The provincial government has paid more than $830,000 to Wade Locke and companies with which he is associated since 2003, according to information released under the provincial access to information law. The information covers 22 contracts and contract…
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The Sir Robert Bond Papers: The blindingly obvious #nlpoli
After all this time, it remains an enduring mystery how a guy who held himself out to be the great seer of oil prices still gets quoted on oil prices despite the number times he has fundamentally gotten it wrong.Some local reporters still use Wade Lock…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The inexplicable persistence of nonsense #nlpoli
“There was a very good job done … of boxing this province out [of the Equalization program] a few years ago,”That was Premier Dwight Ball talking to reporters on Tuesday after the Throne Speech that set the agenda for his new administration. He w…
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Uri Geller of MUN Economics Strikes Again #nlpoli
Does anyone really take Wade Locke seriously anymore? Really? Do they? Seriously. Go back to last October to see why. The next time reporters have Wade on camera, give him a spoon to bend with his psychic ability. Wade might just be able to do it. God knows he sure
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Ethnic identity economics #nlpoli
Wade Locke and Don Mills are two of the faces most associated with the current Conservative administration in Newfoundland and Labrador, aside from the politicians, that is. Mills played a key role in Danny Williams administration. Mills polling firm provided government with quarterly surveys. Williams also tried to manipulate Mills’
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Soothsayer #nlpoli
Wade Locke has had a profound impact on public policy in this province like no academic since Parzival Copes. Locke has been intimately involved with Conservative policy since 2003. He has provided advice to both the oil industry and to the provincial government and its energy company Nalcor. He’s also
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: The Elephant in the Room, the Astigmatic Seer, and other horrifying budget tales #nlpoli
Has anyone noticed a small problem in all the discussions about next year’s budget? On Point’s David Cochrane had both NAPE’s Carol Furlong and the Conservative’s pet economist Wade Locke on the show to talk about the next budget. Carol was warning against cuts. Locke was talking about a request
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Take a closer look #nlpoli
Premier Paul Davis hasn’t delivered any speeches, issued any news releases, or done anything else to explain who he is and what he wants to accomplish as Premier. The guy has the job. But he hasn’t told anyone anything about his plans. On Wednesday, Davis had the perfect chance. He
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Double-down Locke #nlpoli
“I didn’t see this coming,” Memorial University economist Wade Locke told the Telegram’s James McLeod the other day. Locke was talking about the dramatic drop in oil prices over the past week and a half. The day before, Locke was on VOCM’s morning talk show dismissing this low oil price
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Political Mummers’ Parade on Monday #nlpoli
Finance minister Tom Marshall will present his mid-year financial update on Monday. It is supposed to be a way of bringing everyone up to date on how the annual budget is going. It’s an accountability thing. Since the government’s fiscal year starts in April, the middle of the year was
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Just when we needed new ideas… #nlpoli
There’s no small laugh to be had listening to Wade Locke, the government’s favourite economist. He was all over the media on Monday talking about fiscal responsibility, cutting revenues and all that sort of stuff. You can find a tidy summary from the Telegram. A couple of decades ago, Locke
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Managing Electricity Demand #nlpoli
Nalcor’s forecast for electricity demand on the island of Newfoundland doesn’t really show a massive increase over the next couple of decades. Earlier this year, Memorial University economist Jim Feehan suggested that one alternative to Muskrat Falls was demand management. That is, he suggested that Nalcor try some ways of
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Dunderdale rejects Locke’s advice on Muskrat #nlpoli
Sometimes you agree with people. Sometimes you don’t. All it means is that you agree sometimes and disagree at others. Premier Kathy Dunderdale didn’t seem to understand that point when she spoke to the St. John’s Board of Trade back in January: Memorial University economist Dr. Wade Locke, has concluded
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Wading through Locke on Muskrat (Part 3) #nlpoli #cdnpoli
[continued from Part 2] Debt One of the issues Wade Locke set out to address was the impact Muskrat Falls would have on public debt. For some other information on Muskrat Falls and public debt, check this earlier post. Slide 43 is a table of debt servicing amounts based on
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Wading through Locke on Muskrat (Part 1) #nlpoli #cdnpoli
An hour-long presentation, 48 slides and an interview with David Cochrane. For all that, some apparent confusion lingers about what Memorial University economist Wade Locke included in his presentation and what he didn’t. Let’s see if we can pick our way through the entire thing and assess Locke’s comments in
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Locke admits assessment was “probably not” fair #nlpoli #cdnpoli
In an interview with the Telegram that appeared in Thursday’s edition, Memorial University economist Wade Locke admitted that his assessment of Muskrat Falls probably offered an unfair comparison with alternatives. When asked by The Telegram, “If that doesn’t include transmission, is that a fair comparison?” Locke answered, “Probably not. You’d
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Locke and Muskrat Falls: some quick points #nlpoli #cdnpoli
Memorial University economist Wade Locke delivered a presentation on Tuesday night about Muskrat Falls, a project he had already endorsed publicly. The Harris Centre at Memorial University, the Atlantic Provinces Economic Council and the MUN economics department’s Applied Economics Research Initiative sponsored the talk. The pdf of Locke’s slides should
Continue readingThe Sir Robert Bond Papers: Fooled him, too, did they? #nlpoli
Celebrity economist Wade Locke thinks it’s just great that the provincial government is going to use any surplus on its current budget to pay down debt. As he told the Telegram: Putting it towards debt was the best thing, I think, you could do. Too bad for Wade that he
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