Many thanks to all who contributed to this online forum over the last month. It all made for a stimulating debate, especially on election night itself.

Our regular Your View section on the regional site, meanwhile, is up and running, so feel free to chip in your two cents there. The link is:
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourview/nl/

See you in 2011.

Pauline..........you may call them "bullies" but I think "Dumb Asses" is far more accurate!

A reporter asked our illustrious premier what he thought of the deal NS and Harper just signed and would NL be taking the same deal. Instead of simply stating NO and giving reasons why not his typical bullying, egotistical, make a headline Danny style came shining through. The "nuts abd bolts of his reply was.......Steve is small and can't be trusted and Rodney MacDonald is weak. That may be the case but Danny could have been more of a statesman and simply answered the reporters question.

This tantrum by our Danny was prompted because.......???? You don't no?? Jeez Danny, himself, gave the reason. Harper was raining on his parade!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

William's has said on numerous occasions and about different issues..........."He will go it alone if he has to (if you substitute the "he" in that sentence with "Newfoundland Labrador" it is what Danny was refering to). If Danny doesn't kool it with the reteroic and STOP burning bridges with everyone he disagrees with by God WE are going to get awful cold and lonely out here in the North Atlantic.

Jen from Alberta........ My hunnie, you are soooooooooooooo wrong.

International law states that the ocean floor and what is beneath it to the edge of the continental shelf belongs to the jurisdiction closest to it. Newfoundland and Labrador, when it joined confederation brought the contineltal shelf, where the oil and gas is found, into the Canadian Confederation. Alberta brought its oil and gas into the Canadian Confederation BUT its oil revenues WERE EXEMPT while it was a HAVE NOT province. Newfoundlanders do not want special treatment. We simply want the same treatment Alberta got (no more no less).

Secondly, we do not have money YET. We have received about 10% of the oil revenues the federal government has gotten from Newfoundland and Labrador oil. The NEW accord, that Steve Harper(an Albertan) drafted says that we cannot surpass the "richness level" of the Province of and still receive some minimal equalization. The NEW accord basically keeps us from becomming a HAVE province sooner. That is what Ontario (it has the most seats in the Canadian Parliment) and Steve Harper wants.

The Blocque did not vote for the Accord??????? I am amazed that you even thought they would. Tell me Jen, when has the Blocque ever voted for anything that would give ANY province (other than Quebec) a shot at improving its situation? Come on Jen you are smarter than to use that lame example (arn't you?).

Danny Williams loves to fight and his negotiating skills are nonexistent. However, appologize to Harper (your Alberta man), NEVER. Harper is the absolute worst Prime Minister this country ever had to put up with. The only reason he is in power is because no other party or leader deserves it. He is the best choice of the worst possible choices Canadians ever had. Appologize? NEVER!!!!!!

A note to Jake Enders and to Johnny West:

If you cannot politely post without throwing taunting digs in, then why post? It is the attitudes of Canadians such as yourselves that create much of the 'false' attitudes about our people/culture. Bullying isn't only in schoolyards!

I truly want to see this work well for both Newfoundland AND especially Labrador. I am on the island, but you have my respect, Labrador... I believe many on the island feel that way. I'm not sure if you know. One thing that I hope will come from this is that Labrador will make some gains, hence breaking down some of those barriers.

I gave my viewpoint earlier... let me repeat it. I agreed that he was the best man for the job, but the landslide was dangerous and I couldn't see how it could work out for him. However, I don't think he will/can neglect Labrador.

Now that the province of newfoundland and labrador have money, they should take pride in contributing to equalization fund. If not, do not ask for a dime.

THe oil wells are located outside of newfoundland and labrador jurisdiction which means, not all of the oil well revenues belong to newfoundland and labrador only- it also belongs to the federal government.

The oil-sands is located within- in- on- upon alberta soil. which means -IT should BELONG TO ALBERTA ALONE, yet alberta contributes to the equalization fund, but, DOES NOT receive a dime from the equalization fund.

Danny Williams may have stood up to Paul Martin federal government , but he would not 'DARE' stand up to the other provinces.

The ndp and the bloc never voted for the Atlantic Accord since they did not like Paul Martin's money bill.
Fortunately for Danny Williams and his province, the prime minister's conservative party were the only party to vote for the ATLANTIC ACCORD by accepting the money bill which they did not like as well.

Danny Williams owes the prime minister an apology.

By any mesure Newfoundland & Labrador is extaordinary - and inportent - province . It's raison d'ete was and is a reflection of who we are . In that context we have an immediate sence of " NATION HOOD " , which through all the vivissitudes of our history has unquestionably deepened . Yet it's constituent peoples , it's cultures and traditions , skills and creative gifts , it's landscapes and cilmate , and the swirl of it's history , is wonderfully various . Conparably various has been the story of Newfoundland & Labrador in it's first half - century of sovernign existence which speaks volumes to mark and celebrate , I say this because I was never yoked to the crown . the history of the province is told from earliest settlers , from all it's political turmoil to the present day . So also the panoply of it's people , tradition and achievements , both ancient and modern ,it's pivotal political role , and it's conplex relations with Canada . Newfoundland & Labrador has finaly produced a leader who will cammand attention , this new mandate dosen't remain with Mr : Williams alone but also with every Newfoundlander and Labradorian , to those who much has been given , much will be required as the province struggles toward modernity while honouring it's past . Canada has to know that Newfoundland & Labrador has paid a heavey price since confederation and are not likly to surrender our rights easily . With this new mandate a mood of optimism has been generated and no one is minimising the gravity of the task ahead . Newfoundland & Labrador's nacent beginings will need careful nurturing before it will produce a culture of participatory governence . The process of accountability needed to be consolidated and the weakness of the old system of goverence removed . Newfoundland & Labrador has still to find it's due role , and therein lay the hope of a happier political maturity over the coming decades .

Yes M Clarke I am quite aware of our overall contribution......I was speaking from a "net" equilization prospective.

Perry
St John's

"Just think folks....... in 2 years we will be contributing to the financial well being of dumb asses like these 2. I guess it goes to show that everything has a downside!"

Actually, Perry, we are already doing such and have for a while. NL contributes in more than financial ways to the ROC. It's added value from NL, financial and more!

Everytime I read comments, such as the ones you refer to, I marvel at how many do not realize that without Newfoundlanders and Labradorians their communities and provinces would be in dire straits. ON, AB, BC especially have done well because Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have moved to those provinces to work and thus have benefited greatly from the vast skills and knowledge of those from the NL. Half of the industries in those provinces would be closed if it weren't for the people of NL.

How in the heck are these provinces going to manage, cope, as NL moves to the standard have status and many come back home? I think the tune might change, maybe???

I think Perry said those who voted blue will be seeing Red in the election. If Danny Williams thought the first few years were hard as premier, then the next 4 will be even harder as people have high expectations and they will be bitterly dissappointed. Rule to thumb "don't promise what you can't give." Remember Stephen Harper's promise that Danny so bitterly complained about! Well the shoe will be on the other foot in the months to come.

An observation and a prediction someone shared with me a few minutes ago.....

Those who voted Red yesterday are BLUE today. Many of those who voted BLUE yesterday will be seeing RED before the next election.

I also congratulate Derrick Dally and others such as Calvin Peach. However, it must be a somewhat hollow victory. Why?

Well....... in general elections most people (rightly or wrongly) vote for who they expect the winner to be. In this election everyone knew who that was going to be. Additionally, without Danny's "coat-tails" everyone in those 2 ridings (and others where similar situations exist) know that they would not have won without Danny.

The good thing about it though, for those ridings, the newely elected rookies have 4 years to work and earn the victory and that should benefit those ridings.

Congratulations!

I watched Danny give his victory speech on TV last night and it was easy to detect the momentum in room. He's Dan the Man, the guy that took the PC party to an unprecedented level of popularity. He was backed by a chorus of MHA's who are almost giddy at how successful they have been. But it's easy to love the guy who lifts you up and carries you through really good times. No doubt, his charisma and acomplishments are largely the reason why times are so good for the PC's. But when political parties are not popular, do the party members really apprectiate the one who gets them through the bad times, and I mean really bad times?

Whenever I saw Gerry Reid on TV over the past few weeks, I kept thinking about that scene from the Godfather Part III. I could hear Al Pacino say "Every time I try to get out, they pull me back in". He was supposed to have been an interm leader until they could find someone. That didn't happen. I'm sure he would have loved to have gone home like so many of the rest, but someone had to run against Danny. Out of the twelve elected in 2003, only four other MHA's, other than himself, stuck around. He stayed and took one for the team, right in the gut. If and when the Liberals ever manage to rebuild, (and I don't see it happening any time soon) I hope they remember the guy who got them though the really rough times.

Folks? I just want to bring you up to speed on a couple of people that just posted commments here.

Jake Enders is actually Steve (as Danny calls him)showing off his love for Canada and Canadians from coast to coast to coast. Johnny West is a Globe and Mail reporter showing everyone the low level of journalistic ability/knowledge required to make it with that newspaper.

Just think folks....... in 2 years we will be contributing to the financial well being of dumb asses like these 2. I guess it goes to show that everything has a downside!

Congratulations to Premier Danny Williams and the Progressive Conservatives on winning such a majority in Oct. 9th election. I especially congratulate Derrick Dalley on his victory in The Isles of Notre Dame. Thanks Premier Danny for being there for us. I am looking forward to seeing great things happen in this province.
Ida

way to go Danny!!! Now maybe we can move back and take whats rightfully ours.

"Folks, this province is on the rise once more"

Sorry, this pipe dream has been professed by islanders for as long as I've known them (over and over and over and it always seems to be based on the notion that an oil boom is just around the corner). You cannot socialize your way to prosperity. As long as the province continues looking at things as it does now, without a major qualitative shift, you will continue to see your children excise themselves from the economic depression that is NF and continue to see its population swoon.

You are hemorrhaging population like a stuck pig. What are you doing to trim the fat? Is government scaling back? Tax incentives for business?

Although it is a positive thing that Williams is in, this landslide is very negative. It can have a potentially lethal result.
The man is human... he is not an icon! He is stubborn and can be hot-headed at times (hence the inablility to agree with Harper...they 'are' alike in those ways).
People think he was sent from the sky and that he can walk on water. Wake up, people! I may agree with the positive attitudes and pride, Danny, but get polite and fast. I fear that nobody can live up to this challenge... not even you.
The demands will be immeasurable... and you've no opposition to compare yourself to or to keep you in line.
I will give you a year (max) before people become irate (everyone wants a piece of you now and no other opposition member is there to compare you to).
I hope we don't repeat history (thinking of Smallwood).

What was the popular vote for each party.........Urban areas (combined) vs. Rural areas (combined)??????

WOW! On the drive to work this morning the sun was just comming up over the hills and bouncing off the wet pavement. It was blinding! However, glancing off to my left the Confederation Building was completely hidden by a thick fog bank.

I could not help but think, hot air from the inside meeting cold air outside was probably the cause. I also sumized that maybe all the hot air generated during the campaign helped obscure what would have been the best possible outcome of the election for this province. I am referring to a PC minority government of course.

Anyway, for the next 4 years we will have to try and seperate the hot air from the fog from the mist from the haze from the vapor. Hopefully we can do that and provide Lorraine Michael with enough support to remind Danny and his "servants" that their asses are OURS and b'y God they had better keep every promise. The very first promise that I expect Danny to keep is to give Pottle (the PC new STAR from Labrador) a cabinet post. That should be the first and the easiest one for him to keep! His action on that promise may give us some indication of the level of integrity to be displayed by this government during the next 4 years.

Amazing, according to the CBC, the NDP (at 13%) outpolled the Liberals (at 11%) in Metro St. John's. I don't even recall Gerry Reid visiting St. John's during the election, and I guess we can see why.

What are we in for? No opposition is not a good thing. All good governments require an opposition to keep them on track. The Williams government has done well for NL over the past four years but very much private sector related. What about the public sector? We look forward to help and improvements over the next 3-4 years Mr. Williams.

CONGRATULATTIONS ROLAND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Sad to see Newfoundlanders (and Laboradorians?) vote in this Danny fellow. they've bought hook line and sinker into his populist tripe. I guess when a province has been on the dole as long as NL, it's only to be expected they'd vote in a fellow who only knows how to pick fights with other levels of government and point the finger of blame elsewhere for the province's financial woes. Very disappointing, but not surprising.

Thanks for the following Kenny Goulet, a great round of laughter before I head off to bed. Gee, now I'll be laughing all night and won't get a wink of sleep. LOL

"Does anyone think Steven Harper will call and congratulate Danny Williams tonight or tomorrow as is normal for the PM to do?

Kenny Goulet
goose bay"

m. clark

Appreciated all your coverage of the election and the candidates. Living in VIrginia Waters I was disappointed that we did not get any of our results on your updates on the side of the screen all night. Trust this was only an oversight and not some plan by the CBC to layoff the district.

Congratulations to Danny Williams & the Progressive Conservatives on their victory in this year's Provincial Election. I'd also like to congratulate PC Candidate John Dinn on winning the Kilbride District. Congrats go out to all the people who ran in the election & all those who participated. Say what you will folks, but the people have spoken, & they have said that Danny is the right man to lead this province. Yes, he still has his usual critics who'll try and bring him down any way they can, but in the end, Premier Williams has once again silenced his critics. I was suprised that Gerry Reid actually lost in his own riding, it will be interesting to see what the Liberals will do now. Congrats to Lorraine Michael of the NDP party, very glad to see her in the House Of Assembly. Still shocked by the margin of victory by the PCs, but I guess it means the people like what they're doing & let's hope they keep up the good work. Folks, this province is on the rise once more, it's a great time to be a Newfoundlander now more than ever before.

I find it ironic that on the last election day I was called to work in our foodbank....same thing happened again today.....same thing will happen next election is my guess...

I am a Liberal supporter and I am delighted with tonight's election results. The party needed a change in its leadership and is now in a position to rebuild. I would love to see Mr. Efford run in the upcoming by-election in Grand Falls-Windsor. The party needs his voice!

Congrats to Danny and his team! However, earlier in the evening, you mentioned that the possible low voter turnout could be a factor...any way to get some numbers? What was the voter turnout?

Regardless of the outcome, it has to be recognized that since politics is often a rough business to be at, a round of applause should go out to the candidates of all parties for stepping forward to represent the people of their respective ridings. It takes a degree of courage to stand in front of people and ask for their trust. Congratulations to the PC party of Newfoundland and to Premier Danny Williams for an outstanding election victory.

I am glad Danny has a strong mandate for the next 4 years. A lot of tough decisions will need to be made to ensure that the short term prosperity from resources is used wisely. We need to diversify the economy so we do not have to endure "have-not" status again 20 years from now. It is time for communities to work WITH the government to define their new future (minus fish, forestry and oil). Some parts of the province will fade away, there is no way around it. Hopefully a strong entrepreneurial spirit will protect most communities. For those that unfortunately may not have a future, the government should use the next 20 years of wealth to help them fade away with the dignity and respect due all Newfoundlanders that worked so hard to survive in these often forgotten corners of the province.

I originally lived in Labrador for 20 years of my life and now to see that most of the the people have chosen to go to "A SO CALLED LEADER NAMED DANNY" sickens me beyond belief. I billionaire rich beyond a majority of this province's peoples dreams, as a leader does nothing to this province only get rid of outport communities and there traditions. He care's about nothing only his own fat ego and his business buddies in the oil industry or power industries. Labrador has given this province more resources in the past years and has seen NOTHING IN RETURN!!! And now that that sorry excuse for a premier has 43 seats in the house only make the province of Newfoundland & LABRADOR have no say has to what happens with our economy. For all those people saying that the economy will allow the province to bring people back from Alberta and other places, you would be a whole lot better staying right where you are than to come back to this place that is run by an idiot !!!!!

Danny; I've done what you requested. Now, you have to do what our province has requested.

Does anyone think Steven Harper will call and congratulate Danny Williams tonight or tomorrow as is normal for the PM to do?

Just a reminder that the percentage of vote could change after the Grand Falls election.

It was so refreshing to hear Danny Williams reiterate his stance regarding "Steve". I find it interesting that since the Premier took his stance with the federal government, we are a fiscally stronger and more united province. After more than 50 years since confederation, we are just now becoming a "have" province. It leads a fellow to draw his own conclusions on who has been responsible for five decades of financial struggle. Imagine that.

