The grand illusion
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been a big fan of magic and the art of illusion. I’ve always marveled at how the great illusionists such as Criss Angel, David Copperfield and Pen and Teller can manipulate reality and make the impossible, seem possible. While these professional performers continue to make a great living wowing the crowds on the Las Vegas strip, we have our very own illusionists putting on a show right here at home.
Now the art of illusion is nothing new to N.L. It’s been practiced and perfected in this province ever since Confederation. Of course, the latest performance commenced just after the closing of the latest session of the House of Assembly and the start of this year’s infamous “Political BBQ Circuit.”
In this illusion, Dwight the Magnificent is making it appear as if we are suddenly flush with cash and everything is rainbows and butterflies as he and his colleagues travel throughout the province announcing and re-announcing new hospitals, long term care homes, fire trucks, kilometres and kilometers of fresh asphalt and the latest big announcement relating to the hiring of 300 new teachers, teaching assistants and librarians.
Now, don’t get me wrong, these are all good things that I’m sure will be positively received by those who directly benefit from them. That’s not the point being made by yours truly in this opinion piece.
The question which I would like to ask and thus the crux of this illusion is — what has changed with regards to our province’s fiscal circumstances?
I mean it’s only a couple of years ago that we were hit with crippling taxation measures and told that our government was at risk of not making payroll. We were further told that we were on track for a $2.7-billion deficit that year and had a provincial debt which was climbing by $2 million per day.
Sure, oil has risen slightly since that time, but government spending certainly hasn’t decreased, we are continuing to run huge year-over-year deficits, our provincial debt is out of control and we still have a huge problem on the horizon when Muskrat Falls comes online, likely requiring provincial subsidy.
So. while these announcements may indeed be positive and much needed, how do we pay for them?
And what exactly is the illusion? Is the illusion that we are currently in good fiscal shape?
Was the actual illusion performed in 2016 and we weren’t really in the horrendous situation that many were convinced by government that we were in? Could it be that the illusion is contained within these announcement’s themselves? That we are being lead to believe these announcements will come to fruition only for reality to kick in post-election when we find out that promises have to be broken, projects delayed and hiring suspended, similar to what occurred with promises made in 2015.
Unfortunately, as this political game of smoke and mirrors continues to be played in our province by successive governments, including this one, (And why wouldn’t they? It’s proven to be very successful.) the average citizen has to deal with reality.
I’m sure Joe Q Public wishes that his current fiscal reality was an illusion as government continues to reach into his pocket to extract his expendable income through political sleight of hand.
The time has come for openness, honesty and transparency to replace the art of illusion and political manipulation. We have the highest unemployment rate in the country, bankruptcies are on the rise, food bank usage is through the roof and many people, particularly seniors, are being forced to choose between heat, food and medication.
There is no magic spell that can be conjured up to make this disappear. It requires hard work, dedication and a detailed plan to get our province back on solid footing. I call upon our provincial government to put all of the cards on the table, engage with the public and the opposition parties and work on viable solutions to get us out of the mess we are currently in. We don’t need magic tricks — we need a plan.
Paul Lane Independent MHA –
District of Mount Pearl-southlands