Guest Post by Ron Penney
“Justice must not only be done it must also be seen to be done”
The
recent controversy about the interactions between the Chief of Police and the
former Premier and present cabinet ministers brings to mind the aphorism quoted
above, which comes from a decision arising from an apprehension of bias in the
judicial setting, but has equally applicability to actions of the police.
Our police forces have immense power and the mere fact that you are under police investigation, even if it doesn’t result in charges, can be a life altering experience, which is why confidence in a police force can be seriously eroded if the general public isn’t confident that that there isn’t political pressure to commence an investigation, end an investigation or interfere during the course of an investigation.
Priorities
Priorities have to be food and shelter,
Guest Post by Ron Penney
Under section 3.1 of the House of Assembly Act, an election is required to be held within 12 months of the swearing in of a new Premier, which occurred on August 19, 2020. So an election is required by August of next year.
It is obviously tempting for the new Premier, operating in a minority situation, and having a recent further reduction in his caucus, to call the election sooner rather than later. This is particularly the case because Dame Moya Greene will provide her interim report on February 28, 2021 and final report on April 30, 2021, focusing in large part on our fiscal crisis and how we should respond.
In addition, we have so far had a good public health response to the pandemic and federal programs have alleviated to a large degree the economic impact on most families. Given the imminent rollout of the vaccine, and should the caseload remain low, it will be to the political advantage of the government to go to the polls sooner rather than later.
And finally, the governing party is riding high in the polls
The Government should resist that temptation.
If the Industry, Energy and Technology Minister had cleaned house at Nalcor immediately upon his arrival, we would have applauded him. No applause is necessary.
The public moans, again, over Nalcor’s
narcissistic leadership; a “runaway train” unbowed and unpunished.
How many successive years has it been; repetitious
and frustratingly undeserved bonuses given to Nalcor officials? Why is government
so deaf? How is it that no institution in the province possesses the capacity
to, at least, nudge them to change?
It seems Andrew Parsons knows not where to begin.
It is a far tougher job than the Justice Ministry, a place where rules abound, a
bevy of lawyers administer them and even make the political role routine.
Industry and Natural Resources is different. It requires personal energy, brains, creativity, boldness and above all leadership. The job has been vacant for a very long time.
Newfoundland's oil and gas company acting CEO, Jim Keating, is touting a solution to Muskrat Falls' almost worthless surplus electricity. He suggests using a ‘shore-to-offshore’ extension cord for future oil production platforms. Presently, the electricity used on offshore production platforms is produced by generators using natural gas feedstock which comes straight from the well bore - no worries about Alpine conditions - or software - leaving a high-cost production platform in the dark.
Keating is spouting a Norwegian concept. All you have to do is run a 400 km. “power cord from Soldier’s Pond”, Keating told NOIA, out to one of the as yet undiscovered 16 prospects. Keating neglects to mention that the ‘juice’, as Dunderdale used to call the power, is connected to another 1100 km. extension cord, which the Norwegians don’t need to account for.
And, by the way, how many offshore prospects are there in Jim Keating’s frame of reference? The number is specifically - not approximately or even a guesstimate - 16 - and that’s just in the West Orphan Basin.
The Waiting Room
She coughs and sneezes - virus strews,
Guest Post by Ron Penney
The following segment is the third of three containing speaking notes from my presentation to the Wessex Society on October 14, 2020. The presentation is available at the Wessex Society of Newfoundland, wessexsociety.ca - Ron Penney
The Democratic Deficit
While the Commissioner declined to get into the broader issues which we urged him to consider he did have a short chapter titled “Dealing with Opposition to the Project” which focused on the reaction of project proponents to the critics and naysayers, or, as my brother Neil, described us - the Muskrateers!
The Commissioner described the project proponents response to the critics as “at times unbalanced and disproportionate to the commentary.”
In particular he referenced Mr. Williams characterization of us as “bottom feeders”.
Guest Post by Ron Penney
The following are two segments containing speaking notes from my presentation to the Wessex Society on October 14, 2020. A third part, dealing with the Province's democratic deficit, will be posted on Monday, November 23. The presentation is available at the Wessex Society of Newfoundland, wessexsociety.ca
Part 1
Setting the Stage:
Unfortunately the delayed release of the Muskrat Falls Inquiry Report on March 5 of this year coincided with the worst public health crisis since the Spanish flue of 1918, which had the effect of dampening public interest in the report and its conclusions. So aside from a few interviews in March this is the first opportunity given to me to comment on the report in some depth.
The main thrust of my lecture is to deal with a fundamental issue which the Commissioner declined to examine, which is what democratic deficits in our society allowed “a Misguided Project”, to proceed.
An auspicious start to a new career on the global lecture circuit recently occurred, your scribe having answered in the affirmative an invitation to address a small public policy group, called Ballicatters. The venue was a well-established local Pub, a perfect place to soberly test new and old material, in preparation for the big leagues. Naturally, I selected a barnburner of a title: “Fiscal Crisis: Will ‘hope’ repair a mess too deep?” Pretty catchy, eh? In pursuit of not just their heads but their hearts, too, I even added a subtitle and chose this one: “The Inevitability of Death by a Thousand Cuts”.
Soon after, the fight broke out.
(That’s not actually what happened, but it is as true as the Government’s accounting of the public debt I had planned to discuss.)