Rural Nfld wants to be on the government side as we saw tonight by the results.Come on now danny and let's see if you can bring it back like you say.Perhaps the road off the trans canada highway,going down to Hr.breton might get paved now that the Liberals are out.

Congratulations to Danny Williams on the loud message that was voiced to Prime Minister Harper.

A great victory for Danny Williams. However, a great blow to democracy for the people. It must be obvious that the seat split does not reflect the popular vote.

I wish CBC would give the percentage of votes cast per party compared to the eligible voter pool. There in lies a message for out politicians.

We must find a better way to get real inclusion of the electorate than the "first past the post" system.

I challenge Premier Williams to be a LEADER in Canada to recognise the inequity of the current process and use this opportunity to restyle the political system so that all of the potential electorate feel they can be really included and have a say in our democratic system.

Hey there,

You haven't shown any results for Virginia Waters. How did the candidates do?

Thanks,
David

I am assuming that Cathy Dunderdale won her district. She was on the victory podium with the Premier. I haven't once seen the results from our district. Thanks.

Time To Reengage , Today Newfoundland and Labrador needs to reclaim the moral high ground that defined us through the centries , we must move beyond the wreckage of failed policies and Mr : Williams party must be driven by a strategy of reengagement . We must reengage with our history of courage , liberty , and generosity . We must reengage with our tradition of moral leadership on issues rangeing from the have not to climate change . We must reengage the country with confidence and resolve and those who pose as a fianical threat to us . Mr : Williams and The PC party must reengage with the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to restore our reputation as a moral beacon to the world , tapping into our fundamental hope and optimism and calling on the peoples commitment and courage to make this possible . We must lead by demonstrating the power of our ideals , not by stroking fear about those who do not share them , only principled strength can lead to a realistic future and raise the standard of those living at home . Mr : Williams and the PC party can only do so if they reclaim the trust and respect of the people whose cooperation they need but whose will they cannot compel . The world today is different , however , and it calls for a different approach .

Congratulations Premier Williams: This is your time to join Labrador to the Island and hense join us to the rest of Canada...Build the Tunnel across the Straits!

A reminder to Premier Williams...what goes up, must come down. This too shall pass.

Congratulations to Danny Williams. He gives those of us who have moved out of the province hope that someday we will get to go back. Our opportunities there are increasing and the outcome will keep those educated in Newfoundland IN Newfoundland! Many of the youth are sad that they can't profit from staying in their province but I fully believe that will change with Danny Williams in power!

I just cannot understand why Randy Simms is on tonight commenting on the election as he is far from an expert! For one thing, his comment that "the province's MHAs want what federal members get - they get a pot" is incorrect. If he had looked into this matter, he would have been told that federal politicians do not have a pot and are actually prohibited from giving donations, money to sports groups, charities, individuals, etc. - that's been the policy for years. When he makes remarks like these, he loses all credibility on his other comments. Otherwise, I have been enjoying your coverage.

3 days ago I went looking online to see IF we even had an NDP candidate for St. John's West. To my surprise, we did... Joan Scott. The next day a sign finally arrived in Cowan Heights but I never saw the lady or any of her representatives around the neighborhoods nor have I received ANY liturature from Ms. Scott. Although I knew who I was voting for already, being given the opportunity to speak to a party candidate might have swayed a few votes in the district. Their budget is much lower than the 2 other parties but if you are interested in running, it costs nothing but time to go out and meet the people... simple political campaigning... keep that in mind in 4 years Ms. Scott

Is it my imagination or have I not seen Virginia Waters of you side board tonight and how did Kathy Dunderdale do?

Congratulations on a great program.

just thought I'd let you know that the Virginia Waters district is missing on summary that's running on the right side of your TV screen. Looks like you're displaying the results in alphabetical order of the district name, but Virginia-Waters hasn't come up all night...

It would have been nice for Gerry Reid to congratulate Derrick Dalley on his win.
Especially since Derrick has "lived and worked" in the district while Gerry only lived there for 1 year.

Is it my imagination or have I not seen Virginia Waters of you side board tonight and how did Kathy Dunderdale do?

When Danny Williams first became premier of NL. his victory speech from Corner Brook included the question, why do Labrador feel alienated from Newfoundland?

The only mistake that Mr. Smallwood made in regards to the Upper Churchill {I actually mean his legal team }was that the Upper Churchill did not include an escalator clause. The direct cost to NL is now up to ONE Billion per year and Quebec appreciates our good will.

The good people of Labrador was very aware before they voted today that the Lower Churchill development plan would ignore Labrador.

Labrador, you have spoken loud and clear tonight, we don't want our resources. We want diesel generators on the North Coast of Labrador and a 500% hydro increase in Labrador West.

I am not so sure that we in Labrador will find a single voter tomorrow who will admit that they admitted voting PC today.

We get what we deserve.

Thank you Labrador.

Maybe Gerry Reid will run in the election in central when it goes ahead in a couple of weeks...a former liberal riding.

What happened to Cathy Dunderdale and the Virginia Waters District? It wasn't covered in your results. Is there a change I don't know about?

We the people of Newfoundland and Labrador now have a hard 4 year ahead of us. We have no opposition in the house, so Mr. Williams and the PC party now have a mandate to do anything they want to this provience.

I hope that in the next four years, not one person will say one bad thing against the government, no one will go on strike, no one will get on tv and bad mouth anything that Mr Williams does to this provience, because we elected them and now everyone will take their medicine.

It is going to be interesting to see what happens in the next four years, will this government look at the provience as a whole, and not as a part. I hope that it is going to be as a whole, the Island and Labrador together as one provience.

CBC hasn't mentioned Cathy Dunderdale all night???

I am very pleased for the Williams Govenment tonight. However, it is a little sad that we have little or possibly no opposition. The way I feel is the fact that we have Premier Williams at the helm and he can be sincerly trusted to bring our Province to be the best in Canada.
Derek

Now that Danny has a second majority will he consider lowering some or all of the 123 services he increased and also remove the hst from all heating elements.

Shame on you Randy Simms to even suggest that John Efford come back to Newfoundland politics. My suggestion is, he stay retired ...forever.

i am so dissapointed with the results out of the labrador tonight.we as labradorians will continue to be ripped of by the island government .

I believe that a landslide such as this is what was needed to convince the rest of Canada that Newfoundland and Labrador means business. We finally have a leader who will speak the minds of the majority with out fear of personal loss. But a message to the re-elected, don't let a landslide victory blur your vision, with great power comes great responsiblity, remain humble and steady the course.

A word of Advice for Mr. Williams: Take a look at what Frank McKenna did in NB in '87.

Frank McKenna's Liberals won ALL 57 seats in the legislature there that year and he used his own back-benchers to create an unofficial opposition to question his cabinet on policy and legislation.

So...

If the PC win in The Isles of Notre Dame stands up, do you run Gerry Reid in Grand Falls-Windsor-Buchans? - There's an election there in a few weeks...

Congrats to Patty Pottle.
I strongly expressed to my people here in Natuashish to vote Aboriginal towards Pottle, instead of Liberal.

Also congrats to John Hickey and thanks for the phone calls.

I'm watching the election coverage, and I'm just wondering what the results for the Virgina Waters district are ?

Love the coverage tonight but one big thing is missing....where are the results from Virginia Waters????

Well, Mr. Cochrane, you were wrong. The people of Labrador West were not fooled by the robust words of the NDP party as you were. Tonight’s results have proven that the folks of Lab. West have paid attention to the hard work and integrity of MHA Jim Baker, and were not swayed by your constant predictions to the contrary. This victory for Mr. Baker is very much deserved and will, indeed, be followed by diligence and hard work.

Congrats to the PC's in Labrador. My only concern now is who goes to cabinet. I think Mr. Hickey did a great job in cabinet and should remain. In saying that, if Danny wants Pattie Pottle in the cabinet, go for it. Maybe split Transportation and Aborigenal affairs into two seats.

why is Virginia Waters not being
shown on the right of the tv screen?

I believe that Danny Williams and the PC government have been, and will continue to, be good for the people of NL.

Tonite, however, we have done a very dangerous thing. We have failed to put proper checks on this new government with an effective opposition. One can only wonder if we will come to regret tonites euphoria in the months and years ahead.

where's the results for Virginia Waters?

Harvey Hodder ... Dave Denine .... Steve Kent.. all have moved on successfully. Its only natural progression that in time Mount Pearl's newest mayor will assume his rightful seat as an MHA. Goood luck Mayor Simms. PS I've never beaten a Mayor on the Links!

Do you think that Stephen Harper and Loyola Hearn are sittingup and taking notice. I have been a PC all my life but will never vote for Harper or Hearn ever again. This is just a sample of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians disgust for you Mr. Hearn and Mr. Doyle.

Good on Lorraine Michaels. I think she just gave her first campaign speech for Election 2011.

Jonathan,
You just wiped out more than 100 years of history when you said Newfoundland's first election was in 1949. We had elections, including some very interesting ones, from the 1830s right to the 1930s.

Wondering why the lack of coverage on Virginia Waters?

how come you have never displayed any resuls from Virginia Waters all night. Don't you like Cathy Dunderdale?

Great to see that Danny Williams will be leading the province once again. Being a displaced Newfoundlander, I know that with Mr.William's at the helm we will soon see possibilities arise that will enable me to bring my family back to the best province in the country ---Newfoundland!!
Congrats !!

What happened to results for Virginia-Waters?

Danny Williams - Congratulations on your 2nd majority government. I think you are doing a great job and hope that I can say the same thing in 10 years from now. To bad the PC in Ottawa and Prime Minster Harper couldn't be on your side.

I guess Danny has driven another few people of to Alberta. HA! HA! HA! I assume that the Liberal party as 4 years to find a new leader and some canidates that will realize that the time for give aways are over.

Good evening, I am watching the election and I have yet to see Virginia Waters results.
Hope to see somthing shortly.

Regards,
Al Hurlburt

The big question yet to be posed on Here and Now's coverage of the election tonight is whether Randy Simms will run for mayor of Mt. Pearl now that Steve Kent has been elected?

Still waiting for results from Virginia Waters. You have scrolled alphabetically throught all the districts numerous times. When may we expect to see our results?

Congratulations to Danny Williams and the Conservatives. They should not spend too much time feeling "warm and fuzzy", however, because the real fight for us and all of Atlantic Canada will be with Stephen Harper and the national Conservatives. Whatever we get from them will have to be hard fought for because of their view of us as having a "culture of defeat".

Hello, I am a grade 9 student a JMOC where Derrick Dalley is the principal. I hope he gets it because I know he has alot to offer.. Go Derrick GO!!

The results are not surprising. For the first time in a long time, Newfoundlanders have something to make them sleep better at night...hope. Danny has brought such a "feel good" feeling to our province. He has been the strong voice that we have longed for. He has the support he deserves, and we all hope you can keep the ship sailing in the right direction.

I think that the PC's are going to do a good job once again in Danny Williams second term, although I think that it will be difficult to mke the best decisions without a larger opposition.

As a citizen of Newfoundland & labrador I can appreciate the vision and direction that the williams goverment is and has taken our province in the past few years, but as a CUPE member I do not think in my opinion that my union leader should be standing in any political camp when the members of CUPE come from all political views. In my opinion neutral sometime has to be a position professionally not personally.

C. Humby

I am only 13 years old but loving poltics and follow it all the time. It was in no shock that the PC party is doing great in the polls and I am happy to see Danny Williams go back in the host. I believe he will do great things for our province. Also I would like to say that I believe during the debate that Lorriane Micheal came out on top and I'm not suprised to see she is back into the house and i admire her for taking the NDP and truly making a great agruement for that party. Hopefully in the next election they will do better

Im In Grade 11 and I Think From watching the news through out the past week that I knew that Danny Williams Would be in the lead in in this election and even though I am not old enough to vote I was hoping he will win.

Why in a democracy should 30% of the voters be represented by less than 10% of the House of Assembly.

Let's consider proportional representation like Ontario is doing.

With proportional representation, every vote does count, and voting NDP doesn't waste your vote.

Our district seems to be non-existent according to your rolling poll results on the television screen. What's happening to it?

Why is Mr. Williams not in his district on election night? As per usual, he's more concerned with the other side of the overpass.

I am very disappointed in the results for Lake Melville (and for Labrador), I think the Williams Gov't have forgotten what we (Labrador) have and continue to contribute to the economic value of the province, it's not all about oil Mr. Williams.

I am in grade 7 and i am interested in the election this year because i think danny williams is a good premier. also Yvonne Jones has won in our district. congrats Yvonne.

Mr. Harper beware. Danny has shown Canadians that it's time to stand up and fight for what you believe in. Hopefully with his next four years, Newfoundland & Labradorians living away will have the growing opportunity to finally come home.

the pc's are in its party time woopie good going danny and the voters that voted (sheldon colbourne)

Well I have to congratulate the Danny Williams Team on the well expected landslide victory in the Province... No offence to Mr. Willams and his team but it was a no contest. The lack of both leadership and direction for the Liberal party is the final nail in the coffin. Williams has come out punching with both hands and it can be seen, his down to earth demeanor and generosity coupled with his outstanding leadership and focus to grow the Province is a God send. For me, a guy who served 10 yrs in the Forces and took the choice to change careers and move home to take to the offshore for employment... Danny has helped make this decision all the better!!! Good on ya Blue Team... Soldier on!

When I watched the news 3 weeks ago and saw Gerry Reid arriving via boat to start the campaign, I turned to my wife and said "How ironic, the captain is going to go down with his ship." So long Gerry, the fishery is dead and so is the Liberal Party.

What happened to the results for Virginia Waters? I have been watching since 8:00 to see how Ms. Dunderdale is doing and you have yet to put up any results for this district. I would have thought this district is just as important as any other!!!!

Is it any surprise. The Liberal machine is not broken, it is non-existant. This is the result of the leadership convention of 2001, not because Grimes won and Efford lost but BECAUSE THE GRASS ROOTS OF THE PARTY IN EVERY CONSTITUANCY EXECUTIVE VOTED FOR EFFORD AND THE ESTABLISHMENT VOTED FOR GRIMES. THE ESTABLISHMENT DID THE SAME THING AGAIN IN STABBING BENNETT IN THE BACK. The way back is to rebuild the party from the ground up.

Newfs from around the world are watching this election,never before in NL history was there been such optimism in our province.
Of coarse Danny will win,anyone can see he has the education,the buisness savvy,and the charisma to turn our beloved province around.
The interest in our province of late has been due to the the leadership of this great and talented Newfoundlander.
Great Stuff!

What is happening in virginia waters? You seem to have omitted it.

Where are the results from our district? Not one report yet tonight.

I am a Liberal voter, have been all my life, but today I voted PC. We all knew going into this that Danny was going to have a majority government, and people like to be on the winning side, they like their MHA to have the ear of the leader. Also, I find Gerry Reid a very negative leader, I don't think I've heard him say anything good about the government.

In the 2003 Election, I destroyed my ballot by writing "Thanks for all the space to write 'Kiss My #%%.'" I knew Danny would win and I didn't care too much for his politics. In 2007, I wish I was at the Fairmont to kiss all four of Danny's cheeks! Let's hope he adjusts his eight year plan to a 12 year design. Sixty-six is a much better retirement age than 62.

Watching from home, it seems that there hasn't been any coverage for Virginia Waters. Could you put them up, as many of us would like to know the official results.

I am quite happy to see that the Conservatives will remain in power (surprise!). It concerns me, however, to see such a small opposition. This should send a strong message to future opposition parties that there is a big difference between opposing, to the point of whinning all the time, and actually being a constructive opposition. Contrary to what some people may think, it is NOT the role of an opposition party to oppose for the sake opposing...the election results are a testimony to that! Congratulations to the Conservatives! Now,Mr. Premier, the TOUGH work begins.

well danny i hope you and your party will win by a landslide, you have put newfoundland on the map not as a have not province but a has province. you took control and made us proud to say that we are newfoundlanders. i wish you and your party nothing but the best.especialy a man with your busness background this is what newfoundlanders need,is who can stand his ground untell we get what we deserve.

I am a grade 8 student and i think Dannny williams will do great things again this term for Newfoundland and labrador

This is the best possible result for Newfoundland and Labrador, and if Gerry Reid loses his seat it would be icing on the cake. We do not need his negativity. We have turned the corner from being a have not province to a have province. No more looking behind, we are looking forward.

