they are!

Perhaps Minister Kennedy should have a chat with his supposed constituents.

Item: No Tory ties hurting Harbour Grace, councillor says

Item:

President pulls out
Liberal ties a political albatross for CCL, Oliver says

Jamie Baker
The Labradorian, December 17, 2007

Stan Oliver says a nagging health issue and his past Liberal affiliation left him with no choice but to step down as the president of the Combined Councils of Labrador (CCL).
It appears having close Liberal ties is not the most effective way to help advance the agenda of any kind of advocacy group in the province at this point in time - even a group that speaks for people of all political stripes in more than 30 Labrador communities.

"Everybody knows my political past. It's been extremely difficult for me sitting as the president to move the agenda forward," Mr. Oliver said of his decision to step aside after just under a year in the two-year job.

"If government would rather deal with somebody else at the helm, sometimes you've got to step aside."

Item:

Premier Williams has been known to personally call editors and letter writers who offer criticism of him and his government's decisions.

While his stated aim is to "set the record straight" the tactic probably leaves ordinary letter-writing citizens with the sense of "better be careful what you say because He is watching."

Related.