The federal government is making this payment after being sued for 500 million by trustees of the bankrupt company under NAFTA rules. The Feds realized that they really hadn't much chance of winning in court. Under NAFTA rules, the feds can be sued for any illegal expropriation made by any level of government.
Once again the Newfoundland government shows its brilliant business acumen and just like the Upper Churchill power deal, is refusing to take responsibility for its actions. Once more, it's everybody's fault but their own, so I guess it's time once again, for Danny Williams to break out the
The province seized the property of the AbitibiBowater when it closed a sawmill and rushed legislation through Parliament so fast, that they actually expropriated a mill that they legally weren't entitled to.
Of course the defiant Danny Williams, remains the arrogant prince, promising that his province won't kick in a nickel to pay for the settlement. After all that's what the Canadian taxpaying suckers are for.
To add insult to injury, he said that he'd do it all over again. Illegal or not.
And why not, he's not writing any cheques!
When asked why his province is sticking Ottawa with the bill, he enumerated his province's many contributions to Canada since it joined Canada in 1949. These include fish, minerals, offshore oil and other natural resources. arghhhh.......LINK
While some may excuse Danny Williams on the basis that he is just trying to do the very best he can for his own province, damn the others, let's bear that in mind the next time he throws a tantrum demanding that Quebec 'play fair' and re-negotiate the Upper Churchill deal.
So in the end, Danny Boy also believes that it's every
It seems that Newfoundland and Quebec are birds of a feather, both with an outrageous sense of entitlement and both prone to sanctimonious outbursts of hyperbole.
I hope you all see Danny Williams for what he really is... a nasty little whining hypocrite.
Mississauga Guy said...
ReplyDeleteBoy, Editor, you really have some kind of hard-on for Danny Williams. $130 million is chump change compared to what Quebec has been whining for for over a half century...what am I talking about? FOREVER!
QC & NF are the mostly highly taxed jurisdictions on the continent, so if NF wants to leave confederation too, so be it. They can go back to being a forgotten backwater of Britain, just like they were up to 1949. 550,000 as their population? What can they do?
I hope, though, that NF will stay. I've been there a few times on business trips, albeit now in the distant past, but they were very nice folks. I was there during a terrible winter in 1987, but the people I was working with were very pleasant. Very hospitable.
That was proven in more recent times when planes were grounded in Gander and other NF airports during 9/11. I knew when this all started those would be the luckiest people of all who were grounded because of NF hospitality. I was right. There were stories about detainees there who drove across continent a year after the grounding was lifted for a reunion. In the case of the Americans, I think they learned a most valuable lesson, so in very few ways 9/11 was a blessing in disguise.
This is all I'm going to say on this topic because while NF may do its share of whining, just like every other province in Canada does at one time or another, I have a soft spot for NF, and always will. Having been screeched in back in those days, I'm honorarily one of them now!!!
"It seems that Newfoundland and Quebec are birds of a feather"
ReplyDeleteOh please don't paint NF with the same brush and paint as Quebec.
Quebec has been a far better master of extortion of funds from the feds. Just look at the equalization payments. Nf doesn't even come close. I don't believe NF has the same level of of social programs as la belle province. (paid for by other hard working canadians) Sure, they might have made a mistake with the expropriation but tell me that Quebec doesn't make similar mistakes on a monthly or daily basis. Just look at the corruption ever present in both private enterprise and the government itself. Even Charest seems trapped at the recent inquiry. Havent heard too many similar stories about Mr. Williams.
I rather like Newfies..hard working bunch who don't take the summer off from SJBD to the end of August as many in Quebec.
Oh and BTW, I don't think they have any bigotted language or sign laws in NF, except of course on federal property.
ReplyDeleteI think this news is important: Go buy the CD ''Douze hommes rapaillés chantent Gaston Miron '' Vol.1 et 2. Un grand poète québécois ! Voici un superbe poème: Compagnon des Amériques
ReplyDeleteCompagnon des Amériques
Gaston Miron, L'Homme rapaillé
Compagnon des Amériques
Québec ma terre amère ma terre amande
ma patrie d'haleine dans la touffe des vents
j'ai de toi la difficile et poignante présence
avec une large blessure d'espace au front
dans une vivante agonie de roseaux au visage
je parle avec les mots noueux de nos endurances
nous avons soif de toutes les eaux du monde
nous avons faim de toutes les terres du monde
dans la liberté criée de débris d'embâcle
nos feux de position s'allument vers le large
l'aïeule prière à nos doigts défaillante
la pauvreté luisant comme des fers à nos chevilles
mais cargue-moi en toi pays, cargue-moi
et marche au rompt le coeur de tes écorces tendres
marche à l'arête de tes dures plaies d'érosion
marche à tes pas réveillés des sommeils d'ornières
et marche à ta force épissure des bras à ton sol
mais chante plus haut que l'amour en moi, chante
je me ferai passion de ta face
je me ferai porteur de ton espérance
veilleur, guetteur, coureur, haleur de ton avènement
un homme de ton réquisitoire
un homme de ta patience raboteuse et varlopeuse
un homme de ta commisération infinie
l'homme artériel de tes gigues
dans le poitrail effervescent de tes poudreries
dans la grande artillerie de tes couleurs d'automne
dans tes hanches de montagnes
dans l'accord comète de tes plaines
dans l'artésienne vigueur de tes villes
devant toutes les litanies
de chats-huants qui huent dans la lune
devant toutes les compromissions en peaux de vison
devant les héros de la bonne conscience
les émancipés malingres
les insectes des belles manières
devant tous les commandeurs de ton exploitation
de ta chair à pavé
de ta sueur à gages
mais donne la main à toutes les rencontres, pays
toi qui apparais
par tous les chemins défoncés de ton histoire
aux hommes debout dans l'horizon de la justice
qui te saluent
salut à toi territoire de ma poésie
salut les hommes et les femmes
des pères et mères de l'aventure
Effectivement,très beau poème de Miron. j'imagine Adski en train de vomir sur son portable...BEEEEURGHHH!!!What a fu***** crazy culture is that!
