Shut Up...Shut UP...Shut Up already!

Gerry Reid why don't you just shut up about this Fibre Optic deal? The Auditor General is going to take a look at it and if there is a problem then I am sure he will report it to the house. Fact is this is a partisan political attack and you are grasping at straws here. Liberals love to rail against business and this is just another example of your incompetence when it comes to creating a competitive climate in Newfoundland where companies would want to set up shop. Get a grip on yourself and move on.

UN Rejects Bottom Trawling Ban

Good! The friggin UN is a waste of time anyway. The fact is it would have made no difference what so ever what the UN says because they are irrelevant. Why in the world would Canada sign on an agreement that would undoubtedly devastate what is left to our scanty fishery.

The Environmentalists don't give a damn for fisherman or the companies that employ them. I think that Canada needs to take a bigger role in protecting the waters that are within our jurisdiction as well as the water that extends to the end of the Continental Shelf. The only way I think we can do this is through Custodial Management and take a more forceful role in stopping Canadian and Foreign vessels from breaking the law.

This issue will never be solved at the UN or NAFO, it needs to be solved at the end of a barrel of a gun. That is the only thing these people will understand and when our government gets the balls to do the right thing our fish stocks will have a chance to recover.

Do The Liberals Ever Stop Whining?

I am so sick of hearing Gerry Reid whining in the house about every little story that comes up. This latest dustup over the Premier's expenses during the Council of the Federation meeting in July is just stupid.

Over the past number of years since Danny Williams has been Premier our province has been gaining respectability across this country. It has been a hard road and has had its share of bumps along the way but overall it has been positive. When you want to be considered a world class province you need to host world class events. I think the government is justified in the spending they did for this meeting of the countries Premiers and just goes to show how out of touch the Liberals are with reality.

Putting off a first class event like this goes a long way towards gaining some good will from the other Premiers that may prove to be invaluable sometime down the road. We have some issues with the Federal Government right now that other Premiers like the new leader in Alberta may be able to help us with in regards to Oil and Gas.

Mr Reid if you have any hopes of ever unseating this Premier you had better find something else to complain about that the Premier spending too much money promoting our Province. As far as I am concerned we can never do enough to advance our assets across this country and our Tourism and Entertainment sectors should get all the help they can get.

Is Danny A School Yard Bully?

That is what it sounds like when you hear things like "Take it outside" when referring to a comment that Leader of The Opposition Gerry Reid made in the Legislature about how much money Danny made in the private sector.

Well I for one would like to see him make that comment outside where he is not protected by parliamentary privilege. I am so sick of listening to all the allegations flying around in the House and no one ever has to be held accountable for what they say. Members should not have the gaul to say anything in the house that they would not say outside if for no other reason than to demonstrate dignity.

I don't give a damn how much money Mr Williams made in private sector as it is irrelevant to the topic at hand. It only makes sense that the major players in the telecommunications industry would have former ties to the Premier as he was a leader in the industry for many years. This appears to be just more partisan rhetoric to me.

Is Newfoundland TOO Liberal?

I think so. For as long back as I can remember Newfoundland has been too Liberal for my liking. We always seem to elect Liberals to the Federal Parliament no matter what they have done to us. Two elections ago the Conservatives promised us what we got in the Atlantic Accord and then Johnny come lately Paul Martin begrudgingly promised the same thing. Only thing was he had no intent on delivering that promise and even had John Effort telling us take it or leave it and we all know how that worked out in the end.

Then last election we still elected a number of Liberals to the House despite the stealing and lying they did. I guess us Newfoundlanders can't get too much of a bad thing. That is what happens when you don't vote based on principles and only care about what you can get out of the government. Then we wonder why people across this country laugh at us and call us a welfare state.

Newfoundlanders have a high ratio of members of the Military so you would think an issue like that would resonate with voters. Not bloody likely, we just keep electing Liberals who year after year destroy the military and make our country a laughing stock and not to mention put our fellow Newfoundlanders and Canadians serving in the forces at risk. I guess that is what is meant by you get what you vote for.

Every politician in Ottawa knows is all you have to do to get votes in Newfoundland is offer a few more programs for the unemployed or extend some kind of social benefits and we will all fall into place like a bunch of lemmings. That is disgraceful that they would think like that and even more so that we keep proving them right.

