BEST NEW YEAR - COMPLIMENTS OF THE BARD (AND ALL OF US)

BEST NEW YEAR

To all in NL spellbound stand:

Lang may yer big lum reek.*

Long life and warmth to hand,

Good health, and joy at peak.

We’re better blest than all the rest:

We’ve freedom and fresh air -

We’ve space, and room to quest.

Of those, make greatest care.

Not oppressed, perhaps ass-prest,

Bullets, we seldom fear -

We’re Royalty, it’s manifest,

So have the best New Year.

John Tuach

December 28, 2017

*   “long may your chimney smoke” - an old Scottish New Year greeting given with the symbolic gift of a lump of coal. With the gift of a birch junk, the greeting could become popular in NL.

THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS

The loud and intemperate knocking on the front door didn’t just announce Uncle Gnarley’s arrival. It was a sure sign that Nav would have no peace this Christmas.

Suddenly, broken Christmas lights and spouse’s irksome claims regarding Nav’s diminishing utility were forgotten amidst an overcharged sense of anticipation, one that the old man instantly inspired. Nav had not felt so happy since Gnarley visited a couple of years ago on his way to the Charbonneau Commission Hearings in Quebec.

“My god, man, I thought you were going to leave me out here the whole bloody winter.” Gnarley‘s first words exploded with the gale force of a Wreckhouse wind.

He and his single worn suitcase soon filled the foyer, along with myriad ornaments. Spouse was a tiresome devotee — of St. Nick.

VARDY PUTS MINISTER'S NORTH SPUR POSITION ON PUBLIC RECORD

Guest Post by David Vardy

Response from Minister Disappointing

The Labrador Land Protectors presented a petition to government on May 9, 2017 calling for the appointment of an independent expert panel on the North Spur.  It was signed by more than 1000 people. There has been no response. Since that time the urgency of the panel has been raised. It has been raised by new research conducted in Sweden as well as by revelations flowing from the SNC risk assessment report released by the Premier.

The recently disclosed and disturbing SNC Lavalin risk assessment report of April 2013, released by the Premier on June 23, 2017, refers to the need for further geo-scientific information to guide remedial measures and assess overall safety and stability. SNC Lavalin rated the risk as “very high.” Whether Nalcor has successfully remediated these risks over the period from April 2013 to the present is as yet unknown. It will take the work of an independent expert panel to measure whether risks have been reduced or indeed whether they can be mitigated or eliminated.

DEBBIE FORWARD SHOULD BE KINDER TO JOHN ABBOTT

Even the most politically disinterested observer had to know from the minute the Deputy Minister of Health, John Abbott, uttered the word “change” in relation to the health care system that he would be forced to eat his words — by both government and union.

What were they? “We have put in a lot of services and facilities that we no longer need and no longer can afford… We have 45 per cent more nurses than the rest of the country.”

Having gotten Nurses’ Union head Debbie Forward’s knickers in a knot, the premier’s office sent Abbott out to backtrack.

Many of us have long wondered if even one senior public servant had the spine to speak truth to power, successive governments — mostly Tory — having run the province over a fiscal cliff (note the past tense). It seems there is one such person.

THE BARD ON THE SKUNK CASH MACHINE

Skunk (definition): Strong Weed. Ridiculously strong. Usually grown outdoors. It is a guaranteed f**king-up. This is the kind of weed that leaves you sitting there giggling for twenty minutes, your legs numb, your mind completely bricked, and your hands so twitchy you keep spilling the bongwater all over the floor. Another definition - only slightly different - is found on this link.

THE SKUNK CASH MACHINE 

The future to pot, Government’s bought,

Hundreds of jobs, excitement has caught.

Plants plan to proceed, now guaranteed:

Twelve tonnes to process has been agreed. 

A LEGAL CHALLENGE TO EMERA CONTRACTS NEXT?

Guest Post by David Vardy

SUPREME COURT OF CANADA: NL VS. NS ON CONTRACTUAL INEQUITY

The “Good Faith” Argument

Finally, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) is hearing the argument that the Churchill Falls contract is inequitable. The SCC hearing began on December 5, 2017. This is an appeal to a decision of the Supreme Court of Quebec, which was in turn an appeal of a decision rendered by Judge Joel Silcoff on July 24, 2014. CFLCo had sought the following declaration (Silcoff, p. 2):

POWER CORRIDOR FOR QUEBEC NOT ALL THAT IT SEEMS

What's behind the recent announcement by federal Energy Minister Jim Carr promoting  an “energy corridor” for the Atlantic provinces? How does it relate to this province? Are there other issues at play that should worry NL? Is the financial “dead carcass” of NL about to be picked over?*

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The public should worry when weak governments run the province. For a decade, successive administrations have given little focus to tough public policy issues, worsening an already difficult fiscal situation. They don't see that successful societies harm themselves looking inward when predators come calling. 

We forget that, while political parties, labour and business conduct their affairs with a vision narrow enough to be thought ‘in the moment,’ the real business of politics — our business — is being managed in places where strategic self-interest has long been defined.

BARD OF PYNN'S BROOK DOES A MINISPLIT

THE MINISPLIT

Adams claims a split in attic

Lowers heating bills dramatic.

Some can see a man pragmatic,

Others think the man fanatic.

Air exchange for heat advises

With less cost for mini sizes.

Their efficiency he eulogizes:

Could he own the split franchises?

- John Tuach

December 03, 2017

SENSE OF URGENCY REQUIRED ON NORTH SPUR STABILITY ISSUE

Guest Post by David Vardy

The North Spur Remains Unresolved and Urgent

Muskrat Falls is the only hydroelectric project in the world which relies on a large natural dam, underlain by sensitive glacial clays, and raising major concerns for local communities. Experts from the Geological Survey of Canada documented the extensive presence of glacial marine clays in the Lower Churchill in their testimony to the joint federal-provincial environmental panel.

The Labrador Land Protectors presented a petition to government on May 9, 2017 calling for the appointment of an independent expert panel on the North Spur.  It was signed by more than 1000 people. There has been no response. Since that time the urgency of the panel has been raised. It has been raised by new research conducted in Sweden as well as by revelations flowing from the SNC risk assessment report released by the Premier.

THE POSTER SAYS IT ALL!

MUST THE PEOPLE OF HV-GB AND MUD LAKE LEARN TO LIVE IN HARM'S WAY?

Guest Post by Cabot Martin

Dr Stig Bernander, someone I have the utmost respect for as a technical expert and as a very decent and moral man, continues to try to save us from ourselves at the North Spur.

His most recent contribution - Summing Up of North Spur Stability Issues -  gets right down into the weeds. He demonstrates that based on the little data that Nalcor has, something as basic as filling the reservoir may well trigger a failure of the North Spur.

Fairly basic stuff to overlook or not worry about.

THE BARD AND THE RISKS OF BUILDING ON CLAY

THE WISE MAN AND THE FOOLISH MAN*

The wise man built upon a rock, the foolish built on sand. 

The bible's lesson:  on sand, the structure will not stand.*

Clay, it's weaker than the sand, and, it's prone to collapse,  

And yet, at Muskrat Falls, clay planned as Churchill trap.**

A natural ridge with clay to impede the Churchill flow?

A natural dam with quick clay - part collapsed decades ago!

No mention in the bible of the man that built on clay:

Such building is foolhardy, maybe doesn't need to say.