Williams is a businessman and he manages the province in that manner. However, people are more than dollars and cents and paying off the deficit as quickly as possible does not help the common person. It's too bad more people don't catch on to what the NDP are saying in this regard, and vote for what is best for the working class. Newfoundlanders and Labradorians really need to start educating themselves on party policies and what best suites their own lives rather than just voting in the tradition of their forefathers.

Your district profile for Trinity-Bay de Verde includes the community of Dildo. Dildo is now in Bellevue District after changes made last year.

I would love to see John Hickey get his seat in Lake Melville, but as you see, Labrador is a region where PC support is not that high, I hope that Mr. Williams must see that we are not a people that are hard to deal with, but if you think you can take our resources to pave St. John's roads you have betrayed our trust!

Hi,
Premier Williams will no doubt win a second term in office. I would recommend Mr. Williams use his second term to move forward on a fixed link between Labrador and Newfoundland.

I am voting in the Lake Melville district and have watched attentively the race between John Hickey and Chris Montague. Much to my surprise, when I cast my vote there was a NDP candidate.

I think the NDP should have not bothered to run anyone in the race. Personally, I can't vote for someone whos face I never ever seen. If the NDP is so concerned with putting a voice in oposition, they probably should not put someone on the ballot, who hasn't got a chance, and potentially take votes from the tight race that exists in Lake Melville.

Their votes would have been better served if they asked their followers to back the Liberal candidate.

I'm not sure what I should do. Watch the election coverage or watch paint dry. Ohhh, the excitement is putting me to sleep.

Congratulations in advance to the PCs on the re-election of the government. This will be a resounding mandate. It would be a shame to waste it. This government should make the tough decisions that a government with a smaller mandate might be afraid to make. We need to cut wasteful spending, legislate reduction of our debt, and make sure that our province has final say over the fishery. If we're serious about autonomy and being real nationalists, this mandate must not be wasted. We need responsible government. Please put Beth Marshall in the cabinet and show that this provincial government is fiscally responsible.

I WOULD LIKE TO WISH ALL THE CANDIATES OF ALL THE DISTRICTS GOOD LUCK AND ESPECIALLY MR.FELIX COLLINS FROM MY DISTRICT. I WOULD LIKE TO ALSO WISH MR. WILLIAMS'S PARTY LUCK AND I'M SURE FROM THE RESULTS CONRAGULATIONS.
STEPHEN BUDDEN
AGE 13
PLACENTIA, PLACENTIA BAY

Hi CBC Panel,

Being at work and away from the television this evening, I am happy that you are offering to broadcast your telecast online. Other networks do not offer this service. For this, I commend you and I look forward to seeing the results and hearing your analysis.

It really amazes me that some people would not vote because they are upset because of the constituency allowance spending scandal. By not voting are we not telling the MHA's that we do not care what they do with our money. It seems to me this is the wrong message to be sending out.

The Carbonear and Port De Grave districts in CBN have been Liberal since the 1980's. I am hoping to see these districts go PC tonight for the betterment of our communities. We have had excellent representation from the liberal MHA'S the past # of years but the districts deserve representation from the governing party for the next 4 years. Hoping for PC victories.

I am watching the election on stream line video from San Jose, CA. I am from Cape St. George, NF, in the district of Port au Port. I am looking forward to a PC win for our hometown candidate,Tony Cornect. Wish we could be home to vote and celebrate!

The democratic process has failed us in this election. Neither the rallies nor the televised debate contributed anything useful to our understanding of the platforms of the three political parties. Issues critical to the future of this province were totally ignored. The future of the fishery is critical to tens of thousands of men and women in rural NL together with the communities where they reside. Unfortunately we are about to elect a government and opposition without having a clue where they intend to lead us and we let it happen!

Maybe its not the democratic process - maybe its us. We elect the governments we deserve.

I must express my deep disappointment in the Liberal campaign for its short sightedness and impotency. In an age when the North East Avalon’s rising star shows no signs of burning out. It is a shame that Gerry Reid choose to simply appeal to the parochialism which too often characterizes the islands politics outside the overpass to garner votes.

Throughout the political history of Newfoundland there had been quite a disconnect between the platforms of both the Conservatives and the Liberals, especially in terms of Government involvement in the economy, in the social well being of the province and the role of business in the political structure. For at least the last 20 years this divide has become more and more blurred. In this age of Neo-Conservatism and Neo-Liberalism what difference,if any, do these parties actually bring to the political forum? It seems to me that these two parties have become more and more alike in their platform structure; i.e Let's keep big businees happy. The only true party that brings a different agenda to the floor is the NDP. I'm not advocating any party as such, I only wish to point out that in reality we don't really have a three party system within our province. We have the social activists on one side and all the wealthy business people and lawyers on the other. How would the panel view this outlook on our political landscape?

well danny i hope you and your party will win by a landslide, you have put newfoundland on the map not as a have not province but a has province. you took control and made us proud to say that we are newfoundlanders i wish you and your party the nothing but the best.

Tonight, Tuesday Oct. 8th/2007 the voters of Newfoundland & Labrador have re-elected the Williams government as custodians of the development of this Province for the benefit of its people. The mandate the Williams government receives tonight confirms the level of support and confidence that we the electorate have place in our Premier Danny Williams and his administration. Go, Danny go.

Neither mine nor my husband's name were on the list of voters today. We voted in the last election and we have lived in victoria, him for his whole life and me, for the last 20 years. Makes you wonder.

It can not be argued that Danny Williams has done much for this province. A man with such a vast business background is exactly what this province needs to come into its own. Danny is a man who has only one view in his mind: to "fix" as many problems as possible in Newfoundland and Labrador. He is a man who wants to go into the history books, and to become immortal, and if he continues on this path, that my not be far from the truth.

It is incumbent upon all of us to recognize that there is a balance between preaching despair and economic doom and gloom and continually viewing the world through rose colored glasses. There is room for positive reflection and we really need to do that. There is also room for a reality check once in a while. Tonight we have that reality check - whatever the result.

I have really enjoyed the election coverage on CBC, especially the coverage by David Cochrane. I look forward to David coming on every week.

i did not vote in this particular election. it was not because of apathy or dis-interest.
my right to vote means a lot to me. my reason for not voting this time around was that i did not know enough about the candidate i would have votedfor in my district. and i feel that none of the candidates speak directly to meand the issues i face as a disabled person in this province.

A victory for Danny Williams seemed so evident to me, that I cast my vote for I, Guzzwell! I thought he could use my vote.

Rick Cooper

I'm listening to all the commentary about the election. I only have one question - what has the Williams government ACTUALLY DONE in the past 4 yrs?

There is some talk that Danny is going to move toward Newfoundland independance. The proof is in his comments on the Fishery - that Newfoundland should be conducting its own research/managemnet, independent of the Federal Government. Secondly, as we get closer to 2041, the upper Churchill will be under our control (with incredible revenues to Newfoundland).

I'd like to ask your political panel if they believe Danny is going to move us toward Independance?

Gerry Reid is grasping at straws for an arguements. No wonder the liberals are in the cellar. Take a look at his platform! He is arguing fishery fishery fishery! Well the fishery is gone and now its time to focus on other resources that Danny is working on.
Danny was here in Fort McMurray and give me 7 years that Newfoundlanders will start coming home. I for one believe him.

CBC great coverage so far
Questions to Dave and Randy
Why was St. john's ignored during the campaign
Will Premier Williams have to put Elizabeth Marshall back in the Cabinet in a high Profile Opposition???

Hi Johnathon and Panel,

I am sorry that we are unable to be apart of the Vote this Historic Night For Newfoundland & Labrador do to our unfortunate matter here in Grand Falls Buchans. However, I will say Mr Williams will just have to be patient for the Last seat that will win easily. The most seats Ever I predict.

Cheers!

This election doesn't seem to be about anything except Danny Williams. Newfoundlanders are about to give an overwhelming majority to a millonaire politician that has tended to bully to get what he wants. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't but I have serious doubts about where this one man show will go and if it really is about getting what we are due or just about creating a fight to get votes.

Of course, the Liberals are still not a viable alternative given they don't seem to have any fresh faces and some of the faces from the previous administration. But - for the rest of the PC's - it shoudn't be enough to just point out old Liberal errors as an excuse for your own.

But that's Newfoundland politics - its a one party (and in this case a one man) system for 10 + years until we have finally had enough. I guess a lot of Newfoundlanders just can't stand to "lose their vote".

Will this be our last provincial election whereby we use the outdated and unfair First Past The Post electoral system?
For the sake of our democracy I hope it is.

I was just wondering why Danny Williams chose to spend the election in St. John's rather than at his own headquarters, in his own district?

I'm sincerely disheartened by the apparent lack of foresight into the looming environmental disasters which are growing more and more evident. From big ticket items like the generating station at Holyrood to small issues like where we put our garbage...it seems as though no one is concerned. I pray to God that whoever gets elected will smarten up. This island is only so big!

Even thought i am living away, i have been following the election in Newfoundland and Labrador. If i was home, i would be voting for the PC's because in my opinion, they have had more results in 4 yrs then the Liberals had in 14 yrs in power.

dear sir.my comments are i hope that the libers party win. jerry reid.because the liber.because the pc were in power long enough.i think it time for a change .your truly gordon earle montreal quebec thank you

I really hope that tonight te PC will be not elected at least a minority governement. Danny Williams is right when he said that the province needs to be independent towards its natural resources and that we can live by ourselves. However, the PC don't have the poverty, environmental and health issues in its list of priorities. They said so, but I don't think they can address these issues as they should be. I feel liberal a little bit weak, but I like their emphasis on rural areas. In my opinion, the NDP demonstrated a strong opinion on every issues and proposing solutions to address these issues. I don't feel that PC and Liberals emphazised their campaign on HOW to address these issues. I am tired of "I am the better, Gerry Reid is nananan". I am just tired of these stupid fights. They want the seats that's all. Lorraine Micheal and her team are focusing on people, on the future on the province and how to make everything better for EVERYONE. I just don't believe in Danny Williams and Gerry Reid. I hope that people chosen to vote for a change tonight. If not, they are only afraid of the change and it is sad. I keep my fingers crossed for the NDP becomes the official opposition in the House of Assembly. I also believe that PC is more menaced than 4 years ago. It will be more thight tonight. Best luck to the NDP and its candidates. Good Job!

Our democratic voting system in Newfoundland has to change, the majority of the candidates are motivated to run for office for the wrong reasons, image, ambition & dream. These candidates will not be elected on their credentials but on the coattail of the popularity of the Premier. Candidates in the Williams camp will promise to represent our interest following election as they knock on the doors during the campaign, a promise they are unable to keep.
Do we need more members pounding the desk, nodding in the background at the House of Assembly or cheerleading on the open line programs, or do we need strong district representation?
Oil & Gas has clogged the government’s agenda over the past four years.
With Mr. Williams’s popularity, do you believe he worries what the constituents think?
I suggest a no party system, especially in Newfoundland all parties represent the same policies, the voter will mark two Xs, one for the Premier and one for the candidate of choice.
In Canada, we use our democratic right to vote and elect a dictator.

However we must remember that We Cannot Direct The Wind, But We Can Adjust The Sails

I've watched Danny Williams quite closely over the last few years... if I lived in Newfoundland, I would support him 100% - and this from someone who has never voted PC in her life!!!

I believe that Danny Williams is the man that is going to turn Newfoundland & Labrador around... to make it a province of "haves" not "have nots"!

I voted earlier this evening. After looking around for the correct building, I walked in, went to the poll, and watched as the poll clerk crossed my name off the voters list. I then voted and watched as the ballot was placed into the official box. No problem, or was there? I was never asked for any identification. I had not received the usual voter list confirmation card so I had brought with me a piece of mail identifying my name and address. I also had photo ID on hand. I wasn't asked for this ID.

My question is this. How can the integrity of the voting process be guaranteed when I could have walked up to the Poll, given any name and any address (providing that I knew the person's name, where they lived and whether they voted or not) and proceeded to vote?

On a rainy day like tonight, what is to stop someone from having a relative or neighbour vote for them? What is to stop an election worker who would possibly have access to this information, from voting for someone else?

What systems are in place to prevent from this happening?

I think that this province is ripe for more NDP MHAs. If people listened to the issues and candidates more and voted by traditon less, the NDP would have a stronger voice in the House. It's a shame that tradition plays such a big part of voting in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Perry, the only reference to rules regarding names on this forum says "full name must be included". It makes no reference to the use of nicknames. That apparently is your rule or as usual your misinterpratation of information. If we take your point as legitimate then you too are breaking the rules because Perry is not a full name. Therefore you too are corrupting this forum. Seems to me your election day frustrations are showing. Relax, take a pill, put your feet up and watch the big blue wave.

If I may comment to those who keep insissting that Williams has done "nothing" for those past the over-pass out of St. John's.

First things first. In order to spend, one must have money. (If I could point out the mess we were in when the spending came first???) We were broke, beyond broke. We aren't quite so broke anymore. The economy of the province is turning around. Yes, most of it right now is showing only in the urban centres, but those centres are where industry and business are mostly located, so it just makes sense. Might not be fair, but geographically it's logical. Why should an oil company locate it's main office anywhere other than an urban centre?

Now that there is some money in the coffers, with an excellent hope of more to come, the spending is next. Yes, the schools, hospitals, road, etc. need attention. I'm sure the Williams government acknowleges that. I'm equally as sure that they will be addressed.

I think that is simply sound fiscal judgement to earn first, spend later. Isn't that what a prudent homeowner does? Isn't that what a shrewd businessperson does? The only thing to be gained by doing it wrong-way-around is bankruptcy.

hi my name is sheldon i've been a pc for years and i belive in the pc i will never change my vote every election i will always vote pc i love danny he is a good man hes funny sometimes but he is good he is a good friend to everybody good luck danny i hope you are going to win keep up the good work your friend sheldon colbourne

Don....... actually I think the oil pricing regulatory regieme was a Liberal initiative. However, it was Danny who fired the person who had been in charge and appointed someone of his own "colors". It was after that that the frequency of adjustments (mostly upward)increased.

Reed has the heart to change this province in a good way, but just doesnt have the brains....Danny Willams has done 10x more than the last few Premiers could do.

I just came from voting and the weather is absolutley terrible. Cold, wet and windy. I checked the western and central parts of the island and it doesn't seem much better. Only Labrador seems partly OK. I wonder if this will affect voter turnout? I expect that some candiate's teams will be mobilized even more than usual, but if you couple the inclement weather with the expectation of a PC landslide, I think some people will stay home. We won't get the 72% voter turnout that we got in 2003. I am going to go out on a limb and say low 60's

I wonder what this says about us? I've noticed the stories coming out of Myanmar over the past few weeks where soldiers and police were open firing on protesters who are trying to end 45 years of military dictatorship. Ten people are dead and up to a thousand are being detained. They are fighting for a right that some of us choose to exercise only when conditions are most favorable and convenient. Others choose not to exercise it all. Some would say that in itself is a right. Call me a naive idealist, but I beleive that ballots are stonger than bullets. (someone else's words, not mine) We are lucky. Even though my hair is fried and I was late for work, I marked my X and hoped that the people of Myanmar get what they are looking for.

Observer.......you missed my point, again! However, you just helped me make it but I will try to make it another way. I will give you 2 examples.

1. Your nickname here is observer. Until you recent post "we" did not know you were NOT who your nickname suggests. If you were who you nickname suggest, the Aristotle quote applies. Since you are NOT who your nickname suggest, you are not being honest or up front.

2. The rules here are that you use your real name. Since you have not you are hiding something and/or not playing by the rules.

Still don't get the point I was making? Jeez b'y........... the point is............"Corruption" takes many forms. By using the nickname "Observer" you have corrupted this blog! You have been able to do that because the rules were not enforced or the "enforcer" has been doing very poor job.

In case you missed that point.......the scandel happend because rules were vague and rules were not enforced. The people who have been booted and those who are facing charges are scapegoats (to some degree.) Yes they did wrong...........but so did every politician (PC, Liberal, and NDP) who served on the House Internal Finance Committee since 1989.

Like your form of corruption on this blog, their form of corruption on that committee has been overlooked. Until that form of corruption is cleand up.........NOTHING has been cleaned up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am sure this blog will be "hoppin" for a few days after the election. Williams will have been elected with such a majority that it will be impossible to have an effective opposition in the legislature. We have all seen his arrogance and the distain with which he hold anyone who disagrees with him. We have all witnessed his addiction to TV cameras and microphones. We have all witnessed his ability to find a "fight" no matter what the issue or who or what is sitting on the other side of the table.

