St. John’s lawyer Averill Baker is pissed that the Crown prosecutor is trying to remove her from a case because she represented the victim in the savage beating her current client is accused of visiting on his head. He’s facing a second degree mu…
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The Sir Robert Bond Papers: Making the Most of Our Energy Resources, Part II – Oil and Gas in the Future
Without new oil and gas discoveries, the Newfoundland and Labrador petroleum industry will dry up within a couple of decades. There hasn’t been a significant discovery in the offshore since the 1980s, with the exception of one find in the Orpha…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Like Momma always said…Part Deux und Trois
The only funnier thing than a guy up on assault charges claiming he is a wannabe Tory candidate are opposition party politicos who campaign for the incumbents. In the past couple of weeks, comments coming from both parties have highlighted positive ec…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: And Harry won’t be running either
Conservative cabinet minister Harry Harding won't be seeking re-election in this fall's general election, according to media reports on MOnday..
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Free tuition at NL university for Nova Scotians: NL NDP leader
The Newfoundland and Labrador local of the New Democratic Party wants taxpayers in her province to give Nova Scotians free tuition at Memorial University. Sounds idiotic, doesn’t it? But that’s exactly what she wants to do, at least if you follo…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Traffic that never flip flops
The weekly top 10 Bond Papers posts for the week of July 11 to 15, 2011, selected by you, the readers. Forecasting the fall All three NL parties back Muskrat project A world of their own Ahem Political parties and debt: the Kenned…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Telly takes wind out of Muskrat
The Telegram editorial on Thursday linked the Muskrat Falls project with the recent announcement by Kruger Inc of a wind energy project in Quebec: Power, apparently, is cheaper in Quebec. Hydro-Québec says its 2,000 megawatts of wind power are bei…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Did I say yes to Muskrat? I meant “no”: Jones
Political decisions in Newfoundland and Labrador are apparently like the local weather at least as far as the current crop of party leaders in the province is concerned. Wait a minute and everything changes. Kathy Dunderdale set the standard for inde…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Aquaculture centre opened three years behind schedule, more than 100% over budget
Premier Kathy Dunderdale opened an aquaculture centre in the south coast community of St. Alban’s on Thursday three years after it was supposed to be finished and at more than twice the original forecast price. Former fisheries minister Tom Rideout …
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Ahem
From the e-mail inbox this week came a gentle reminder from Kevin Kelly, editor at the Herald: Just wanted to point out that in last week’s Newfoundland Herald, (the one with Kiss on the cover), I did a story entitled "Headed for Disaster"…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Pesticide ban regulation not even written yet
While everyone may think the provincial has banned the cosmetic use of pesticides, a quick check with the province’s environment department confirmed this afternoon that not only haven’t they gazetted the regulation needed for the ban, they haven
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Labour crunch coming
Only the naive or the demented would portray the looming labour crunch in the province as a “tremendous opportunity”. A report released on Wednesday by the provincial human resources department forecasts that by 2020 – less than a decade fro…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Ballot Question: October 2011
Here’s the question for voters to decide in this fall’s general election as the party leaders themselves have defined it. If you want: guaranteed high electricity prices in Newfoundland and Labrador (roughly double current rates), at least …
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Public sector job growth outpaces private in NL
From labradore: In the five years since the recent-historic low, in early 2006, of about 55,600 public-sector employees, the public-sector labour force has increased by about 11,500 or over 20%. As a share of total employment, the public sector has…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Not much to see
The Telegram’s Russell Wangersky looked ahead to the fall election and didn’t like what he saw. Wangersky’s assessment is brutal but it is accurate. The Liberals: “When someone who isn’t looking for the leader’s job is bigger news than …
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: A world of their own
Kathy Dunderdale showed up in the province again to talk about the wonderful reception her Muskrat Falls megadebt project got from the New England governors. Two things stood out right off the bat from Dunderdale’s scrum. First, there was he…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Cross yet another one off your list
Intergovernmental affairs minister Dave Denine won't be seeking re-election this fall, according to media reports. So much for the claim last December that all Tory incumbents were seeking re-election in the fall.
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: All three NL parties back Muskrat project
Voters in Newfoundland and Labrador who are worried about the current Tory administration’s plans to double the public debt and public electricity rates need worry no longer. The project will go ahead as currently planned regardless of which party f…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The placeholder election
No matter what the outcome, all three political parties in the province will have new leaders before the 2015 contest. In December, the Tories decided to postpone their leadership fight until after the October general election. Kathy Dunderdale …
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Political parties and debt: the Kennedy perspective
Political parties usually carry around debt. Some carry more than others. Some parties don’t carry any. Is it an issue? Maybe. Just for the fun of it, consider this portion of a speech Jack Kennedy delivered to a Democratic Party fund…
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