Greene report reminds reader of Thatcherism

When I superimposed Dame Moya Greene’s picture on top of one of Andrew Furey’s election bus, my sole intention was to show that her presence was front and centre in the provincial election (that picture got more attention than I expected). Furey’s election campaign was overshadowed by Dame Moya Greene.

The Liberals were high in the polls and Feb. 13th was a perfect day to have the election. It was weeks before Dame Moya Greene’s interim report was expected and about six weeks before her final report was due. But as everyone knows, and Furey should have known, COVID-19 is unpredictable.

Furey’s best laid plan to strike while the iron was hot and win a majority government was interrupted by an outbreak of COVID-19 and delivery of the Greene report was delayed beyond the election. Now that the report is out in the public, I can see why.

In my opinion, if this report had been delivered before election day, Ches Crosbie would have a vastly bigger majority and would be premier today.

The fact the election is over (subject to court challenges) and the Greene report is out in public, the reality of our debt is sobering.

I don’t understand why our auditors general did not come up with the same numbers as the Premier’s Economic Recovery Team — were they denied access to some vital information?

Now that the report is public and the recommendations are there, unions and some businesses don’t want to share some of the load of reducing our debt.

In my opinion we cannot wait until the 2022-23 budget to implement some of these recommendations.

Greene expects we will run a deficit each year until 2025 or 2026. If we run a $500-million deficit on average for the next four years, that will add another $2 billion to our existing $47. 3-billion debt, plus debt servicing.

We cannot wait a day longer to take action. Spending has to be reduced.

Jerome Terry Sr. Mount Pearl