With the majority he is no doubt going to have, what we have seen and witnessed will probably seem like only a warm-up. Democracy will have has lost more in this election than the Liberals. If Danny holds true to form, I fear that Newfoundland and Labrador may have lost more that the Liberals as well.

Yes I am predicting a win by Danny Williams in the range of 45 to 48 seats. No doubt his supporters will be dancing in the streets. As they dance and party, others will be hitching a ride on the Fort Mac Express, others will be turned away from food banks because the shelves are bare, others will wait a while longer for cancer treatment or be shipped off to Ontario to get what they cant here.

Some will wake up tomorrow with throbbing heads, sore throats and stiff legs from the partying. Others will sit back and hope that the Williams government keeps as many of its promises during the next 4 years as it broke during the last 4 years.

Party on!!!!!!

Personal opinions aside, one aspect of this forum I have enjoyed is the geographic representation from Bagdad to Mobile Newfoundland. I am very happy to see that public debate is alive and well.

Wasn't it Danny who regulated gas prices and home heating fuel prices? It first started out on the 15 of every month and now its every two weeks, not to mention using the interruption formula to raise fuel prices when ever they want (especially just before long weekends when motorists are out in full force) And gas and oil prices keep going up and up.

Here in Labrador West the price per liter is about $1.20, Now oil is worth about $80 a barrel (American Dollars) and Now the Canadian Dollar is worth about $1.02 American. How come the Williams government has never given back to the motoring consumers a break on fuel prices? I guess gouging Newfoundlanders and Labradoreans is all part of his energy plan.

lorraine michael deserves to be re-elected in her riding. Lab west needs to return to the ndp. other ridins need ndp support. If no ndp is elected tuesday., then newfoundlanders especially rural newfoundlanders need only to blame themselves for future problems. Danny like his god like predessors are only fools gold of rock star messiahs who need a strong second voice to level their heads. Also, jodi fancy in exploits has done wonders for bisops falls and is one of the bright lightds of the liberal party. She nneds to be elected.

It's funny that this whole election boils down to the popularity of the three ( or is it two) party leaders. Everyone talks about how popular Danny is how much he has done for the province. But are all of these people's minds being clouded by so called oil riches or do they have short memories.

Wasn't it Danny that, when elected put up the prices of every government fee? From a Moose license to a Death Certificate. ( Only to lower them in a re-election bid) He halted work on may projects, including the Cancer Hospital here in GF-W. He forced the nurses back to work. (where are those 'One Turn Danny' people now I wonder)

And for all of the money we supposedly have Danny added over 3 BILLION to the provincial debt in his first four years!! Talk about floating in cash. If I hear budgetary surplus again I'll scream!

I ask all voters to forget the hype and really think about the issues. What about education, out migration, housing, public programs, rural communities, the fishery, the fibre optic deal, the list goes on.

Just because a guy brought back a cheque from the Feds (the Liberals I may add) does not mean he's the saviour. Just a good another show-boater who lives for the glory.
There's only one person on Dann's team and that's Danny.

personally, if i was i danny's shoes i would
give every citizen of this province 200 dollars a month to show people we really are
rich in oil and its resources. i would also
have a massive seal hunt, killing 20 to 30
million seals this upcoming season. we need
to save our cod stocks, by killing the seals
that are eating the cod. we need a 20 storey
hospital, state of the art. more competive
wages to keep young nurses and doctors in
this province, making sure at the same time
we can reduce waiting lists, by having
every health and medical department very
well staffed to meet our citizens needs.
our trans canada highway needs to be a
four lane highway from st. john's to
corner brook, and all side streets in this
province need repaving, widning and better
sidewalks. i think children under 19 deserve
more money for their baby bonuses.
last but not least i couldn't forget our
minimum wage. we should have it brought
to 10 dollars an hour on december 1, 2007.
just in time for christmas. theres no
reason to wait more than two years. by the
time 2010 comes what we buy for $7.50 now
will cost $10.00 in 2010. that's the truth.
our minimum wage in 2010 should be this:
$15.00 an hour!!! who knows how high crude
oil, which effects our gas prices, will go,
and how much higher our canadian dollar can go
which is amazing right now for us as consumers. i be watching election night 2007
predicting the pc's with 32 seats, the liberals with 14 and the ndp will have 2 seats
i will sit and enjoy that election night show.

Ms : Cholette , pardon me , in our haste to find soluations to the worlds problems we forget the most inportent crisis we are faceing with regard to the potential of climate change , we will soon ignite a chain reaction leading to global instability . It could trigger conflicts over shrinking natural resources , weaken countries through the creation of cilmate refugees , and hasten the spread of diseases and famine , a host of twenty-first-century developements from climate change to pandemics will likely inpose additional stress upon us , it dosen't have to happen , thank you for your thought's .

Let me begin by qualifying the statement I am about to make. I believe all people who offer themselves for public office deserve our thanks and consideration no matter what party they represent. My condolences go out to Mr. Gerry Tobin's family and friends. I'm sure he was a wonderful person with much to offer. That being said I want to make the following observation. There seems to be an epedimic of illness amongst Liberal Candidates. First Mr. Tobin, then Mr. Hobbs and now Simon Lono. The one thing all three people have in common is their leader Gerry Reid. Could it be that he is making them sick. I feel a little nauseated myself.

Pat from Mount Pearl, I did not quote Aristotle and I do support Williams in this election so your comment is totally confused.

This AM I was listening to CBC Radio 2. The discussion focused on Danny William's chances of winning this coming election in Newfoundland. Fish and oil were discussed, and I was dismayed at how once again these issues were discussed completely outside the context of Climate Change. I think, this lack of context made an important part of the story irrelevant.

The commentator mentioned how Newfoundland's fishers where adjusting to a changed industry and seeking different ocean stocks conservation standards. And he stated that these people believe the fisheries will exist long after the oil is gone.

This does not ring true when one takes into account the warnings of leading international oceanographers who state that the ocea's plankton is in danger of being overwhelmed by the carbon levels in the atmosphere. Plankton is a major carbon sink and if the plankton's ability to absorb carbon is destroyed the planet will face one more factor capable of taking us into runaway climate chaos,andthen will be unable to support life as we experience it.

The fish stocks will not be here if the oil economy exists for much longer.

We need to remember we can not eat oil. We need to challenge those who are ignoring the science on these issues and putting earnings and the economy above the need to safeguard this planet.

Kathryn Cholette
Community Climate Change
www.communityclimatechange.ca

"observer" while quoting Aristotle, you may have also forgot about the great philosopher that was also blind....as you apparently do not see what is plain..but only hear the echo of what is your own bias. It is hard work from all of us that has made Danny a great Premier and in that statement I am not biased or blind. But, he is a great Premier. Every Newfoundlander is pulling the oars and he is now the captain and making the right decisions, the difference is that we need a leader with vision..and Danny is the man..regretablly those before may have had vision and did not see what the future holds for all of us here in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Those with whom we negotiate - wheather ally or adversary - must know that Newfounland and Labrador has other options . The theocrats ruling Ottawa must understand that we can wield the stick or the carrot . Mr : Williams strategy will transcend the familiar divide between " HARD POWER " AND " SOFT POWER ". Instead , we need to place " SMART POWER " at the center of provincial policy . Let us never negotiate out of fear , but never fear to negotiate . Mr : Williams goals are laudable - even breathtaking in some respects with regard to the past failures of Newfoundland and Labrador politicians. Elections alone not enough ; new electrotrates need to cultivate constitutionalism , strong institutions , pluralism , and a respect for the rule of law . But history suggests that only limited optimism is warrented ; achieving such targets has proved elusive in the past .

Perry, I am not a professional communtator so I do no disservice to any profession. I am indeed biased in this particular debate and do not pretend otherwise. That does not mean my points are not valid nor does it imply that I am PC. At this particular time Williams has earned my respect for his performance to date and I will vote to allow him to continue the direction he has set.

Observer........ A great man , Aristotle, once wrote..........

"To be an observer and provide truly reflective commentary one must be completely impartial and unbiased. When one is biased the profession becomes corrupt."

"Observer"! See what you are doing to the profession. Where is Danny when we need him????

On Tuesday I will be using my ballot to request a full public inquiry into the constituency allowance spending scandal.The excuses and defenses offered by various members since the report's release are by in large pathetic and demonstrate that they still don't" get it" when comes to how this has affected the people.There appears to be little or no remorse on their part and it is incredible how they still blame the "system". Until all the spending details are brought forward and appropriate measures taken for retribution ,this will never be cleaned up as Danny Williams repeatedly claims.

Let's be realistic about the constituency allowance problems ... there's no point in assigning blame to who was in government at what time because the decisions that counted were made (A) by a handful of memebrs of the House of Assembly and (B) an even smaller number of civil servants, maybe even just one, working there at the time. The decisions on banning the auditor-general from doing any digging were made by that committe, and it had both liberals and pcs on it. One of the pcs was Loyola Sullivan!!! The cabinet, i.e. the govt, didn't make the decision.
Also, the changes that came in 1989 actually cleaned up the system a fair bit. It's not fair to the commissioner who recommended the system, Moses Morgan, to be blamed for what happened years later when things ran off the rails. Saying one government or another or one premier or another is responsible for the millions that went missing is not only foolish, it lets the peopel who made these decisions off the hook. And there's plenty of blame to spread around!!!
My two cents...

J Harvey, Not speaking to an issue when you are in opposition is corruption? Give me a break! I notice when speaking of William's accomplishments you use the narrowest possible interperpritation (he was just lucky, he piggy backed on the accomplishments of previous administrations) yet when it comes to finding fault, you use the broadest possible interpratation - not raising an issue in opposition is corruption. And you accuse me of political bias! (Dictionary def: CORRUPTION: use of a position of trust for dishonest gain)

Mr. Peddle I did not suggest that all corruption began in 1989 just that particular piece of corruption. Are you suggesting that Peckford built the hydroponic operation for himself using public money. That's not how I remember it. He had no ownership nor did any of his friends. Nor was he ever accused of having. It was not corruption. It was an attempt, no matter how misguided, to create employment by exploring new technologies at a time when employment was desperatly needed. I would prefer our politicians err in attempting to improve the public good rather than doing nothing. Corruption is subverting the Public Tender Act to give your political cronies contracts to build or repair hospitals (3 separate times), then losing the cases in court and having to pay out additional millions to the abused contractor like the Wells administration did. The difference is one broke the law the other didn't. That's corruption.

Observer? You fail to point out 2 very very important things about the corruption scandel. One thing is prior to the Auditor General being allowed to invistigate and the other since (as you say) the danny cleaned up the mess.

Danny was in opposition and there were PC caucus members sitting on the House Internal Finance Committee. Danny and the PC's did nothing about it. Never recomended in the house that the Auditor General should be reinstated. NEVER once raised the issue. AND that was under Danny's watch! He could have done something about it and lessened the impact but instead waited until HE was in power so he could fix it and take the credit!!!!!!!!!!!! That my friend is a form of corruption!!!!!!!

Since Danny cleaned up the mess....Danny adopted the Green report, one "fix" was tha NO cabinet minister or MHA would be permitted to have anything to do with issuing or delivering checks to orginizations in their ridings. As was reported in the Telegram a few weeks back.......a cabinet minister (Dannys Cabinet minister) had on 2 different occasions hand delivered checks to a High School in Mount Pearl.

As far as money and politics goes, as Robert said, All has never been clean, it is not clean now and it never will be.

Confidence is a good thing. However, kissing a politicians ass like observer has been doing gives a politician confidence he/she can step over the line or bend rules. Kick some ass Observer because it will give YOU confidence that YOU are your MHA's employer, not his loyal ass kissing servant.

To say political corruption started in 1989 would be like trying to pinpoint the exact time the universe was created. Perhaps public money was better spent on artwork and Cartier pens then it was on a massive money sucking hydroponic grow-op in Mount Pearl. The art is hanging somewhere and I am willing to bet the ink can be refilled in the pen. Public funds for private use has been around as long as politics has been in the lexicon and it will continue to be in one form or another.

A suggestion by canidate R Cake of the Liberal party that a thousand dollars given to new parents would be a reason for the young teenagers to stay home and get pregnate is a real diservice to the teenagers of his riding and the whole provence. and to further suggest they would use it as a means to go on welfare just goes to show what (pne canadate of the Liberal Party thinks of the young teenagers and fiture of our provence) Shame Shame Shame

J Harvey do not undervalue "Confidence" as an accomplishment in the political system. Corruption began in 1989 when the Liberals took office and changed the rules applying to distict allowences. They compounded the corruption when they prevented the Auditor General access to information on how that public money was spent. It was Williams reinstating the Auditor General that uncovered that sorry mess and led to changing the rules on the use of and the monitoring of that monies. Correcting that situation,rebuilt confidence. That could not be misconstrued as building on the work of a previous administration. It is in fact quite the reverse. It is correcting the destructive actions of previous administrations.

Williams insists there is no cricis in hospitals. (what ever possessed him to say something so blatently inaccurate I will never understand)

The homecare industry flourished when governments began funding home care for patiens who were released from hospital early. That industry (according to todays news) is apparently now refusing to take any more patients. This will only mean patients will be staying in hospital longer. This can only mean heavier work loads and longer wait lists.

Looks like the cricis just got bigger Mr. Williams!

I had the Hibenia deal and the accompanying 2 Billion Dollar ckeck listed as a tangible accomplishment. I started to list reason why i felt it was a tangible accomplishment of the Williams administration but all I did was convince myself that it was nothing more that a fluke, being in the right time and right place. Supporting data follows......

Paul Martin signed the deal and gave Danny the check because he thought he would garner enough votes to stay in power. He didn't and because the deal could not stand up to public scruteny all it needd was another vote hungry politician (Steve, as Danny calls him) to terminate it. The accomplishment vanished shortly after the 2 Billion Dollars vanished.

The new deal, the one that only has an MOU. The same oil companies that signed the MOU (note that a MOU is NOT a binding contract) are suing the Federal Government for a clause in a BINDING LEGAL CONTRACT. The MOU is not an accomplishment. However the MOU has accomplished "confidence".

Oh My! I will keep trying to find something to list.

The single mother (from St Johns) who finds herself having to leave her daughter with her parents while she works in an Alberta work camp for 6 weeks terms asked a very important question (on this blog). She nearly got assisanated by William supporters.

She challenged people to list accomplishments of the Williams administration that could not be attributed to the hard work of the PC and Liberal governments that preceeded it. The only so called accomplishment that anyone has listed and can defend is "confidence"!

Our futures are at stake here. Williams is promising cabinet posts to try and convince us to give him 48 of 48 seats in the legislature. I cannot beleive we are about to do that just because a portion of the electorate has "confidence"!

Lets list something other that that please!

Deborah! What a load of bull droppings! But then you are so fortunate to be residing on the North East Avalon!

What is more amazing about your comments though is although you certainly see Williams through rose colored glasses you are admitting that his only accomplishment is he has instilled confidence (in the people you see, even though you only see as far west as the overpass).

The phrases you used look good and sound good but to the national audience that reads your comments they make us look sad again! After 4 years in power and after fighting with every person who crossed his path if that is the reason so many people are ready to whorship him or make him a saint, it says very little about our ability to elect the right people. Your comments do nothing but make us look like "hero worshipers"!

I for one am not going to worship anoyne who has produced nothing but "retoric". If he does produce tangible benefits I will congratulate him. He will have 4 more years to work on that. I am sure people will not be fooled by retoric 4 years from now, well, most people won't!

Observer (St. John's), whoever you are...

Exactly right. Confidence!

For virtually my whole life, Newfoundlanders (not so much Labradorians) have had a hands-in-pocket, downcast eyes, slumped shouldered approach to just about everything. And righteously so, unfortuately. We were getting the "knee in the package" (if I may quote Rick Mercer) from all directions. Demoralized, debilitated, and downtrodden.

Thankfully it seems that those times have passed. Even if there isn't much tangible gain since the Williams government (that's very debatable as far as I'm concerned) there has been a huge moral gain. We've always had a pride, but often it was a self-deprecating pride. Now it's a true strong pride.

Have you noticed the straighter backs? The higher heads? The can-do attitude that seems to suddenly exhude everywhere? I have.

