The Innu of Labrador voted overwhelmingly in favour of something on Thursday. News media are calling it the “New Dawn” agreement and say that the vote approves the Lower Churchill development, gives Innu compensation for Churchill Falls and does a…
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The Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Tops for June
Muskrat Falls. Provincial Tory political fortunes. Those are the two main themes running through the most popular posts for June. Nalcor negotiating Muskrat transmission with Hydro-Quebec Dunderdale disapproval doubles Well, she asked for o…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: A tisket, a tasket
You gotta love subtle minds, especially subtle political ones able to see nuances of meaning or the possibility you could rub your tummy and pat your head simultaneously. That would be most definitely not like the political geniuses of the last decade…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Fortis, Gaz Metro in war for Vermont utility
Newfoundland and Labrador-based Fortis (CA: FTS) isn’t alone in its bid to buy Central Vermont Public Service. The CVPS board announced on June 27 that the company has authorized talks with Gaz Metro on Gaz Metro’s unsolicited acquisition of…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The price of a loan guarantee
Ontario is planning to build two new nuclear reactors to meet the province’s energy needs in the near future and finance minister Dwight Duncan signalled on Tuesday that the Ontario government will be looking for help from the federal government. Th…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Wealth transfer
As nottawa noted on Tuesday, the net effect of a provincial tax cut on electricity and a rate hike for the province’s Crown energy company isn’t what might appear at first glance. First, there’s not going to be a drop in cost for consumers, as s…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Taken up by the ferries
With a tender call to build six more ferries,the provincial government is still not finished sorting out problems with its last ferry contract. Earlier this year, Kiewit Marystown delivered two ferries originally contracted in 2008 at a cost of …
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Gouging consumers on gas
So the gas pumps in the province are prone to error in favour of retailers, as CBC reports. Well, sort of. We don’t know how many gas pumps there are in the province but CBC reports that of the 962 examined over a two year period, nine percent didn…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Dundernomics 101: Dazed and confused
There’s a Tellytorial – editorial at the Telly – that is worth reading if you missed it already. It’s the one from last Saturday that began by noting that the Conservatives are ploughing ahead with the Muskrat Falls project because they go…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The federal government is out to kill you
If you want an example of the sorts of irresponsible, partisan rhetoric that usually gets wound up in some types of issues in this province check out a post at a local blog. It’s titled in an appropriately hysterical way, given the subsequent commen…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Get me re-write!
The headline on the story is catchy: Inquiry needed on centre closure: advocate At the start of second paragraph you find out that the advocate the headline writer is referring to is Merv Wiseman. He is described as “Long-time Canad…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: A room with a view of the pork barrel
The provincial ambassador’s office in Ottawa costs the better part of a half million a year to run, hasn’t had an ambassador in it for the better part of the past two years and so Premier Kathy Dunderdale will keep it open because it is so effectiv…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Payback is a mother: Conservative edition
“…rationality has little to do with political myth making…” Tim Powers, Conservative backroom guy and Ottawa lobbyist, wrote that in a recent post over at the blog space he has alongside Rob Silver at the Globe and Mail. He was venting so…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Fortis fighting two tin-pot bureaucracies
Newfoundland and Labrador based Fortis is seeking compensation for seized electricity production assets seized by two governments half a continent apart. The company is seeking payment for its interest in a Belize electricity company seized this week …
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Saturday Snickerfest
After her communion scrum, Premier Kathy Dunderdale led reporters in a brief prayer in which she asked for divine help to get her out of the political quagmire she’d made for herself over the call centre jobs. – srbp –
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Traffic that transcends the overpass
Well, did she know in advance? Minister Chickenshit Kremlinology 36: Thinking with your ass Will one of them change parties? Like Momma says, stupid is… Penis Envy Belize dannys Fortis Making the most of our electricity …
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Phriday Photo Phunny
Reporters took the time to ask her a few questions as a confused Premier Kathy Dunderdale lined up for communion outside the House of Assembly. Got a better caption? Send it along. – srbp –
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Like Momma says, stupid is…
It takes an especially keen political genius to take someone else’s political problem and make it yours. It takes an even rarer form of political genius to take a guaranteed loser issue and stake your entire political future to it with loopy rhetori…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Experts warn of external threats to recovery
Along with population statistics, here’s another one you can bet the current provincial Conservative crowd won’t be holding out quite as enthusiastically as the fabricated version of Bank of Canada’ governor’s remarks they were using until recent…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Like sands through the hour glass…
Adios John Hickey, the Pavement Putin of the Permafrost. The ever-troublesome labradore offered a fitting tribute to Hickey as leaves politics. The staunch defender of the Muskrat Falls megadebt project won’t like people being reminded of his posit…
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