When are the people of our province going to wake up and start demanding better from our Federal Government...I didn't say more, I said better. Make politicians accountable and when they reneg on their promises turf them out in the friggin street and give someone else a shot. But please when you make that decision look at some facts and policy, don't just say "maybe I will give the NDP a try they can't be any worse" That kind of statement is the stupidest thing I ever heard and if you don't have a better grasp on the political landscape then you should stay home and not vote.

The more I see of this Danny Williams government the more Liberal it appears to me. Running deficits one year after having a surplus when your economy is doing well is unforgivable. Danny get your financial house in order and cut the waste of out government or we are all doomed. It is a sad day when the Conservative alternative to a Liberal is just another Liberal, please prove me wrong.

This Story is STUPID!!!!

Who the hell cares if these guys worked for Danny Williams when he owned Cable Atlantic. They are entitled to compete for Government contracts the same as everyone else. This story should just go away but now that the House is set to resume it will only pick up steam.

They are complaining that the spirit and intent of the law for lobbiests was not followed. Well I though we created laws based on specific legal language with specified guidelines. If there is an exception in it which in this case is a good thing then companies are entitled to work within that law. Surely we don't want every company that submits a proposal to the government registering as a lobbyist, the bureaucratic nightmare that would be created by that would prove to be another waste of tax payers dollars.

If this is a good deal for the government and for the tax payers then I don't have a problem with it.

Finally Thing Are Working Out For My Family!!

Where to begin? The last 14 or so years have been a variable rollercoaster for my wife and I. We originally moved to Ottawa in 1992 after she had graduated from Trade School and realized the age old story of not being able to get a job because of lack of experience. She got a job for a Computer Consulting company in Ottawa and away she went, I followed a couple of months later and we began our lives of living together. It was a huge culture shock for a 20 and 21 year old compared to living in Torbay.

Our original plan was to live in Ottawa for 5 years so she could get experience and then move back home after that. That plan was going wonderfully and we were married in 1996 and then moved back to Torbay in 1998 after my wife had gotten a job as a Systems Analyst. This was the part of the plan that got tough for me as I had a decision to make on my future. Was I to continue to work in the construction business or go back to school and try and get something better.

Well I decided to go back to school and enrolled in the 3 year Programmer/Analyst program at College of the North Atlantic. It was quite an eye opener for me going back to school at 28 with all of those high school graduates. I did pretty good and graduated 3 years later with a good GPA 3.77 out of 4 and proceeded to seek employment. During the time I had gone to school we managed to build our dream house in Torbay and had a son during that time.

After working some crappy construction jobs I managed to get a job with Terra-Nova Project as a Database Analyst but unfortunately it didn't last long. The project was winding up at that time and contracts were short, I should have anticipated that considering the name of the team I was working on was called "The Project Close Out Team". How could I not see that coming? LOL

Shortly after I got laid off I had to make the toughest decision of my life. I bought a plane ticket to Ottawa and left my wife and 8 month old son behind while I slept on my sisters couch and looked for a job. To make matters worse Petro-Canada called me the day I left and offered me a job with the Terra Nova Project but I has already left and I was enroute to Ottawa. I felt pretty bad when I got the news that night but decided to stick it out in Ottawa for at least a month and the Terra Nova job would be there if I wanted it.

Well a month went by with very little good news on the job front and I decided to call up Petro-Canada and take the job they offered me..uh-oh they gave it to a friend of mine that I had recommended if I couldn't take it. That is when it hit me that I would have to extend my trip until I got a job and there could be no looking back. That is what I did and I finally got an interview with the Federal Government in Canada Revenue Agency as a Database Administrator. A couple of weeks later I got the call and had the job. That was in August, I had left Torbay just after 24th of May weekend.

I called my wife and told her I had gotten a job, it was bitter sweet because now she would have to quit her job and try and get her old job back in Ottawa. That turned out to be the easy part, thank god!. We sold our house and packed everything up then moved back to Ottawa. It was hard because we really wanted to raise our family in Newfoundland but we though it was more important to provide our family with the best opportunities regardless of where we were living.