And it's truly heartwarming to see. If that's all Williams has done (again very debatable), it's one hell of an accomplishment!

M Clark it is your right to disagree. I will stand shoulder to shoulder with you to defend that right against anyone who tries to muzzel you.

How do people get rich? MOST get rich by being smart, working very very hard and making the right decisions. Some get rich by being born into a family with money. Some get rich by winnin a lottery. Except for the spoiled little rich kid who happened to be born into a family with money..........none of them have much power BEFORE they are rich.

I have cheered for Danny to! I agree, he hasn't been a quiet little negotiator. To dat though he has not accomplished much. Sur there are MOU's kicking around, sure he is telling everyone (on the campaign trail) what they want to hear (retorically speaking)but there is very very little substance and he has precious little HARD tangible documented accomplishments. What will he accomplish in the future? If he doesnt start doing instead of grandstanding and fighting for media attention he'd better get his ass in gear otherwise he's gonna get it kickeddddddddddddddd bad 4 years from now!

If I had known the name "Observer" was so sought after I would have gotten a patent and franchised it ha ha. First Observer from Carbonear (who's language I did not agree with)and now another St. John's "Observer". At least this one keeps a civil tongue and makes some sense. I just wish the latest one had a bit more imagination and used another name so we can identify who is saying what to whom. That being said, feel free to use the name if your imagination is challenged. I will post under a different name when I feel moved to comment. Some interesting points debated recently. I'm enjoying it folks.

In regards to the power topic, some thoughts after my last post.

Anyone who goes into politics wants power and if they don't, they shouldn't be there. Politicians are placed in positions of decision making. There is power in that and the person had better know it before throwing his/her hat in the ring. The person who goes after and accepts the leadership of a Party, takes on even a greater role and responsibilty in decision making. There is certainly power in that.

So, all the politicians and the Party leaders are seeking power, whether they know it or not!

Perry,

I disagree with you that "filthy rich" people want power. How in the heck did they get rich if they didn't have power to begin with? Power isn't all bad, it can actually be good. Wouldn't it be great if NL had power over it's own resources?

I don't think Williams is into all this for power or because he wants power. I think he saw a challenge and he wanted to take on that challenge. Not only that, he, like many, was fed up with how the ROC viewed and treated NL. He, like many, wanted to say, "enough already and no more." There has been more than once when I've been cheering Williams on with "Way to go, good on you and yes, go for it." People don't like his style, well, cripes what in the heck should he do, be the nice, quiet little negotiator who, in the end, accomplishes little. We've had enough of that approach and we live with the results today.

to add to the last sentence in a previous post of mine....."In Danny's case though (I will also agree with you)it's not all about power, prestige recognition and winning. I think he genuinly gets off on stickin it to people, especially those who think they are more powerful than him."............

As evidenced my what he did to Fabian Manning and Elizabeth Marshall.....if you disagree with him hes gonna stick it to you to!!!!!!!!!!

Observer I know you are proud of Dannys accomplishment. I think it is great too! However, confidence means different things to different people. I am confident that the single mom who was posting here, the one who is workin at a work camp in Fort MacMurray, is real confident that her parents are doing a good job looking after her daughter but she is even more confident that she could do a better job of it her self if she could be confident she could get a job on the rockthat paid the bills.

Forgive me masser! Although I did change it slightly it did originate from your rant......... I will be sure to acknowleged "trade marks" from this point onward!

j harvey?????????? Why are you now taking credit for a solution that a city boy first thought of?

yes deborah, that post (of mine)was a lot "tongue and cheek". On the tax implications you are absolutely correct Deborah. On the "power" issue you are definately incorrect.

Political leaders, government legislators, law makers have to power to tell big or small busines what to do and when to do it. If big or small business do not agree laws can be passed, tax rules can be changed and big and or small business cannot do a thing about it.

In Danny's case though (I will also agree with you)it's not all about power, prestige recognition and winning. I think he genuinly gets off on stickin it to people, especially those who think they are more powerful than him.

A salery or a tax break? For some one that is that well off... getting a tax break clearly means nothing? He diserves a little bit of credit for donating his salary. Although he is well off he is very well educated and hard working. He has given this province confidence!

Solutions? Actually at this juncture the word should not be plural. At this juncture you should be saying what is the solution.

To deep? Ok! let me go at it from another angle. I'm sure you will agree (well not 100% sure but it is a figure of speach) that in order to fix a problem, first you have to recognize that one exists. If Danny feels like you do then even if he admits there is a problem in Rural NL he is not going to do anything about it because the province would be better off keeping ALL of the prosperity on the North East Avalon.

My solution......... give Danny 2 less seats than he had in the last legislature. SHOW him there is a problem and make him admit it. Then maybe he will listen to the 47 other people that the voters of this province will be sending to the North East Avalon. There wioll then be plenty of solutionSS (I know my NDP MHA will be taking my suggestions).

Perry, just to point out... He already had power. He had the power of posisiton and big business behind him. Who is more powerful in the US? Oprah Winfrey or the political women such as Laura Bush or Hilary Cliton? Oprah is... Why? She is a businesswoman and a multi-millionare. Danny Williams already WAS a businessman and a multi-millionare... That equals power.

As for the tax break... The income he is paid by the province is still attributed to him. The fact that he gives it away to charity leaves pretty much a nil effect.

Let there be no mistake, unlike Hillier, I do not take the position it is St. Johns against rural or vise versa. There is no difference between a hard working person who lives in St Johns and a hard working person who lives in Burin. Both deserve to wreap the benefits of OUR resourses. Weither that be fish, oil, minerals or hot air! So far only the North East Avalon has benefited. Unless and until politicians (especially Danny) recognizes that..... the benefits will continue to be seen only on the North East Avalon. You asked what is wrong with St johns gettin ALL of the prosperity..........That my friend is totally unsatisfactory (to put it mildly and courtiously)!!!!!!!!!!!

On the comment your grandfather made about the demize of the fishery.......... was he one of J R Smallwoods advisors who told him to say to fishermen.."Burn Your Boats, prosperity awaits your in urban growth centers"? J R Smalwood was wrong, your grandfather was wrong and if you "predict" the same then i can assure you, YOU will be proven wrong.

As far as your question about me and Quebec Liberals..........I really do not care what ANY Liberal does, thinks, or says ANYHERE in this country!

Danny is not doing it for the money, I agree. Danny is doing it because.........(thinking real hard.......... smoke starting to come out of his ears............then it suddenly hits him)............Danny is filthy rich and what does a filty rich person need more than ANYTHING else.........2 things........ POWER and a tax break! Being premier (and donating his salary) gives him everything a rich kid ever dreamt of!

It would appear from Mr. Harvey's knee jerk reaction that he is still slighted from my previous post on the matter. He likes to espouse my ignorance regarding rural Newfoundland and the fishery.

My family comes from the Burin Peninsula, I could say the South Coast but some would make a big deal about the difference between the two. I've worked all around this province including six seasons on the Labrador coast. A large portion of my extended family is (or was) involved in the fishery.

My disappointment in the fishery manifests itself not in current state but how it's managed by the people that work in it. Those members of my extended family that were involved in the fishery have since left it because of mis-management by the federal level and by those that work in the fishery themselves. My grandfather told me that there was no way the fishery could be sustained and that it was only a matter of time before it fell apart.

Ok so not as many people are fishing cod. But there’s now more ships harvesting more variety's of seafood than there ever was before the cod fishery collapsed. I don't know about anyone else but the math isn't going to work out there in a few years. It's like burning your own house down for the insurance money and then using the money to rebuild the house only to burn it down again a few years later. You're no further ahead and sooner or later the insurance company isn't going to pay out.

I am wondering what the problem is with St. John's and areas getting all the prosperity. If the situation was reversed I find it highly doubtful that you'd be willing to share your prosperity with us.

And I hold two jobs.

Your apparent vociferousness defending Rural Newfoundland is similar to the Quebec wing of the Federal Liberal Party which cries foul if they don't get their own form of affirmative action in placing enough individuals from Quebec in leadership positions.

Yet I don't see any solutions coming from your posts.

To Jordan W Lester
There are 3 things crazier than voting NDP.
.......It would be insane to vote PC
.......A waste to vote Liberal
and last but not least.......absolutely positively dumb to not vote at all.

I am hoping that enough people vote NDP to ensure the PC's get 2 less seats than they had in the last legislature. That way we will have a strong opposition and it will tell Williams that he is only KING of the hill for as long as WE (not him) say so. (just to remind u of the news report where he was talking about HOW long HE was going to be Premier).

I agree. The fishery is contributing more money to the economy then it ever did. Unfortunitly it is not creating the same amount of jobs as it use to. I think Rural Newfoundland and Labrador is very important to our province. We don't even realize the history there and how beautiful rural Newfoundland and Labrador we really need to do a better job of marketing it as a Tourism Hot Spot. You go to Europe to learn about there culture we need people to come here to learn about ours. I think that Danny Williams has plans in his future for rural Newfoundland but remember he has only been in office for 4 years and he had a huge mess to clean up when he got in. Aka. Spending Scandal..and provincal deficet. He has made some big deals... such as the Atlantic Accord. He has plans for mega projects. Without the money it is very difficult to grow rural areas. I belive he has the best interest of the WHOLE province in mind. Think,
he is not doing it for the money he is doing it so our kids and grandchildren will have the opportunity to stay here. I think he is on the right track!

Raising the basic personal exemption to the "poverty level" will benefit middle upper class. It will have almost NO effect on the disposable incomes of the working poor (minimum wage earners). To illustrate...

Changing the basic exemption as suggested will put aproximately $857 more dollars into a minumum wage earners pocket (thats if that wage earner works 40 hours per week for 52 weeks). Increasing the minimum wage to $10 per hour for the same worker (40 hours per week for 52 weeks) will increase that persons annual income by $5,200 (using a marginal tax rate of 28% that would mean $3,500 more in that persons pocket.)

Increasing the min. wage is waht is needed. That way the people who need help will get it.

For some reason, my comments didn't get posted, so I'll try again.

I watched the forum on poverty the other night and I feel I have some valid suggestions.

While I agree that the minimum wage must be raised (and indeed is being raised), it would be insane to expect small mom-and-pop operations to all of a sudden have to deal with a 25% (or more) increase in their payroll. The government would have to step in someway. Either by reducing or eliminating the payroll tax, or by subsidizing wages and slowly weaning businesses off the subsidy. We have to realize that we are not sitting on an infinite amount of money. If minimum wage were to be increased to $10 (or preferably $15) per hour, the money must come from somewhere and you can't possibly expect it all to come from small business. Essentially it would be robbing Peter to pay Paul.

I feel a better idea would be to lobby the federal government to raise the basic personal exemption on income tax to the poverty level. That way, poor people would be largely exempt from income tax, middle income would see a large increase in take-home pay, but the rich would see very little benefit. Seems fair to me.

As stated though, this would have to be a federal decision. The province could certainly pressure them on the issue.

Final comment on Hilliers insults to RURAL newfoundland............

I can clearly tell (as anyone reading his/her posts) that Hillier has a very poor attitude toward the fishing industry. That industry is the reason this rock was first setteled and that industry will be here long after the oil is gone. That industry contributes megga buck to the economies of St Johns, Gander, Grand Falls-Windsor, Corner Brook AND yes Stephenville and I will continue to do so LONG after the oil is gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Part 2 of my response to Hillier. Oil Industry and St. Johns............. Yes St. Johns has gotten 95% of the benefits (growth, jobs, etc etc) that have been generated by our offshore oil industry. Rural NL has not benefited but it has been "adapting" WITHOUT reaping any benefits. Hillier no dobt disagrees..but read on.......

Placentia Bay is a prime example of "adapting" to industrial expansion.... it has one oil refinery, one oil transit terminal, one shipyard, and soon a nickel proseccing facility and a 2nd oil refinery. However, from St. Brides (in the east) to Point May (in the west) and EVERY community in between there is one very common fact of life........ the industrial expansion has produced more benefits for ST JOHNS than it has any community within the bay...... 50% of the population, of working age, have had to go to Alberta to find work.

Don't preach about rural NL not trying to adapt and survive Hillier. You know nothing about what you preach!

50% of the population resides closest to confederation building????????? Holy shit batman!!!!!!!!! Bing a lowly Rural kind-a-guy I never noed dat bee four!

It poses an interesting question though and one that a recent poll sort of raised as well. I'll try not to be long winded here.

First the poll results..... the 70 to 80% PC result. Did anyone notice that that percentage is among decided voters? There are about 40% of those polled that hadn't yet made up their minds or said thy did not plan to vote. So the, lets say 80% pc support is really 80% of the 60% of the electorate who have decided who they are voteing for. 80% of 60% is actually (roughly speaking) 48% of the total electorate.

That brings me to Hilliers comment........ 50% live near the confederation building. Since the Williams government has catered to the North East Avalon (where 50% of the electorate resides) it is no wonder that 48% of the overall NL electorate have already decided to vote PC.

Watching the election results (Oct 9th)and getting the percentage vote rural vs. urban for Danny is going to be very very interesting. Considering that during a general election people rarely make their vote a "protest" vote. Most vote for the party they think will form the government. If Danny's support is anywhere close to 50% or less (in rural) it should serve as a reminder to Danny that during the next 4 years he has to start do something (hell, anything would be an improvement) outside the overpass.

To continue my previous post,i'd like to say this. Call me crazy, but i'll likely be casting my ballot for the NDP Candidate in my district because not only do I lament the silence of PC MHA Sheila Osbourne, but I can't support Liberal Candidate George Joyce because he's under the Gerry Reid banner (even though Gerry speaks up for Rural NL, he comes across as a "Jerry Springer" type of guy: someone who's more concerned about picking a fight than in proposing alternatives).

And yes, I love the advocacy work that NDP Leader Lorraine Michael is doing and from the day she was elected as Leader of the NL NDP, I had a feeling she'd do much good for this province. And yes, I feel she brings my voice to the House of Assembly in a way Sheila Osbourne never could. And yes, I spoke with NDP Candidate Joan Scott on the phone today. Apparently, she's a former Environmental Activist, a former President of the MUN Natural History Society and a former Biology Prof. at MUN.

So ya, she struck me as something who is a team player enough to work together with others, but yet isn't afraid to 'roughel up a few feathers', even if it's inconvenient.

Anyways, it's elections that this in which I support the current Premier, yet am disappointed Sheila Osbourne that makes me wish we'd do what the provincial Quebec ADQ wants to do in Quebec if elected. To do what? reform the Elections Act to allow for two votes: one for which leader should be Premier and the other for whom is the best candidate for MHA!

Hello everyone, even though I agree that NL Premier Danny Williams has brought the Government of NL from deficits to surpluses, played down the debt, inspired new confidence in this province and took a firm stance with Ottawa, the biggest liability of the PC MHAs is that they've been silent.

As much as I disagree with Liberal Leader Gerry Reid on many issues, he's correct to say that many of the PC MHAs got in the coattails of the Premier, rather than on their own record. For example for the last four years, St.John's West PC MHA Sheila Osbourne has only been mentioned once or twice! Clearly, she isn't speaking out about the issues that matter in public, but only behind closed doors.

Juanita Brake
Corner Brook

Did we watch the same forum on poverty? I was split between them the NDP and the Liberal as those two seemed more firm and gave a bit more detail, including having to look at the root cause. PC, never got as good from him, too much "consultation"!

We do have to look at the root cause and as the Liberal said "Subsidizing poverty is not what we want to do". Otherwise, just giving people more money -- increasing social assistance, increasing mimimum wage. Doing that is really only subsidizing poverty and that is not good enough.

That particular comment really stood out for me. Even Lorraine Michael never outdid that comment as good as she is.

looks like danny is in the drivers seat. Personally, if rural newfoundland fails to elect ndp members to the house of assembly then they have nobody to blame but themselves. They have voted lober and or pc since confederation .Ever since that time the decline of rural newfoundland ahs occured. Yet they have been messiah worshiping Smallwood, Moores,Peckford, Wells, Tobin and now Williams. You get what you vote for and if rural newfoundland is dieing a slow painful death then your voting choices, or lack there of, is the reason. Voting based upon rational analysis of the issues and candidates is never a strong suit of rural newfoundland. Vote king danny will only continue the trend.

Mr. Harvey

You may feel as insulted as you wish. However the bare truth of the fact is that over 50% of the population of this province resides within 50 miles of Confederation Building.

The numbers simply do not lie, yet I never said that there was not a rural component to this province.

