Newfie Canadian

My penny, and your penny, and my sister's penny add up. From CTV dated Mar. 13, 2004: Give the $19 million to the military for salaries or military equipment or housing; or to the civil servants.

I have a big problem with government saying out of one side of their mouth that their isn't enough money for programs, the military and the public servants, who everyone must admit do the real nitty gritty work, and then say they want to give themselves a payraise out of the other side of their mouth. They get so many free flights a year, allowances out their ears for just about everything, paid offices, over $100,000 a year for salaries, and on top of it all, a pension that any military officer or public servant would give their right arm for. Sorry to sound crude, but it just sucks.

None taken. The only chance is if Williams can put his money where his mouth is and get 100% of our oil revenues. As of now, unlike Alberta, we don't get most of the oil revenues, the feds do. Add to that, what revenues we do get are clawed back in the equalization formula. If he can fix that, and then around 2050 we can renegotiate a sensible deal on the Upper Churchill power deal, in which we get millions while Quebec gets hundreds of millions, and we can develop the Lower Churchill without a middleman, we might have a chance. Seems like a tall order, doesn't it.

I don't have a problem with the people. Clarkson is OK, and I really liked Ray Hnatyshyn. It's the concept of the Governor General. There really isn't a need for it. It is totally outdated and unnecessary, and costly.

Like with all things political, it depends on who you ask. The province is in rough financial shape, apparently. It was a theme he trumpeted in the first months of his current mandate. The budget, which I will admit contained a few good things like an increase in the number of police officers in the province, was a pretty doom and gloom one. Program cuts, fee increases, there were new medical facilities in the process of being built that were cancelled, etc. As I said earlier, he appears to be a one man show. He's doing a lot of things to tick people off. He recently appointed his old law partner to the Port Authourity. That didn't go over too well. The true barometer will be in March or April when the new budget comes down.

Never.

Thanks maplesyrup. He was a great PM, as far as I am concerned. Always liked him.

I'm not a big fan of the GG, not Clarkson, but the office of GG. Having said that, the media, as it has been since it's inception, is there to sell. Unfortunately, what sells is controversy, destruction and the like. The plain, unadulterated truth rarely sells. That isn't just a Canadian media phenom, but a global media one.

Alas, the story of the Arrow brings a tear to my eye everytime I think about it. Diefenbaker really screwed that one up. Had the most advanced aircraft in the world, scrapped them, then bought used aircraft from the US. Question is, did we learn a lesson?

That is some funny stuff.

He is the typical one man show. Their election campaign centered around him, and to tell you the truth, we got suckered. The latest example is some of the interviews he gave after the recent health care conference. He kept saying "I did" this or "I got" that. Their government came in and the public service went on strike, and he legislated them back to work. Fees have gone up for just about everything, from car licences to driver's licences to ambulance fees. And it appears to be getting worse.

Looks like the wheels are coming off the wagon for our premier. Elected last October, his health minister just quit because of his management style. Specifically, she quit because the premier made decisions affecting her portfolio without consulting her. Add that to the public service strike of a few months ago and he'll end up being a one-term premier.

I'm a big believer in the theory that the media never give us a totally unbiased, complete story.

Isn't that a poster child for "conflict of interest". It just seems to me that with all the public service strife going on, primarily over money, it is a rotten thing to be doing.

From what I hear, John Howard is going to get re-elected. The latest poll that I've seen indicates a 50/50 split between Howard's Labour Party and the coalition. Gonna be a close one.

I prefer a more optimistic view. France declined supporting the invasion of Iraq because they have seen enough war to realize that it is a serious and brutal business. Too brutal in fact, to be undertaken in the face of scant evidence and rotating reasoning for the war in the first place. On the other hand, money makes the world go around.

I haven't read all of the posts here, but I believe much of the chill in US/Canada relations came from Pres. Bush. There have been snubs galore. Now, that's not to say that members of the Canadian government have been the greatest, see Carolyn Parrish, but Bush has been cold to Canada from day 1.

Anyone else sickened by this? CTV Story