Now after another 4 years in Ottawa we are moving back to Torbay again! We both have good jobs lined up in St. John's and we are really looking forward to moving back with our 2 kids. It is hard to leave our home here in Ottawa and it is difficult to get overly excited because of the circumstances we have gone through for most of our adult lives. Hopefully this will be our last move and we can settle down and finally get on with living the life we had envisioned more that 14 years ago.

Newfoundlanders Abroad

This is a site that I have been using for a couple of year now and it a great resource for those of us who live outside the province.

Check it out if you have not already done so

http://www.newfoundlandersabroad.com/index.asp

Deficit Spending not Good!

I rarely agree with Liberals and I suspect there is some political motivation here but the Government may be relying too heavily on Oil revenues. There is no excuse to run a deficit when you were projecting a surplus, especially when there were no unsuspected emergencies that required additional spending.

Oil is a finite resource and should be treated as such. Market fluctuations and conditions on the Atlantic Ocean are unpredictable and anyone who puts all their eggs in that basket are asking for trouble.

This government needs to cut spending and get their financial house in order before the tax payer gets stuck with increases in taxes. If the government wants to spur economic growth they need to do it through tax cuts and incentives to business. They need to create an economic climate that induces businesses to locate in Newfoundland.

This idea they have for introducing legislation making deficits illegal is nothing but lip service. The Conservatives introduced a similar law in Ontario and it worked quite well until Dalton McGinty, the Liberal Liar got elected. He promised no new taxes while campaigning and even signed a contract with the Ontario Tax Payers Federation only to introduce huge tax increases in his first budget. You see the thing about a budget is that it contains new laws that override the old ones and when he did that he basically made the Law against not raising taxes and running deficits irrelevant.

Ms Goudie Just Come Clean

Why is this woman dodging questions about whether she has been working as a Nurse or not? If she is indeed working as a nurse while she is an elected member of parliament and she is not breaking any rules then just admit it and put the issue to rest. So many times politicians get themselves in more trouble by hiding or distorting facts.

No wonder people have such a cynical view of politicians and they have no one to blame but themselves. Contrary to the belief of many people MP's and MPP's make tremendous sacrifices to serve the people. They lose their privacy, interrupt their careers and disrupt their family lives. I don't have a problem with them continuing their other jobs when their is a possibility of them losing professional accreditation or jeopardizing their futures.

Lets face it being a politician is not exactly the most secure job you can have and provided it doesn't impact your performance and diminish how you carry out your duties to the people you should be allowed to keep another job. I do think however that they should only be allowed to work the minimum number of hours in a case like this to avoid aversely damaging your future.

Wear RED Fridays Campaign

The past couple of months I have been participating in the Wear Red Fridays campaign here in Ottawa to show support for our troops. Many organizations have picked up on this and it has really taken off. This is not a political movement but rather a personal expression for Canadians to show support for our soldiers and their families where ever they may be in the world.

This is an especially trying time right now for our troops and their families because of the missions we are participating in. I wear my Red support our troops shirt every Friday with pride and the satisfaction of knowing the money I spent on my shirts is going to help these soldiers and their families.

Newfoundland has a proud military history going back hundreds of years and as Newfoundlanders we have always been proud and quick to answer the call when ever our country has needed us. Now our troops need us and appreciate our help so I encourage all Newfoundlanders to step up to the plate and support our troops.

I need your help!

This blog is a new one I have just created and I am currently messing with the design and colors. Let me know what you think of it and if it looks ok. Sometimes with different browsers and screen sizes the changes to the template may not come out ok. I used the template from my http://allthingsottawa.blogspot.com/ site but I made quite a few changes. I appreciate your feedback.

Craig

Mould Is a Serious Health Issue

I can't believe this story. From what I can gather they originally found mould in that school in July 2005! If that problem had been properly addressed at that time then there should not be a problem now. Seems to me someone has to pay for this terrible injustice done to these kids and their parents.

"In July 2005, mould was found in some walls of the 600-student school when work was about to begin to repair a leaky roof over the gym. As a result, the school's fall reopening last year was delayed by about two weeks"

You have got to be kidding me. They found mould there inside of some walls and it only took them two weeks to get rid of all the mould in the school. I suspect those kids have been exposed to mould in that school for quite some time and the school board did nothing about it.

