From the announcement of “intense” public consultations to solve the provincial government’s financial crisis:Question: Health care spending eats up as you were saying almost 40% of the budget, you must have some idea some clue as to why th…
Continue readingTag: Dwight Ball
The Sir Robert Bond Papers: Consistency #nlpoli
“We need to find a way to bridge us [from] where we are currently until the commodities rebound and be [sic] the significant contributor we need them to be.” That’s what Premier Dwight Ball told NTV’s Mike Connors in an interview that will air in f…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Blind in one EY #nlpoli
The new Liberal administration is firmly, irrevocably committed to completing the Muskrat Falls project regardless of the final cost to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador.We know the Liberals will build the MF project because Dwight Ball said prec…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Friends in high places: changing the HST in a hurry #nlpoli
According to a statement from the federal finance department on Wednesday, “the federal government will take any necessary steps to ensure that the [HST] rate increase does not come into effect on January 1, 2016.” [CBC] That came out of the…
Continue readingMontreal Simon: Stephen Harper’s Day of Defeat and Embarrassment
Well one thing is for sure. In his lonely loser bunker, surrounded by the last of his loyal Cons, somewhere between Alberta and Paraguay, Stephen Harper is having another bad day.Another Con bastion has fallen.And a red tide has swept over Newfoundla…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Downfall #nlpoli
On Day Two of the official provincial general election campaign, a new poll by a different polling method lines up with the Abacus Data poll. In both Abacus and Forum Research, results are shown for decideds and leanings. Forum goes farther than others, though, by showing demographic breakdowns of the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Putting the questions about the debate #nlpoli
The Liberals have decided to skip the provincial leaders debate sponsored by VOCM and the St. John’s Board of Trade. The reason, according to Liberal leader Dwight Ball is that there is only so much time available, so the party has decided to go with the two television debates that
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The not-so-rare leap: @abacusdata June 2015 #nlpoli
Two different polls from two different pollsters using two different polling methods have shown basically the same thing: the New Democrats and Conservatives are duking it out for second place, both of whom remain well behind the Liberals who hold a massive lead in provincial politics. Corporate Research Associates (May)
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: A lot can change in three months #nlpoli
The Liberals and the Conservatives dropped in the most recent Corporate Research Associates poll and all that vote went to the New Democrats. Let’s look at the party choice numbers without the skew of looking only at decideds. Here’s a chart showing the CRA results since the last general election,
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Small ball, election dates, and other minutae #nlpoli
Later today, Premier Paul Davis will introduce a bill in the House of Assembly that, among other things, sets the next provincial general election for the last week of November. The most likely day for voting is November 24, with the official campaign starting 21 days before that. There’s no
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: For want of a nail… #nlpoli
Dwight Ball demonstrated last week how very simple things can turn into problems very quickly. He handed his political opponents a stick they can use to beat him with. The fact they really don;t have much more than innuendo and speculation doesn’t matter. He’s given them a weapon. Ball confirmed
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Yesterday #nlpoli
The news should have been good. Party leader Dwight Ball announced on Wednesday that the Liberals had rid themselves of the debt the party has carried around since the 2003 election. As Ball explained it, the party negotiated with the three banks involved and persuaded them to write off the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The problem with no problem #nlpoli
Dwight Ball is the latest Liberal to emerge from the candidate protection program. He popped up on NTV on Monday evening to tell us all two things: First, he thinks there should be an inquiry into the Dunphy shooting. He made up some nonsense about the need for an imaginary
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The New Chainsaw Earle #nlpoli
Carol Furlong had the good fortune to be the head of the province’s largest public sector union at a time when the provincial government had more cash than it knew what to do with and was prepared to buy support from anyone, anywhere, at any price. Now that the bills
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Acting Like a Leader #nlpoli
In his first major public appearance since cutting public representation in the House of Assembly last week, Premier Paul Davis flatly rejected the objections of the province’s municipalities and a gaggle of academics. The cuts will go ahead. When another government asked a commission to go out, ask people and
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Ballsiness #nlpoli
Before Christmas, Liberal leader Dwight Ball had been calling for an election as soon as possible. After Christmas, faced with the chance to chop a few seats from the House as he had already pledged to do, Ball was quick to agree both to the cuts proposed by the Conservatives
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Anti-democratic, regressive, and unprincipled #nlpoli
The idea of reducing the size of the province’s legislature because the provincial government has a massive financial crisis didn’t get any smarter when the provincial government announced its plan on Thursday to slash the House from 48 seats to 36. People who want to start government cutbacks at the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Fishing for support #nlpoli
When the going gets tough, the tough go fishing. In this case, a bunch of politicians in a tough spot with voters are fishing among a small bunch of politicians in Ottawa for support in their campaign to turn a deal achieved in 2013 into something else entirely. This isn’t
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Recurring Behaviour #nlpoli
Exactly one year ago, the provincial government was in a controversy over its part in the European free trade deal. The Conservatives were heralding the great deal, including a $400 million fisheries development fund. The opposition Liberals asked for details. The provincial Conservatives and then-Premier Kathy Dunderdale wouldn’t release any
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Decisive Moments in Politics #nlpoli
The NDP are down five points, the Liberals are up two and the Conservatives are up three, according to the latest Corporate Research Associates poll. Voters are abandoning the New Democrats who are down by one third from 15 points to 10. The Liberals and the Conservatives picked up those
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