If you would like me to throw away all sense of political correctness then I would put to you the following: Why is it that while the majority of the taxpaying population resides in the Avalon area yet a disproportionate amount of money flows West of it to sustain a population base that grows smaller (and older) as time progresses. The problem does not lie here. Blaming the government for the decline of rural Newfoundland is like placing all of the blame on the federal government for the collapse of the fishery.

The government has a right to sustain the economy of Newfoundland and Labrador. It also has a right to look at other forms of income in the fishery. Oil is the most obvious one but there's also forestry, mining, aquaculture (which I separate from the fishery).

I would also like to point out that, with the arguable exception of the oil industry, none of those resources are based in the Greater St. John's area. Note I say that oil is an arguable point because St. John's contains the support facilities for the oil industry.

I don't question the value of rural Newfoundland, I question the logic attempting to sustain it around what some would consider a historical birthright. This brings me back to my earlier comment about living in the past.

If rural Newfoundland is to have any hope then they must learn to adopt along with the rest of the province to the changing times.

Confidence is the greatest gift that Premier Williams brought to Newfoundland, I can only hope that more people subscribe to it.

I do wish Hjarvis all the best, I truly hope the "Fort Mac Express" loops back around some day. From an outsiders perspective Newfoundlanders and Labradorians must appear to be a population of migratory workers, to the party that reverses this trend they are more then welcome to the levers of power.

How many people are aware that this year, interest rates on Newfoundland Student Loans went DOWN!!! I'm still baffled. Who is responsible for that? I've heard nothing about it in the news. I received a letter in the mail telling me so.

Now if only the feds would follow suit...

I find Hilliers remarks insulting.

While I disagree totally with the Liberals stance on the "rural decline" issue there is no doubt in anyones mind that under the Williams government, in rural NL, the economy and the feeling of being ignored has gotten far worst than at any time in our history.

J R Smalwood started the resettlement program in the 1960's. While it is no longer a policy that you will find in any political party's platform the policy is still very much at work. The policy name has been changed from "Resettlement" to "Ignore It And It Will Go Away". Under the Williams government, the policy appears to have worked extremely well.

Williams has commented that he has learned some things, during the last 4 years, about politics that he had not been aware of prior to entering politics. It is comforting to hear him admit that. I hope that this time around he has learned that there is a RURAL component to this province and that he should not and must not continue to ignore.

The province of Newfoundland Labrador will never be "have" unless and until Urban = Rural = Urban. I am sure Williams realizes that. I just wish he'd do something about it!!!!!!!!

I wanted to comment on first episode of "the Poor get Poorer" on CBC last night. Clearly the leader of the NDP, Lorraine Michael (no 'S'), did an awesome job of showing how to truely address the issue of poverty. Her solid/consistent answers just made a mockery of the other 2 participants who kept asking us to first figure out the root causes of poverty while Ms. Michael was telling us not only what these were but also how to fix them. I am tired of the government (current and past) using the consultation process to bog community down when issues like poverty have been well researched throughout the world - it is time for action and only the NDP 'unequivocally' promised that last night.

Ms. Jarvis is taking me a little out of context. When I say that we need a viable opposition, it's not because of Mr. Williams arrogance. I don't believe that he is arrogant at all. We need an opposition to provide other ideas, alternatives that could be missed out by an all Conservative win.

I've been reading the reports of the neglecting of rural Newfoundland with intrest. I would like to point out that for the last 50 years, there has been a population reduction in rural Newfoundland.

The population reduction is because of one simple fact of life.

People have to eat.

This is unfortunate but true. Most of the towns that make up rural newfoundland have nothing to offer but the fishery.

And we all know where that's going now don't we...

Of course, not all towns depend on the fishery. Just look at Stephenville. I worked there on paper boats back in the mid 1990's and the guys working there were convinced that every year was the last year there. They've had a rough couple of years.

Remember what I said about being responsible for the current state of affairs. Part of that is learning to let go of the past. Heritage is a great thing to have, and we have a rich Heritage, but sometimes you have to call a spade a spade.

Many thousands of Newfoundlanders in Fort Mac can't be wrong.

But that's for another day.

Just a quick note to point out that Observer from Carbonear is not The same person as Observer from St. John's. I checked this site today and saw for the first time The comments from the person from Carbonear and want to disassociate myself from them. I enjoyed my earlier exchange with Hjarvis including the good natured barbs associated with that exchange. I would never accuse Hjarvis of being uninformed of non-analitical or pathetic. He has proven himself to be very informed. I disagreed with the analysis and suggested that he ignored certain relevant information but would never express the sentiments of Observer from Carbonear.
Hjarvis I wish you well.

Robert Peddle... Here, here!!!

I've been reading these postings for a while, and I am, as well, quite sick of the foolishness.

Debate please.

I did make some posts earlier, but haven't since, because of the garbage being posted.

I guess all on-line boards are subject to trolls, but I would have hoped that this particular topic would have attracted more intelligent comments.

Not to be concerned Robert. This is my last comment on this blog for at least 6 weeks and by then the election will be over. If you read back I didnt start throwing insults. I appologize if I have in any way detracted from the important topic here but I was only trying to defend myself.

The reason I will not be here for 6 weeks? Well, I am a single parent, I am female and I have no other choice but to be leaving soon on the Fort Mac Express. Something I have been doing for the last year and one-half. Home with my daughter for 2 weeks and at a work camp in Alberta for 6 weeks, then home with my daughter again for 2 more weeks. Although PC supporters suggest Danny has turned the economy of this province around.........for the first 2 and 0ne-half years of Dannys reign I worked full time here is St Johns.

I feel strongly that Danny is gambling with the futures of ALL newfoundlanders and Labradorians. Royalties (alone, without risky equity stakes)from our oil can and will make us a have province. Do we need to take risks and gamble with that "have" future just to MAYBE be a little more richer?

I feel strongly that putting anyone on a pedestal and saying they are the best is not in anyones best interests. Accepting what any leader tells us without some facts to back it up is not in anyones best interests. For everyones sake.......I pray there is a viable and effective opposition after next Tuesday.....someone has to be in the legislature to keep the Williams government honest.....otherwise I fear that by the time the next election rolls around............. I will be living and working full time in Alberta and I will have moved my parents there to look after my daughter while I work.

Bye the way.....i am voting before I leave. The person I am voteing for is running under the NDP "colors".

Perhaps Hjarvis and Observer need to grow up or find an alternate means to continue thier personal attacks. Your chilish swipes serve no purpose and contribute nothing to this healthy public debate which I believe was the forums initial objective. In short stick to the topics being presented.

I'm a former Newfoundland and I have been following the Newfoundland election very closely as I have every election since I left in 1987. I'm a fan of Danny Williams and I think he's the best premier Newfoundland has had for many years. I would like to comment on the news story that Wally Anderson is managing Danny Dumaresque's election campaign. How can the Liberal party justify having a person who is charged with a crime involved in a election campaign. I think it's just another example of a desperate party that would try anything to survive not being total eliminated.

Angela Tate,

I don't see that the present government has neglected rural NL any more/less than past governments. That has been a constant song since time began, it seems, rural NL is being neglected.

I've listened to people on the news all upset that they would have to leave their communities to find work and saying that they shouldn't have to, that they had a right to stay in their community. Well, guess what that is bull. When I graduated from Memorial I had to leave my community to find work, I had to move to a small rural community. No jobs in my hometown, then, I move as necessary to obtain employment. The gov't never gave me anything because I couldn't find work in my profession in my hometown. I had to get out there and get a job on my own and that meant I had to move to a small rural community. Not what I preferred and what I had to do to be employed.

Eventually, I even had to leave the province. Noone helped me, no gov't, when I was laid off due to cutbacks etc. etc.

OBSERVER wrote....................HJARVIS
Definitly has no life... and clearly does not read, listen to or analysis anything. Not to mention his hatred for Danny Williams is pathetic. Apparently his is unwilling to give Danny credit for a job well done.

LMAO......... now............ please scroll to a comment I posted here September 20th at 1:39 PM..........11 days before Observer resorted to his last personal attack............ i ASK YOU.......how the hell can you have and intelligent debate with someone who is sooooooooooo clearly intelectually unarmed??????

To D. Hilier.........I salute you.....you are voting your choice, without reteoric or dribble.... you are voting your choice without swallowing spin......you are voting you choice because you are obviously comfortable with that choice. Congratzzzz

Your final thought was much the same as the final though in my very first comment to this blog.......... on that we also agree!

I'm voting conservative in this election. There, I said it, and I'm not afraid to back it up. This isn't a knee jerk reaction to jumping on the band wagon, nor is it based on our increasing prosperity (looks around and wonders where it is...)

Mr. Williams getting my vote because he's given this province something it's never had.

Confidence

From the time of Smallwood we've had preimers that have been focused more on their own futures than anything else. We have nobody to blame but ourselves for this and I am singularly un-sympathetic to those who moan and whine about our place in society.

Our current state of affairs is of our own making. It is up to us to fix it.

As for the debate the other day, I submit that Mr. Williams had nothing to lose, Mr. Reid had everything to lose, and Ms. Michael had everything to gain. And that's exactly how it played out. Mr. Williams was jumped on my Mr. Reid because Mr. Reid felt that he had to come off as being aggressive in order to deflect the Conservative numbers in the polls. Ms. Michael could afford to act as if she was better than the other two and can worked very well in her favor. Ms. Michael won the debate, Mr. Reid certainly lost it. In fact the only thing that came out of the debate was that it may just be the NDP that forms the opposition since it's going to be all the Liberal Party can do now to hold on to the seats is has.

But that will depend if Newfoundland votes can get around being able to decide for themselves as opposed to how their parent voted. The yellow dog is still alive and well.

So tomorrow (I'm voting in the advance poll because I'm going to be out of town on business) I'm voting conservative.

Just remember that we need an opposition as well.

White and Observer........ In my first comment on this blog, if you took the time to scroll back and read it before ASSuming things and making an ass of yourselves..... I said Danny was the only option we have for a leader at this time. As arrogant as he is, unfortunately for NL there is no one else at this time. I also know that the PC's will win this election and only time will tell if that is good or bad.......ONLY time will tell (unless you 2 can predict the fuuture?).

Neither of those comments about Danny and his "team" (LMAO...what a load of BS.....team?????.......LMAO) mean that I should sit back and accept everything Danny says. Neither of those comments mean that I do not have the right to ask questions and be informed BEFORE I kiss ass like you 2 are doing. I know that asking questions will get PC "team members" (LMAO)like you to throwing insults, but that is what makes this blog so much fun...... hehehehe

Hell, if I got answers to my questions I might even hold my nose and vote for the PC candidate in my riding......IF I GOT ANSWERS!!!!!!! However, one thing is for certain.....I am not going to make up reasons, and swallow the PC spin like Observer has done, and kiss anyones PC, Liberal or NDP ass!

As a new parent and a student - I am torn. Danny Williams has given Newfoundlanders and Labradorians a level of self-respect that they have not had in several decades. Even if the strategies are somewhat more risky - they are doing more for a sense of identity and ego building than any comedian or fish plant operator. Yes he has neglected rural Newfoundland and Labrador - though I hope that there is something in his plan for renewable cheap energy production that could result in a revitalization of these areas. Just think of the potential of several small projects all over the province - potentially attracting manufacturing jobs, and if we're smart and invest in the infrastructure jobs that allow folks to live in beautiful places and still work over communications net works.

That being said, he needs a conscience - Lorraine Michaels as a leader of the opposition would be the small angel sitting on his shoulder reminding him that there is good that can be done. Province wide meal programs in schools so that no child - no matter where they come from - eats healthy meals and can learn. Fighting poverty and obessity simultaneously. Subsized daycare for everyone - eliminating the barriers to young mothers especially from training and providing a life of greater dignity and escaping the welfare net.

In contrast - Jerry Reid - needs to start singing a different tune. Instead of "ranting" about how he thinks everything Danny has done is wrong - perhaps he needs to demonstrate a vision of what he wants the province to become... Any ma=ybe then I won't think his voice is the most grating noise on CBC. My two cents...

P White...First of all, I am not a Liberal and in the last election I voted for a person who is representing the PC Party.....secondly.....yes Williams is buying 10%..however, with that purchase he is also buying RISK. Alberta has become filthy rich without giving the oil companies any cash or asuming any risk. They are still not opting for an equity stake but instead going for bigger royalties (royalties do not cost any money to tax payers and there is NO risk). I am apposed to it WITHOUT knowing ALL of the details. So far no one has been told WHY. So far the only reason Williams has given is............"he is an entrepreneur and a risk taker". That may be enough for PC loyaltists, it is not enough for me! Is this a get rick quick scheme? Will it be the ultimate newfie joke?

Observer........you repeat the same TORY retoric and dribble. You have become very boreingggggggggggggg!!!!!!!!!!!

H Jarvis... you just don't see the big picture do you. Danny is not buying 10% of our oil. We are investing 10% into the project which sends OUR oil to market for a much bigger return.

You are going to have to accept the obvious here... the PC's are going to win the next election... your Liberals are not.

Percy Thurber,

You might want to re-read that article. NL does not have a Baby Bonus, thus, there is no plan to increase it.

And what in the heck does the article have to do with welfare?

I read the recent artical where Danny Wiiliams
suggested that the solution to the decreasing Newfoundland population was to increase the baby bonus. What Newfoundland needs is more jobs, not more welfare.

How much effect does "media bias" have on the outcome of elections? Does the amount of party (government) advertising to newspapers, radio stations, and public and private TV influence the tone of an election? Is the media "truly independent" ? I think NOT !! Weighing advertising income for a full term against being impartial for the time
of an election campaign must really cause tension between the accountants and the editorial and reporting staff. I invite your
comments.

HJARVIS...
Definitly has no life... and clearly does not read, listen to or analysis anything. Not to mention his hatred for Danny Williams is pathetic. Apparently his is unwilling to give Danny credit for a job well done.

- The infrastructure of the province was a state long before danny came into office
- the provinces debt was sky rocketing.
-outmigration has been an issue for several years and cannot be changed over night... or in 4 years.

-the pcs signed the atlantic accord
-stood up agaisnt major oil companys and the federal government so there are no give aways
-the pcs have reveled a new energy plan.
-the fiber optic deal was necessary as most other provinces have that in place
-they have cleaned up the provincal debt..
-they opened the books up to the auditor general and reveled the spending scandel
Now after all this.... if we vote the pcs back in they will have a chance to change the province... they are well on the way!! HJARVIS needs to take a serious look at what he is saying and spend less time ranting about his hatred for danny. Not to mention get a life istead of spend his days ranting about a party that is on the right track!

HJarvis,
Think outside the box Hjarvis. Danny is not buying 10% of our oil. He is (we are) buying 10% of a project that will bring the oil to market. There's a lot of cost that goes into developing an oilfield, but obviously there are far greater returns for the investment. ExxonMobil doesn't seem to being too badly with profits, can't see why the province would.

The Premier came to GFW and saw a hospital "bursting at the seams." Guess he didn't look at all the empty offices in the West Block (next door) or at the Corporate HQ(1 km away). The truth is, the Admin dept. of this place has been moving very slowly with coordinating renovations and moving ahead with plans to relocate several departments. Must be hard to be Premier when you're fed snow jobs wherever you go. I think most voters at CNRHC would be more concerned about whether we will be on strike again in April.

Closed minded? Not at all! I am not about to accept that what a politician (or one of his loyal subjects) tells me is best for me is indeed best unless it is supported by relevant facts. To date Williams has not given us one shred of evidence that buying 10% of OUR oil with borrowed money is what is best!

I havent voted for a political party in 20 years. I vote for the person who is best going to represent me..... the person running in my riding! Hell, if OBSERVER was running im my riding I'd even give him a chance to convince me to vote for him (even though he is a true BLUE Tory).

On second thought......... he'd definitely be muzzeled by his idol Danny so I take it back. Not voting for Observer, no way jose!!!!!!!

Hjarvis your attempts to hide your political affiliations are as transparent as everything else you have written here. Williams works with an administration not a magic wand. You want all of the dung heap from previous governments cleaned up today. Instant gratification. It is happening. You just prefer to see the glass half empty rather than half full.

Would love to stay and chat but I'm off to my real life. It's been fun knocking on the door to a closed mind.