ReplyDeleteEt dire que bien des Canadiens-anglais ont oeuvré à faire disparaître notre langue et notre culture. Alors qu'eux-mêmes n'ont pas de véritable culture qui leur ressemble et les unit. Quel petit peuple! Ils méritent bien leur place dans la hiérarchie des peuples anglo-saxons.
ReplyDeleteTiens y a des francos ici?
ReplyDeleteVous n'êtes pas gentils de mépriser la culture canadienne... Je voulais de mon côté rappeler à l'anonyme du premier commentaire que la fusion du Bas et du Haut-Canada a permis au Haut-Canada d'éponger sa dette.
Et je voulais dire au reste des Canadiens, bienvenu dans les problème avec Terre-Neuve, nous ça fait depuis 1930 qu'ils ont commencés.
Vous comprendrez qu'à leur réaction, on a finit par être plutôt hostiles.
"Tiens y a des francos ici?"
ReplyDeleteBen oui! Et c'est tout nouveau.Nous sommes quelques-uns (3 ou 4 max) ici pour mettre un peu de vie dans ce blogue triste a mourir.C'est un blogue spécialisé en Franco bashing,vous voyez le tableau.
Ils ne sont pas méchants,ils ne font que chiâler et se plaindre des mauvais traitements causés par les administrations Péquiste,conservatrice,PLQ,PLC,tout le monde y passe.
Ils trouvent aussi que leur langue n'est pas traitée a sa juste valeur et ne comprennent pas pourquoi il en existe d'autres dans ce bas monde.
P.S : N'ayez crainte,il ne passeront jamais a l'action.Ils sont comme ces bon vieux toutous qui passent leur journée a japper mais ne mordent jamais.
"Et dire que bien des Canadiens-anglais ont oeuvré à faire disparaître notre langue et notre culture."
ReplyDeleteAnd where are there language laws in Canada, other than in franco Quebec?? Pot calling the kettle black from my perspective. Hypocrite.
Pauvre vous, 3:03 PM. What ignorance! What did they teach you in history class?
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that for nearly a hundred years there were laws that prohibited the teaching of French at school in all english-canadian provinces. These laws led to the accelerated uptake of French speakers of these provinces. It is therefore an ethnocide programmed by your people.
I invite you to go to Google and write : les minorites francophones au canada et les lois anti-francaises. You can also write : le genocide culturel des francophones au canada. The book is available in PDF for free. Enjoy, 3:03 PM.
"Pauvre vous, 3:03 PM. What ignorance! What did they teach you in history class? "
ReplyDeleteAre any of these laws you speak of still in effect. Seems to me french education is available in all provinces these days..So what you are really saying is that the other provinces have progressed but Quebec is still stuck in time and has not progressed past bigoted language laws.
Effectivement, Danny Williams n'est qu'un arriviste qui se fait du capital politique sur le dos du Québec.
ReplyDeleteLâchez-nous la grappe avec la Loi 101, les anglophones(Pas les allophones ni les francophones ) ont accès à un réseau scolaire public en anglais et à un service dans leur langue lorsqu'il est question de relation avec l'État québécois. Comme vous diriez, get over it !
ReplyDeleteJ'aime Danny, il est le seul politcien au Canada avec les testicles.
ReplyDeleteOh, and Newfoundlanders pay federal tax, too. So stop pretending that Harper's pro-corporate cowardice didn't hurt all Canadians, Newfoundlanders included. This could have been a landmark case; a real chance to test the legality of the corporate-power-over-state-power morality of Chapter 11 of NAFTA. Read the damn agreement; Danny almost stuck a blow for liberty, until Harper doled out Canadian cash to make sure that the balance of power stayed firmly on the side of the corporate interests.
Quite obviously this was written by the Liberal Party, due to the tongue-in-check commentary, and lack of responsibility for what they have written (Just like what they did to our deficit before the Tories took over almost 8 years ago). I'm not saying Mr. Williams is perfect, but at least he has the testicles to stand up to companies exploiting Newfoundland. I grew up in Grand Falls, and since 1970 I have seen Abitibi-Price/Abitibi-Bowater/Abitibi bash their workers, continually shut down machines and blame the workers and lay them off, while refusing to maintain their equipment and at the same time remove the profits from our country. As far as I'm concerned, Grand Falls is better off with Abitibi, and as it's now discovering, will be fine without their presence and their acidic polution. Good Job Danny!!!
ReplyDelete@ 10:31 PM:
ReplyDelete"Lâchez-nous la grappe avec la Loi 101, les anglophones(Pas les allophones ni les francophones ) ont accès à un réseau scolaire public en anglais et à un service dans leur langue lorsqu'il est question de relation avec l'État québécois. Comme vous diriez, get over it !"
Are you joking? Getting service in English from some Quebec government departments is like trying to pull teeth. There are two exceptions however: Revenue Quebec and Hema-Quebec. When they want your blood or your money they're happy to serve you in English.
You also neglected to mention many other oppressive aspects of Bill 101, like restrictions on English signage and the use of English in the workplace.