A House divided
On Wednesday, May 2nd, I was watching the No. 1 soap opera in this province, called “House of Assembly.”
I watched Tracey Perry tell the story of when she first got elected and how she felt out of place, intimated, and at times wondered what she was doing. It brought tears to my eyes. Perry was sent to the House to represent the people who put her there, to do the things they wanted, and she should have been treated with the utmost respect.
I have often wondered what happens to the people we elect; they make all kinds of promises to work for us, but once they get into the House of Assembly, things change.
After the removal of two cabinet ministers from the Liberal party earlier this year, I am beginning to see.
I backed the Liberals because I was fed up with the Progressive Conservatives. I did my best to get this premier elected as leader (what a mistake) and then to get them in government.
My second choice as leader was Cathy Bennett. Although I did not know her, I knew a bit about her and thought of her as a very credible candidate who would do well for this province.
I was elated when she was appointed as Finance minister. I met her at one of the first budget consultation meetings. I made some suggestions as how to raise money (that would be painful to me) and how to cut down on waste. I also made the statement: “My mother always said to me, ‘watch your pennies and the dollars will look after themselves’” — something I have always followed. Bennett said to me, “Wilfred, my mother told me the same thing.” The last thing I said to her before I left was, “Tell the premier to let you do your job.”
That budget was terrible, but we accepted it because we were in dire straits. Needless to say, some of the ways it was supposed to save money — involving the civil service and Muskrat Falls — weren’t done because the premier didn’t have the guts to do it. The premier wasn’t going to lay off any civil servant; he made that quite clear many times when speaking to the media. So, he had two choices, fire her or make it impossible for her to stay in that portfolio. So perhaps he put her in a position where she felt she couldn’t do her job, and Bennett quit as Finance minister.
This past year when Bennett quit as Finance minister and Tom Osborne was appointed, I was shocked and disappointed, and it wasn’t very long before I guessed as to why.
When Bennett was Finance minister, she was having a hard time getting a deal with the unions, which are party responsible for our huge deficit — high wages, too many benefits and way too many workers compared to other provinces.
The premier wasn’t going to lay off any civil servant; he made that quite clear many times when speaking to the media. So, he had two choices, fire her or make it impossible for her to stay in that portfolio. So perhaps he put her in a position where she felt she couldn’t do her job, and Bennett quit as Finance minister.
It wasn’t long before Osborne was sitting down and having tea with the unions, all because of the premier, because of all the promises he made when campaigning, he stuck to no layoffs in the public service, and we are still piling up debt for our children and grandchildren to pay for.
I believe that the premier did not back up the Finance minister’s plan to try and get this province back on course and therefore she had no other option only to quit.
The sad part is that after the firing of two cabinet ministers because of accusations of bullying by several members of the House, and Cathy Bennett’s revelations to the media, the premier stated that he knew nothing of this.
My money is on Bennett. The captain of a ship is supposed to know everything that is going on and his ultimate job is to make sure that everything is being run efficiently. If not, you are heading for disaster.
My concern is for the future of this province, which doesn’t look very bright.