csi: labrador

Stories like this just flat-out puzzle me. Given that my father served for years as a wildlife conservation enforcement officer (a number of those years unarmed, I believe,) I can certainly see how this situation is far too volatile for the officers to get involved in. A group of people + high powered hunting rifles = scary situation. I get that.

What I don't understand is how it's allowable. You have people charging government helicopters, threatening to take it down by interfering with the rotor blades, endangering the safety of the officers. I don't care how "volatile" the situation is, there's no justification for that behaviour, especially when the Quebec Innu are poaching a protected herd of caribou. Reducing the herd by 40% is not sustainable by any measure. If the conservation officers are endangered by the actions of the hunters, it's time to call in the RCMP, not wait around to press charges.

Again, perhaps I'm biased here because of family connections, but it's not like the officers are preventing the Innu from hunting at all- they're protecting an endangered herd of less than 100. Minister Dunderdale is doing one thing intelligently- the conservation officers are almost certainly under-manned and under-equipped to deal with the threat- but now is the time to call in the big boys. We wouldn't tolerate it if the Hells Angels charged at an RCMP chopper; why do we allow our conservation enforcement officers to have their lives similarly threatened?

Uncategorized, Political Musings Not Necessarily of a Partisan Nature Send feedback » • PermalinkPermalink

sound fiscal management

Before I start, I'd like to point out that I shamelessly stole this idea after reading nottawa, Labradore, and the Sir Robert Bond Papers, three prominent and amazingly-adept NL-based blogs. I am, of course, too much of an outsider (and lazy rube) to come up with my own scoops. I'm a student, not a journalist or power blogger. On we go.

The NL government is about to release its budget for the upcoming fiscal year- and hoo boy, the populace waits with bated breath. After a record surplus last year, the government is looking at a record deficit this year. Now, before I start flinging poo at Danny (although, he likes to be referred to as His Highness in common parlance,) governments across the world are delving into deficit as a result of the global economic crisis. That said, similar to the case of the federal government, chronic fiscal mismanagement have at the very least exacerbated the problems faced. This graph, from nottawa (I'll link it again because I think it's a brilliant read,) illustrates how Danny and his "prudent, fiscally responsible government" will, if the budget predictions are to be believed, have increased government spending by 4 billion dollars in 7-8 years. I'll say it in a different way, for dramatic effect- they've doubled government expenditures.

How is that "sound fiscal management?" Yes, government revenues have skyrocketed, due entirely to offshore oil projects coming online, but to double the spending? That's not sound management, that's spending like Scrooge McDuck on a crystal-meth bender. That's spending money before it has time to wrinkle in the provincial coffers. It's mind-bogglingly insane, yet Danny is still touted as this grand master of NL finances. The definition of unsound fiscal management is spending beyond your means- and who could have possibly guessed oil revenues were going to be unstable?

Perhaps it takes graphical representation to put this myth to bed, because logic, reasoning, and math certainly haven't done it. Every cent that came in as a result of the offshore oil is gone- and what do we have to show for it? Corrupted health-care management? Crumbling infrastructure in rural areas of the province? A big bajeezus power transmission line through a UNESCO World Heritage site?

It's times like this that just depress me unnecessarily.

Danny Williams Send feedback » • PermalinkPermalink