I am a firm beleiver that the people we elect to govern work for us! While we give them the priveledge of working for us they will follow our orders. Williams has not asked us for our permission nor has he given us evidence that an equity position is the prudent approach. He has not given us anything!!!!!!!!!!!

Observer? You can kiss his ass if you want but unless and until he provides answers and reasons I'm gonna be kickin it!

hehehehehe

I didnt say they were caused by Williams I was merely pointing out the FACT that the economy......our infrastructure........etc. etc...... HAS NOT been turned around (as you suggested). It still has to be ACCOMPLISHED. Maybe Williams will do it maybe he wont.

It also seems that OBSERVER (Danny?? hehehe) is trying to give the impression that I am a Liberal or I think the Liberals are better than Tories. God b'y! You shouldn't ASSume things!

The cutbacks in social programs, Health care and education particularly began under Liberal administrations in the 90s as did outmigration. They were not Williams created issues but they do require a Williams solution. Again Hjarvis counts on short term memories to hide the facts. Perhaps a visit to that wacky backy farm might improve his long term memory. 1989 to 2003 don't seem to exist for him.

Money lenders rating? He took the 2 Billion that a lame duck prime minister gave him and put 100% of it on athe teachers pension plan. THAT and only that is the reason for our better money lenders rating. It would not have solved all of our problems had he used some of it to help the economy but...............

Since he did that, 5000 Newfoundlanders have had to leave the province for work in Alberta. Students are breathing mouldy air in our schools if they have a school that is not closed. Hospital wait lists have gotten longer. Work loads of Doctors/Nurses are unmanageable to the point where diagonistic mistakes have been made. Our roads are in such deplorable condition that we will soon have to ask car makers to please include TWO spare tires with each new vehicle.

Turned the economy around? Jeez, Observer must have gotten into a marjuana grow op patche before the RCMP!

Two quotes by Williams........in the last election he said......."no paper mill (referrring to stephenville) will close on my watch". In this election he said.......'"there'll be as much work for the Burin Peninsula as the Burin Peninsula wants"

OOPS! But as Danny explained, last years broken promise was a bad one due to his "political naivety". Thats it....yup.......had to be a good reason! He wouldn't just say those things to garner a few extra votes!

Here's one accomplishment for Williams. He turned the economy of this province around in just 4 years. Every economist and the money lenders ratings acknowledges that. But no man is an island . Every administration builds on the actions of the administration before. In Williams case it was more a case of correcting the mistakes of the previous two administrations.

Gerry Reid did a good job of taking credit for achievements of previous administrations in the debate when he took credit for Hybernia for the Liberals. In fact the Hybernia gravity base system and the resulting fabrication at Bull Arm were the accomplishment of the Peckford administration.
Mjarvis and Gerry Reid count on the short memories of voters for the kind of fabrication they do - fabricating falsehoods.

Two headlines on this site under NL Votes........one says, Williams promises Marystown better times ahead another says Williams insists hospitals are not in cricis.

We all know one of those assertians is not supported by facts. Does that mean we should beleive only 50%?

I think that the new $1000 dollars will be given to the woman on social assistance or are in a position that they will make a decision based on the money for drugs!! Its very degrading for woman who hear this...what are we baby machines..we now get paid for our kids...what a disgrace. Its better to look after the children and young teens in our system to keep them in newfoundland and to help them into our work force!! What about the families who can not afford day care for children over 5 ...we are stuck out in the wind to work it out on our own, and the one that has special needs...they need a worker with them in day care...and they would be there until they are in their teens...as they can't be left home alone! Take care of our families of today..not the baby machines that you want us to be!!

PLEASE dont wait till you think of one accomplishment before you post another comment here. That will take way to long. Lets keep a little life into this at least.

hehehe

After reading this mornings additions to the blog I took a big deep breath, smiled widely and sighed contentedly........finally, this "place" has a little life! However, it is to bad that Dannys supporters are soooooooooooo factually deficient about the effectivness of their future plan that they have to resort to personal attacks. Hey????? WOW!!!!!!!! Thats exactly what Danny does!!!!!!!! Someone disagrees with him he gets sooky, throws a tantrum, and runs away fighting mad.

During the last 4 years Danny has done 3 things......
1. He has taken credit for the benefits that have arrived ONLY because of the work his predecessors did.
2. Tried and fool everyone with "motherhood and apple pie" reteoric.
3. Fight with everyone to grab media attention and give the impression he is getting things done.

Name one accomplishment that has truly benefited this province AND has been soly due to Danny's work?????????????

What is williams thinking with giving everyone having a kid $1000.00. It's coming from money the government could use in improving the roads, schools and health care. If he could get his act together and create more jobs which I think he's doing, to get skilled tradespeople to return. Giving people money is going to hurt NL. Most of the people that recieve money from the government now, will have kids. A $1000.00 is not a lot but to support the kids from the next so many years will cost the province a lot of money for years to come.

H Jarvis + G. Reid = Useless Babble!!

Thank you Mr.Peddle...your comments bring a
degree of sanity to this blog site. I agree
that an effective government needs a great
opposition. With all the new faces looking
for seats, democracy is alive and well in this
province. ALL we need is for the voters of
this provence to agree and elect new MHA's.
"Politician" should not be a 4 letter word!

Ha ! a healthy debate indeed , Mr : H . Jarvis I belive you are a realist at heart par exellence ; I do not belive Mr : Williams would promote an idea unless it was translated into terms of concrete action in a specific situation , we are face to face with the real giants of the political world , to yoke togather our failers with our future would not be what the next generation is looking for , I'm personally not wedded to any electorates although I must say I belive the overwhelming majority of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians belive in Mr : Williams and his party's stance , we are not there yet but will be as province to be reckoned with according to any definition of the word , Mr : Williams is not the only method by which we can secure the future for generations to come , attainment for that requires a steady reform of the existing system of administration , by promoting unity , by fostering public sprit , and by cooperation with other ideals for the said purpose , we are a proud people Mr : Jarvis who have a desire for a better future for our children , we can enforce a measure by the ballot box Mr : Jarvis so what is there to fear .

Elevated blood pressure among the general populous is perhaps the greatest accomplishment this election can take credit for. I would enjoy very much the spectacle of a minorty government (party non-specific). The decision/law-makers have had it too easy. Before you all line up to tell me how out to lunch I am, there is a degree of effectiveness can be argued for minority legislatures. Who knows, with the number of political rookies entering the fray this time round there may be hope for us yet. It's beeter to light a candle then to curse the darkness. Kofi Anan can take credit for mt sense of optimisim.

Another comment for Hjarvis. You said you couldn't vote PC if you closed your eyes and held your nose. You are living proof that you don't have to close your eyes to be blind to reality. As to holding your nose - join us. It's what we have to do every time you post a comment.

Have been reading the comments on this forum. Mr. Hjarvis there is nothing as blind as a very closed mind.

Most politicians who run - never keep their promises (why)
Most politicians only promise things to the public when trying to run for office - (why)
Most politicians use the same old rhetoric - (why)
Most politicians try to appeal to the middle and poverty class only when running for office - (why)
Most people are gullible enough to vote them back in - (why)
Can anyone show me an honest politician - (why)

Pretty sad the choices we have (why)

Rober Anstey.........Hip Hip Horay! I agree 1000% that we should no longer accept being dictated to by anyone. That "anyone" includes Danny Williams. If the majority of us stopped kissing his feet and demanded he give us FACTS we can then be sure we are working towards OUR agenda and not HIS!

How reassuring that our Premier "insists" that our healthcare system is not in crisis!

I wonder if this statement comes from talking to our province's healthcare professionals, not to mention the recipients themselves of this same system?! Mr. Williams, I think you would be hard-pressed indeed, to find many who would agree with your statement...talk to those waiting life-endangering amounts of time for tests and treatment, sit and talk to our province's seniors who are in nursing homes...ask THEM if they think we have high quality healthcare in Newfoundland & Labrador, then insist we have no healthcare crisis!

Wohoooo! Clarke

I'll be Gerry Reid, you be Danny Williams!

I'll go with the majority (including Albertians) and go for a better royalty regime and you give your money to BIG OIL so thay can GIVE us a 10% ownership of what is now 100% OURS.

I'll tell big oil I'm not giving them one cent but they WILL pay royalties (SUPER Royalties like Albertians are now asking for)or they do not get ANY of OUR oil. You on the other hand will borrow money then give it to big oil. When you give them the cheque you will be telling them that if reserves were overestimated or if some disaster happens......major oil spill........ or hurricane, tidal wave, etc etc and it renders an oil feild useless you own 10% and you are going to share the cost with them. (Williams own numbers suggest that we will be paying BIG OIL billions of dollars so we can share the risk with them.)

JR Smalwood and his buddies gambled and NEWFOUNDLAND and LABRADOR LOST big time on the Upper Churchill Falls project. No one not even our Snook would be so stupid as to do that again however, Danny is gambling on what he (only he) is labeling a SURE THING. The Upper Churchill deal wasnt a very good one but changes in curmstance and unforcast events turned it into a bad one...........who the hell is Williams to admittingly agree that while he is taking a risk/gamble it is better than going with a sure thing ROYALTIES can produce.

For all our sakes I hope Williams is right. I'm only hoping he is because he has NOT given us any evidence to support his stance. Well, other than to publically say he is going for equity positions with the oil companies beacuse he (Williams) is a risk taking entrepanure.

Newfoundland and Labrador has entered a new era , we have been denied equality of oppoptunity and deprived of our rightful place in Canada since confederation , we have suffered the atrocities of the federal government and our own politicans with their own agendas far to long and will have nothing less then political equality with the rest of Canada , we are not going to dictated to by anybody . We are not going to be camp followers of any party who will not have the best interest of Newfoundland and Labrador carved in stone , we are ready to work as EQUAL PARTENERS for the welfare of all Canadians . We are irrevocably opposed to any " FEDERAL OBJECTIVE " that dosen't reconize our rights to our resourses , the future belongs to only those who can see it and it's time we do so .

Hjarvis,

Don't put words in my mouth, now.

"To M Clarke............It didnt take this litigation for most of us to realize oil companies will make a profit any way they can."

I never said it did. However, this ploy supports the stand Danny Williams is taking. Don't screw with us and our resources. Further more, it may help the ROC to get its' head on straight and to get a bit of an idea of what NL has been saying about resource giveaways.....

Well, gee, an illegal deal? Are you sure? Did the oil companies not know what they were doing? Will this actually stand up under NAFTA?

I never brought up any deals recently signed. (It usually goes that their is a MOU and, then, things are finalized. Seems to be the process of the day with everything.)

I simply noted that Williams is standing up for what is ours and making sure we get the best deal possible. He and the rest the crew are not going to allow NL to be ripped off once again.

I say all the better and I stand by "no deal and no oil". You want our resources, then, you play by our terms or no oil, no deal.

Have you been reading the latest out of AB. People are questioning what has been happening. They are finally looking down the road a bit to when the oil companies leave and, gee, no resources or money is left. I never said AB wasn't making money. I noted how people are saying/demanding the royalty regime be changed. Otherwords, the people of AB are asking for more of the profit. Oil companies don't like that. Maybe that will help those Albertans to get a more realistic view of what has happened, continues to happen in NL in regards to our resources.

To M Clarke............It didnt take this litigation for most of us to realize oil companies will make a profit any way they can. Danny Williams didn't invent that and he sure as hell ain't gonna prevent that. I hope they get the $50,000,000 from the feds....at least someone will have gotten something from S. Harpers CONSERVATIVES.

There is only one thing worse that signing a deal that gives something away. Signing one that is illegal.

As for the deals that danny Williams has signed recently...... can anyone produce anything resembling a signed/sealed deal? There aint no such peice of paper M Clarke! All we got so far is $150,000,000 debt for an equity stake in OUR oil and a MOU (memorandum of understanding) that NO one other than Danny and the oil companies have seen.

As far as the money Alberta has made from their oil? The proof is in Albertas bank account M Clarke. Our enteprenurial, risk taking Danny Boy's equity stake is an unproven, risky, NEW way of doing things. Only time will tell if every Canadian Province, except Newfoundland & Labrador,
and US State short changed themselves on their oil resources. Maybe Danny Boy is a one of a kind (savour) after all hey?

For those who disagree with Williams' standing up to the Federal Gov't and to the oil companies you might want to read the latest.

Seems the oil companies are suing the Feds under NAFTA and they blame NL.

"The Globe reported that the companies blame the Newfoundland and Labrador government for insisting on greater local benefits through the development agreements."

Assuming this news report is an accurate one, then, gee, who would have thunk it? I say that Williams' has been on the right track and the oil companies are proving that in this suit. They don't want to provide local benefits, they want to take the profit with them. A foreign company can take our resources and have control over how much we benefit.

Wonder how the Feds will deal with this? Gee, I don't know, but I can hazard a guess and it won't be about supporting NL.

Will they do the same in AB where people are saying enough is enough and demanding that the royalty regime be changed? The companies are already screaming over the mention of that. Some Albertans are seeing the result of the greed of the oil companies and the provincial gov'ts compliance with them. Environmental damage is just one part of it.

I say too bad for the oil companies. Too Bad, So Sad. Go ahead and sue, then, No Deal on our resources.

Who won the debate?
#1. Loraine Micheal - hands down she came across as the most courtious, intelligent and considerate of the three. She tried to stick to issues and tried to avoid talking while the other "debator' was speaking. Congratzzzzzzzz Ms. Micheal! You did yourself and your party proud. Far surpassed my expectations!
#2. Gerry Reid - Appeared to be a little nervous but had a good grasp of the issues and definately pointed out Williams many deficiencies. Reid did do a lot of talking, however it had just as much to do with Danny Williams not shutting up (as evidenced by the lack of 2 people talking while Reid and Micheal were debating and the many occurances of 2 people talking while Williams debated with both Reid and Micheals). Given that Reid had to promote the Liberals as a viable option to government his job was the most difficult of the three. I do aplaud his effort. About what I expected.
#3. Danny Williams - Self centered, egotistical, inconsiderate, sooky-spoiled-brat, arrogant! The nerve of the guy putting ALL of the blame on Gerry Reid for the shouting match after we all just witnessed his continuous talking with our own eyes!!!!! Oon the issues...... Danny finished about 8th (thats behind the moderator, the 3 pannelsts and the other 2 leaders). Overall it was a very sad performance by Mr. Williams.

After witnessing (once again) the arrogance of the PC Leader I can't vote PC even if I close my eyes and hold my nose. Chances are the NDP will get my vote but I do have a little more time to decide.

I've always said that the people of this province have no political conscience. What exactly have the PC's and Mr. Williams done for the province during their term? We lost our accord deal due to a schoolyard mud fight with the federal government and the money we did get out of it from the federal Liberals was thrown hastily into the teachers pension fund. I know I'll get "hated on" for that comment but really, the entire amount didn't need to be put in. Everyone knows our teachers have had a raw deal for a very long time but there are many issues that could also have been addressed with this money. Our hospitals and regional health facilities are in such a state that many health care workers are becoming more and more demoralized. The infrastructure of rural Newfoundland and Labrador is deplorable, as are the highways and it doesn't seem like the PC's have any plan to address it any time in the near future.

All I've seen in the past 4 years is a public sector workforce that was legislated back to work after a justified strike. A shady fibre optic deal that even the Auditor General said was not done in the proper manner. A deal with Big Oil for the Hebron development that nobody knows the details of and the matter won't be brought before the legislature for approval (as Mr. Williams himself requested of the Liberals in regard to their Inco deal). And as for the economic prosperity, can someone point it out to me? My fellow graduates and I have had to fight for employment in the province to avoid the inevitable migration to mainland Canada. Its just sad to me that the people of our province have seemingly made up their minds based on the party line provided by the PC's (or by Mr. Williams I should say as the Cabinet and PC MHA's are kept as mute as a turnips).

The only real alternative and party that has any interest in addressing the major issues of Newfoundland and Labrador are the NDP. With any luck they'll be able to form an official and effective opposition.

I have two children, 11 and 8 years old. I haven't seen a thing in the Tory plan that offers anything to a middle income earner raising a family in a semi-remote, rural community. It's better for the government to shell out more money for the children we have - but that would be certain cash wouldn't it Danny! You won't have to worry about what to do with all those people standing in line waiting for there $1000. They won't be hurrying home to start earning their next $1000 when they discover the price of infant formula and diapers and when their first $1000 is quickly gone!

Maurice Smith

I wish CBC would start accurately reporting info and stop using misleading headlines and introductions. As per the following from Sept. 25, 2007.

