MARY SHORTALL’S LA LA LAND

No one will argue that it is the right of every citizen to express an opinion, as Mary Shortall did recently in a letter to the Editor of The Telegram. In it she made a series of claims regarding the fiscal capacity of the government and the financial impact of the Muskrat Falls project; “exaggerated doom and gloom,” she called the comments of naysayers. Her missive contained no factual basis whatsoever.

Presumably knowledgeable readers will conclude that such writers are ill-informed and poorly read. The case of Mary Shortall is bit different, however. She was not sharing her personal views: Shortall signed the letter in her elected capacity, as President of the Newfoundland & Labrador Federation of Labour.  

The Federation, like most labour Unions and professional associations, has for years sought a voice in the formulation of public policy. The President, no differently than her predecessors, is afforded space on the public airwaves and in other media to state labour’s position on a plethora of issues extending well beyond the collective bargaining space.