As parents we have the right to expect that our kids are in a safe and healthy environment when we send them off to school. I would be very worried if that was my child going there and I would be looking for a new school to send him to that is for sure. The government should step in and fire that school board and get that building fixed properly or tear it down and build a new one. Don't screw around with the health of our children!!

Is Remembrance Day Still Important?

I for one think it is. I also believe that Newfoundlanders still have huge respect and admiration for the soldiers that fought and died on our behalf in all conflicts since we have been sending them into battle.

In my opinion it is part of the fabric of our society and culture as Newfoundlanders to recognize the place we hold in the history of the world. The latest story that was released today says that we are losing touch with our history as Canadians. I am not surprised by that when schools fail to teach anything about Canadian Values and history.

The bigger question we need to be asking is what does it mean to be Canadian? Our culture has been ravaged over the years and cut to the bone by special interest groups and the Canadian Government. Multiculturalism is killing anything uniquely Canadian and we line up like sheep and accept everything this crowd shoves down our throats. In the society we have created it has become almost outrageous to use words like Easter, Christmas or any other term that may offend someone.

I know that it is not as noticeable in Newfoundland as we are still pretty well in touch with our culture but let me tell you that I have had just about enough of going to the Holiday Celebration Party at Christmas time here in Ottawa and can't wait to get home so I can go to a Christmas Party again. People in this country have become so politically correct that it is shameful to promote something uniquely Canadian like Remembrance Day so you don't offend anyone.

What ever we do as a Province we must always fight for our way of life and stand up for the values that our Republic of Newfoundland was founded on. We must never forget the sacrifice made by those men and women so many years ago so that we could have the lives we do now. Next time you see a veteran why don't you go up to them and just say thank you, that is the least you can do.

What's all the Fuss about Ralph Klein?

Who cares what he said about Belinda Stronach. As far as I am concerned she deserves everything she gets. She is complaining that remarks like that is the reason why more women don't get into politics. Give me a break!

The reason she got into politics is because she saw an opportunity to be the leader of the Conservative Party of Canada. Once she realized that it was never going to happen and probably more importantly the party realized that she really didn't have what it took off she went. She basically sold herself to Paul Martin and the Liberals in order to advance her career. Don't give me that crap about her not fitting in with the conservatives and she felt alienated because she was a woman.

Belinda Stronach is not a typical woman and should not try to portray herself as such. She is the type of woman that would eat her young to get ahead. She found it politically advantageous to sleep with Peter McKay to get a leg up in the conservative party and when that didn't work out she packed her tent and moved on.

Belinda tries to portray herself as the voice of women in this country and a champion for the women's movement. If she really wanted to do something for women and one women in particular she should have kept her pants on around Tie Domi and spare his wife and children this messy divorce they are going through now. Don't get me wrong Domi is no angel in this but for Jesus sake a woman with the money that Stronach has and some would call her attractive could surely get her fix with a man that is for starters not married and do much better than Domi.

To sum it up I would say that Belinda Stronach is a political opportunism that will stop at nothing to get her way. When things don't work out the way she figured she just moves on to the next conquest. She couldn't win the Conservative leadership and jumped in bed with the Liberals....She couldn't win the Liberal leadership so I wonder what she will do now? Jack Layton's wife better watch her back or it could be all over in the world they live in.

What is Wrong With Our Injustice System?

When a person can get behind the wheel of a vehicle and kill another person then that in itself should be worth more than 6 months in jail. When Robert Parsons drove away from that accident scene he abandoned that young man and left him to die. That fact alone makes it tougher to understand this ruling.

This type of soft rulings from judges across this country seems to be the norm now instead of the exception. Is there no crime in this country that deserves a long prison term anymore or are we just telling criminals don't worry we will be easy on you and encourage them not to change their ways. Hopefully the government will start putting some teeth in our laws and force these killers to pay for their crimes where they should...In Jail.

Can't Wait to Get Home!!

My family and I are moving back to Torbay after our latest stint in Ottawa. We are very excited about the move and I look forward to sharing my views here on All Things Newfoundland.