I wouldn’t know a surf clam from a surfer. I do know, however, its wrong for our federal government to take the resources this province brought into Canada and dole it out to others for political gain, or whatever other reason they come up with to justify their actions.
And by the way it’s not just wrong to do it here, it would be wrong to do it to any other province, as well.
Yet, that’s exactly what was floated here last year with surf clams and has been done time and time again with the fish resources we, the country of Newfoundland, former colony of Great Britain and recently (1949) province of Canada; brought into the confederation.
It might be justifiable if we had full and plenty or were ignoring our quota or even if it was being done to satisfy some dire need elsewhere in this great country. Thankfully it failed this time, not because they realized it was wrong but because they botched the attempt. Incredibly, they have promised to try again.
Our province is going through a difficult time right now and is spending roughly 1.5 million dollars a day more than it takes in, every day of the year, just to keep the lights on, and the end is nowhere in sight. Our per capita debt is the highest in the country.
Jobs and people are leaving. Our cost of living is higher and going up faster than in our neighbouring provinces. This province is not as attractive to investment as it was, and for most of us living here, matters promise to get worst.
In the meantime, because of rules that have been established favouring the provinces with greater political influence, we have been cut out of the equalization program. At the same time, one of our neighbouring provinces that benefits greatly from equalization payments, also reaps billions in windfall profits from our hydroelectric resources.
Say what you will to justify it, but distribution of wealth in this country is not as was intended when the equalization program was established.
The Feds decided in 2018 to maintain the status quo for the program, despite an internal recommendation to make changes that would have seen an additional $560,000,000 flow to N.L. this year. That would have gone a long way toward addressing our budget deficit for the year. With a little connecting the dots, one can speculate if that decision might have been influenced by where the most 2019 votes were.
Clearly, the problem we have in this province is one of power — political power. We have only seven seats in Parliament and even when they all belong to the governing party, as they did, we still get the short end of the stick.
The truth is (and there’s lots of evidence to support this) we are being taken advantage of by our other confederation partners, and none more so than our Federal masters. That will not change. Under our existing federal government structure, we are destined to remain underdogs …. forever.
The undeniable fact is, the fish resources off our coast were in great condition when management was taken over by Canada in 1949. They are now at perilously low levels. In the meantime, they are still being handed around to interests outside of the province, while our people here, who have the greatest need, historical and adjacency attachment, are being denied the access needed to support the economy and people of this province. It’s nothing short of shameful.
It’s little wonder confidence in our political system is in short supply.
It’s time for our politicians at all levels, to take up the cause and show some backbone instead of the half-hearted protest and silence that’s all so evident. I’m sure they must know this, but it’s exactly those types of issues, and what they do about them, that determines who gets elected next time. Whenever there’s a photo op they are there.
Too bad then that just when we need to hear from them the most, our politicians all too often just clam up.
Roland Card,
St. John’s
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