CBC’s online story takes a weird tack on the tale of recent financial and management problems at Eastern Health, the province’s largest regional health authority. CBC headlines its story “Hospital Tim’s never came close to predict profit”. That’s true but the full story is so much more interesting. While the
Continue readingTag: public spending
The Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Root of the Problem #nlpoli
Mr. Speaker, if the members opposite think that the level of scrutiny that we do over a $3 billion expenditure in health care is to take every single health authority and work down line by line by line through every piece of that, I do not know what they are
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Hard Road Ahead #nlpoli
If the provincial government can actually get control on its spending and head down the road to management reform along the lines that Eastern Health’s Vicki Kaminski talked about on Tuesday, then they are headed down the right road. Kaminski described the results of a review of EH’s operations that
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: What they said…Part Deux #nlpoli
Basic public relations problem. Say one thing. Say another thing. A few weeks later, do something else, twice over. For starters, here’s the what Premier Kathy Dunderdale said in the House of Assembly in March about job cuts and the provincial budget: March 13: …Mr. Speaker, we will make the
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: What they said… #nlpoli
Here’s what Premier Kathy Dunderdale said on March 6 about possible job cuts in the provincial public sector (emphasis added in all): Mr. Speaker, we have not talked about cuts….Front-line health and education services will be exempted. Here’s what education minister Clyde Jackman said on March 29: I spoke at
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: More pork for the buck #nlpoli
The CBC’s John Gushue has a tidy analysis of Premier Kathy Dunderdale’s recent suggestion that government employees could work from home in the future as a way of cutting down on government real estate costs. Gushue notes that people have been talking about “telework” for a couple of decades. But
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Fairity Equation #nlpoli
It doesn’t matter if you are a Telegram editorial writer, a local blogger or even municipal affairs minister Kevin “Fairity” O’Brien on CBC’s St. John’s Morning Show (not online). You can still get the details of O’Brien’s travel expenses – things like purpose and amounts – just dead wrong. So
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Corner Brook hospital: follow the money talk #nlpoli
Let’s get something clear up front. The provincial government will build a new hospital in Corner Brook. That much shouldn’t be in doubt. The existing Western Memorial Hospital is long past due to be replaced. The provincial government has the cash in the bank. And even if they didn’t, they’d
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Why People in Corner Brook (and elsewhere in NL) are Worried #nlpoli
About four years ago, your humble e-scribbler pointed out a fundamental strategic problem with the way the provincial Conservatives spent money. The premise was pretty simple: at the same time that we knew – as a matter of irrefutable fact – that provincial costs for things like health care were
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Trouble near mill: the Corner Brook hospital #nlpoli
The 2012 provincial budget includes $1.4 billion in capital works but none of it is apparently connected to two hospitals.. How long should it take to start construction work on a new hospital? That’s a really good question. For the provincial Conservatives in Newfoundland and Labrador, six years is not
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: That didn’t take long: public sector negotiations #nlpoli
Here’s what your humble e-scribbler said on Wednesday morning about the fact the provincial government didn’t include any amount in the 2012 budget to cover salary increases: Pull the other one The budget contains no amounts for wage increases. Any talk of forcing departments to come up with increases out
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Another Tom Marshall masterpiece #nlpoli
You’ve gone through the media reports and heard the interviews and comments from pundits and politicos alike. Now you want a better idea of what is going on and what isn’t happening. Well, right off the bat, anyone who reported about an austerity budget or that forecast any significant change
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Significant budget digits #nlpoli
As you try and contain your excitement on provincial budget day, here are a few numbers you might want to keep in mind: Dozens: What CBC reported on Friday as the number of layoffs in the budget. Fewer than 150: What CBC reported on Monday as the likely number of
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: No truer words #nlpoli #cdnpoli
“When you wage an ideological war,” wrote Lana Payne this past weekend, “lies are necessary weapons.” Payne, for those who don’t know, is president of the province’s labour federation and a major player for the provincial and national New Democratic Party. She has a column in the weekly Telegram, for
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Budget-Spending Disconnection #nlpoli
The provincial government announced on Wednesday that they will spend $2.0 million to fund new child care spaces across the province. Through Budget 2012, the Provincial Government remains committed to providing affordable, accessible and quality child care services throughout Newfoundland and Labrador. Today, the Honourable Charlene Johnson, Minister of Child,
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: So then what will they do? #nlpoli
Let’s make no bones about it. Even at the deepest darkest moments after the death of Meech Lake, federal-provincial relations were never as bad as they are right now between the crowd on Ottawa and the crowd in Sin Jawns. Danny Williams put all his political credibility into his anything
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Lay-offs, Noseworthy and other things the Premier talked about #nlpoli
Listen closely and you can hear the beep-beep-beep of the garbage truck of government comms as it backs up on the idea of laying off public sectors workers as a result of government’s “review” of programs and spending. Premier Kathy Dunderdale scrummed [link to CBC’s raw video]outside the House of
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Dundernomics 101: Public Sector Employment Numbers #nlpoli
In an interview with CBC’s David Cochrane, Premier Kathy Dunderdale said that the public service has grown by more than 2,100 jobs in the past eight years and that total employment in the public service is about 9,000. Well, not exactly. That depends on what you consider to be public
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Dundernomics 101: The Cleary Factor #nlpoli
The gang at CBC shouldn’t feel sheepish. They might have been the ones who pushed it most aggressively but they weren’t the only news outlet that started talking up budget cuts and restraint based on what Premier Kathy Dunderdale told them. Here’s part of what the Premier said to CBC’s
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Cost over-runs and delays in Placentia #nlpoli
On Monday, the provincial public works department put a limit on the size of trucks that can go over the left bridge at Placentia. This came after someone inspected the bridge. Interestingly enough, the same department had a tender call out last May to replace the bridge they just put
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