"Most voters in Newfoundland and Labrador would like to see free tuition for university and college students, a newly released poll says.

A Decima Research poll commissioned by the Canadian Federation of Students found that 83 per cent of respondents would like the provincial government to provide a "gradual increase" in post-secondary funding "to the point where it provides free education" for students.

About 58 per cent of the 477 people surveyed strongly agreed with the question, while an additional 25 per cent said they "somewhat" agreed."

In my books 58% strongly agreeing is not most voters. Somewhat agreeing means they don't fully agree with and, so, that cannot be seen as supporting free tuition

Mr Williams - Ms Michaels - shame on you for taking away Gerry Reid's air time. You know that was/should be the last time Mr. Reid is ever involved in a Leadership Debate. Now a Town Crier's Competition he would win - that's a given!

There is a saying "When you sleep on the floor you can't fall out of bed". There is also a saying "Flying so high the only way to go is down." I'm not sure that is true for either the Liberals or the Tories, but I thought both parties (and even the NDP) did a great service to our Province last night. Everyone had a say, and even though it was heated (one of our trademarks), everyone showed knowledge of the issues and experience in the field. After seeing the debate, and hearing some of the fascinating "factoids" like, for instance, the way the Government of Alberta has chosen a different financial arrangement than the Williams Government, I feel more enlightened.

Some Post-Debate Thoughts (in no particular order):
1. The PCs are ignoring rural NL and the fishery… hoping we’ll all move to Airport Heights.
2. The Liberals need a new leader… badly.
3. More people probably should vote NDP.
4. Isn’t Fred Hutton the worst moderator in the history of political debate? Typical NTV…
5. Danny Williams is a confident leader who does walk-the-talk… he deserves some credit.
6. Danny needs to give his ‘team’ more ‘playing time’
7. Ok… the PCs deserve a second mandate to work with what they’ve inherited, come by chance, and earned.
8. My family is no better off in the last 4 years. How long will it take for prosperity to help me and you? Will I have to leave NL again to ‘get ahead’?
9. Do some people still vote for the same party all the time? Vote for the candidate and local/provincial issues of the time. Isn’t Gerry Reid example enough of why you shouldn’t vote Liberal just because your family does?
10. We need opposition in government… that doesn’t mean you folks in Twillingate have to give us Gerry Reid again though… we understand fully if you vote PC.

To those who "always vote Liberal"...

I AM a Liberal. The left is where my heart belongs. I am not and have never been a Conservative.

BUT, and this is a big but, I am voting PC. Why? The record of the Liberals and the record of the Williams government, the effective (albeit at times arrogant) leadership of Williams versus the whining of the Liberals, the astonishingly different economic situation of the province since the Williams government, the fact that the Williams government has stood up to those who want this province to stay "have-not", and last but certainly not least, the quality of the candidates on the PC slate.

All that being said, I do wish the NDP the best in this election as I feel, like many ohter posters, that they will be a truly effective opposition. We need more in our House of Assembly than somebody screaming "Tories are bad". We need respectful debate. Ms. Michaels apparently can do that.

Here's what I think of the debate. The winner was Lauraine Michaels and here's why. Going into the debate Danny was a slam dunk to win the majority of the province and that is as it should be. He has proved himself to be an honest, strong leader and a high achiever. The battle in the debate was for the less than 20% of the vote that Danny won't get. It was a battle for opposition. Michaels came across as an honest, tanacious fighter for social issues. Reid came across as an uninformed, ignorant bully. Give me honest debate over a pissing match any day. Michaels is by far the better of the two.

To all those people who always voted liberal. How foolish eh? Vote liberal because your parents voted liberal and your grandparents voted liberal. I think it's time we get over that and vote for a party that won't put us back in the hole. The liberals may be OK as an opposition (NDP would be better) but that's it. We do not need another liberal government.

I suspected it all along, but tonight Gerry Reid convinced me. Somewhere, not necessarily in Newfoundland, a village is missing its idiot! To paraphrase Edward R. Morrow, “After tonight’s debate, Mr. Reid’s reputation is secure!�

How anyone could vote Liberal is beyond me. God forbid, if Gerry Reid became premier all we'd have is another premier crying about the injustice from the federal government. While Williams has done that aswell, at least he has some basis and at least Williams is doing something for this province, instead of acting like he's doing something. Williams is only beginning to clean up the Liberal's mess, let him continue. We are finally out of debt, and are finally starting to see returns. If you want some short term returns with long term debt instead of long term returns and no debt, vote Liberal. Otherwise, lets stay the course because this is definately better than any Liberal government in a long time.

The political situation (read: democracy) here in our province has deteriorated to the point that the Premier might have stayed home tonight and still come out on top.

Keeping that in mind, I would suggest that Lorraine Michael was the clear winner in the debate.

Michael was civil, articulate, composed and challenging, but never nasty or condescending. To use a reference to another Newfoundland and Labrador politician, Michael is 'perfume to the abattoir' – a breath of fresh air.

From the debate tonight it appears that Lorraine michael is acting as the true opposition in Newfoundland and Labrador. nEWFOUNDLANDERS AND LABRADOERANS while Danny may be at the helm it is important to support New Democrats to ensure a truely efective oppostion .Candidates like Michael, Gavin Will, Darrell Brenton, Gemma Schlemmp- Hickey. Newfoundlanders need to finally accept the NDP as the true working class alternative.

Go Danny go, you are the only man for newfoundland and Labrador

hello gerry reid i hope you wins on october the nineth any one that votes pc stop think that if the pcs gets back this island of nfld will be ruined for good, i hope gerry wins,

My Rating of Who Won The Debate:
1. Danny Williams
2. Loriane Micheal
3. Fread Hutton
4. News Anchors asking questions
5. Camera men/women
6. Technical staff
7. Protesters outside
8. Guy using the bathroom in the building down the street
10. Gerry Reid

All Gerry reid did was SHOUT SHOUT SHOUT.. How much bitterer can a person get. I heard nothing positive from him. Gerry looked very out of place and made the Liberals look like a bunch of children still crying over sour milk. Not only did Reid not let Danny speak but Mrs. Micheal had a hard time as well. I can't imagine Reid leading this province... YUCK!!!!

Interesting that most of the posts here are from the Avalon (including mine). When Williams (why does everyone call him 'Danny' like he's their buddy?) was running last people, I heard comments to the effect that his knowledge 'beyond the overpass' was restricted to a few skiing trips to Corner Brook. The majority of the province is just off the Conservatives' radar. Both the Liberal and NDP leaders mentioned that people in the districts are telling them that the Conservative MHAs are silent and ineffective. Williams keeps referring to a 'team,' but there is no 'I' in team. When pressed, notice how he resorted to I, I, I, and I. Wasn't his legal firm known to those in the law profession as Williams, Williams, Williams, and Williams? There is not, and never will be, a SAVIOUR for NL. We need 48 members to form our government. Vote for the person who you believe will best serve the interests of YOUR district!

hi,i hope the liberal party wins on october the nineth i always votes liberal,.

After watching the leaders debate it is clear to me that the second best thing that has happened to the P.C. party is that Gerry Reid is the leader of the Liberal party. Reid's annoying, negative remarks have convinced me that at this critical time we must have someone more positive. Danny williams is positive and comes across as a smart person and not someone who just wines about everything.

Gerry reid needs a baby rattle. He's like that toothache that won't go away. The liberals ruined this province, outmigration started on thier watch. Go back to Joey. Prosperity fund Labrador fund. Just like they did with the trans labrador fund. They gutted it to balance the budget under grimes.
This debate was awful With the technology available, the people of the province should have been able to ask questions. Its time the media did a better job.It should have been a better job. One more thing Danny where are the jobs. I've been trying to re-enter the workforce but 7.00 an hour doesn't pay the mortage. Still I have to say Lorraine Michael will be a btter oppostion leader hats off mr. Williams

I have been meaning to ask this question for a while, is Hjarvis working with the Williams camp?? That aside the fact remains that the NDP and Liberal parties are fighting for the electoral left-overs.The thrust of my commentary here is that the "Leaders" debate serves little purpose, in fact it sounds a little like St. John's city council meetings (picture three stray cats fighting in an alley). I fear that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians will walk away for this debate just as disillusioned and disappointed with the entire political process as they were when the AG's investigation had stated.

Lets se now........ Williams got 2 Billion Dollars from a lame duck prime minister Paul Martin. YAHOO????? Don't get to excited now, I am sure that if Snook had been in charge Paul Martin would have coughed up the 2 Billion!

Since the 2 Billion, Williams has been a sooky brat at every major federal / provincial negotiation. Instead of makin BIG OIL pay us (thats how ALBERTA became filthy rich) we are now PAYING big oil for the right to share the RISK and potential benefit. He had already spent the 2 Billion so we are borrowing the money we are paying BIG OIL.

Since the 2 Billion came and went, about 5,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have moved to Alberta.

Anyone figure out where this is leading yet? Ok. Let me tell ya! Every so often Newfoundland and Labrador finds itself being led by a "Savour". However, after the hype grows old, after the dust settles and when the halo begins to short out the annual subscription numbers for The Downhomer Magazine, by expatriot newfoundlanders and Labradorians, has hit a new high.

Moores slew a tyrant.........Peckford told us have not will be no more........Wells saved us from seperatists.......Tobin,dressed in shiny armor, rode victoriously home from Ottawa .......and low and behold.......Williams is the best we have ever had.

NEXT please!

Hjarvis,

My only issue with Albertans posting on this board is my ever-thinning patience with being blasted by folks from that province.

In general, the holier-than-thou attitude usually demonstrated is often backed by ignorance and errors.

Note I don't paint all Albertans with the same brush, but in my experience on these boards, many speak without knowing the whole story. Especially when it comes to oil revenues and the fact that Alberta was given a break from the equalization formula while developing their industry.

As for Labradorians... Fill yer boots. I'm not one of those who thinks that people from Labrador are any less or more important than the islanders. Did I imply as much?

And for the record, I also believe that for a government to be truly representative, a viable opposition is absolutely essential. Regardless of who I vote for, I would be sorely disappointed if the PCs sweep the election. We'd be left with a shell of a democracy.

D. Burton has an issue with a Canadian citizen from Alberta posting a comment on this (a CANADIAN Broadcasting Corporation)site. Since Danny Williams is ignoring Labradorians maybe D. Burton feels the same way about letting a CANADIAN citizen from Labrador post a comment here as well?

Jeez, for a guy running so high in the polls, there's a severe lack of support on this board for Danny. I guess the only people posting are the ones with beefs.

So, I'll speak for the silent majority. There has never been a premier of this province who has stood up for us like Williams. Sure, he may be arrogant and aggressive. Yes, he may rub Ottawa the wrong way. Indeed, he's probably upset big businesses who want to work out of our province.

HOWEVER, we've been stepped on since Confederation. Perhaps the only way to be heard, to get what is ours, to be treated fairly is to act this way.

In the past diplomacy has done nothing. All we've gotten for our trouble is robbery at the hands of Ottawa, other provinces, and businesses.

Nobody's perfect, including Danny Williams. But I believe that he is finally turning this province around. After 50+ years of being a whipping boy, Newfoundland is finally getting some respect. And with respect comes the spoils.

The "baby bonus" may be a misstep. But as a parent, I know the initial costs of having a child, and $1000 will help.

Rural Newfoundland will take longer to turn around than the cities, but it will happen, albeit slowly.

The spending scandal began long before Williams was part of government, and he did, after all, put measures in place to prevent it from happening again.

I will be voting Conservative. Not only because of Danny being the leader of the party, but because Dave Denine is my candidate, and he was a marvellous mayor for Mt. Pearl.

PS - To you crowd from Alberta. Why are you even posting here??? You take care of your provincial government business and we'll take care of ours.

Ihave to agree with alot of people on the issue of the $1000 bonus.it should be given to the working family who has to pay daycare.it is those people that pay the taxes and is helping to reduce the dept of the province.It upsets me to know that my hard earned taxes are going to people who will not work.if people want the social assistance,they should be made to work in the communities,cleaning or anything to help the community.They are the ones who benefit from all the subsidys,when they don,t work or pay taxes.There is something wrong with that picture.

RE Labrador Party staying out of the race in two districts. Bad move. Also sounds a lot like some non labrador party members have infiltrated the party and is now running the Labrador Party.

To Ken Goulet in Corner Brook, did you mean Williams picks ass?

I'm tired of hearing about the $1000.00 New
baby bonus. It is just a "red herring" put out
by the Premier to take the focus off the real
issue in this election...the MHA spending scandal! If your child came home and told you that he just took a bar from the corner store,but not to worry, 20 of his friends just
did the same thing, so don't get upset,it's OK, and he feels that he shouldn't be punished, and furthermore he doesn't feel that he is obliged to repay the owner of the candy bar he just acquired. My take is that the spending scandel parallels this scenario.
I FEEL VERY STRONGLY that morally and ethically all our present and past MHAs should
make restitution to the taxpayers of our province. Judge Green feels the same and by
accepting and implementing his report the Premier has failed in his responsibility to
be a true leader.

Hey,

You know what I'd like to see on this web site? Something useful like a list of all candidates who are running in each district, updated regularly until the deadline for naming a candidate. You go to a web site like this to find out who's running in district a or b, but all you can find out here is who the sitting member is.

Yes Williams has done a great job since elected however NONE of what he has accomplished would have been possible without the hard work of premiers and cabinet ministers from both Liberal and PC governments that preseeded his "reign". Williams success is due 75% to being in the right place at the right time and 25% due to a lame duck Prime Minister (P. Martin)and an untrustworthy Prime Minister (S. Harper). While I agree that Williams is our ONLY choice for Premier at this time, for gods sakes people lets please remove Williams "halo and crown" and for ALL OUR sakes make sure there is a viable opposition to keep Williams arrogance in check!

There are many more Health Care workers in NL other than nurses. The Government must realalize that nurses don't run the health care system, and the rest of the health care workers are sick and tired of hearing about the "poor nurses". Just look at the shortages in Xray Technologists and Laboratory Technologists for an example, they are leaving in droves for the oil patch out west where they are promised big money too..

There is an outrage against this insane policy - why has this news piece only presented a one-sided story - what about what real people feel about it? where is the balance in reporting?

To; Danny Williams I wish that you would stop using Prime Minister Harper as your whipping boy. I would like to clarify a statement that you made. That Prime Minister Stephen Harper voted against the Atlantic Accord, Well he did not. He supported the Accord in Parliament and even pushed to have it removed from the Budget and voted on separately, which was refused by Paul Martin. If as you say Mr Harper voted against the Accord, then the Liberal government would have been defeated back in May and we would have been in an election at that time. The Budget and the Accord would have died on the order table. Because the NDP abd Bloc were already voting against the Budget and Martin did not have the support to pass it on his own.

Danny Chavez you are beginning to sound like a pompous popinjay who throughs a temper tantrum every time you do not get your way. Remember back to the removal of the Canadian Flag, that was under a Liberal government.

Remember back to the 1980's when Alberta loaned New Foundland billions of dollars from the Heritage trust fund under the Premiership of Don Getty. It is time you pay it back.

It cost more than a thousand dollars to raise a child.
Danny Williams is just giving money as a 'thankyou'gifts for voting for him.

Newfoundland and Labrador is in a deep debt; it would be sensible to pay off the debte
before increasing it.

Newfoundlandand Labrador is rolling in money, there should not be any problem for Danny Williams to CONTRIBUTE INTO THE EQUALIZATION FUND.

NO MORE BEGGING OR HAND OUTS FROM OTHER PROVINCES, Mr. Danny Williams.

What did Danny Williams and his government do for us,he did nothing, Yvonne Jones did more for us in Labrador than Danny Williams ever will, Danny is only interested in the big things, by that i mean oil, gas, and the Churchill Falls Power Project, Danny is only out for "the big money", not something small like the lives of people and their way of living, the government took away our way of living away years ago when they closed the fishery, he don't care about us Labradorians (or Newfoundlanders for that matter), only for the fact of people like Rigolet running short on gas, and things that if nothing is done, goes public and then just to shut us up they decide to do something and very little at that but other than that, we are nothing to him, just sitting by the way side until another big project from Labrador comes up and then he tries to get his claws in it to benefit himself and no one else, Well Danny we are humans just like him, and we have wants and needs just like him, and come voting time Danny, you will see where you stand with us Labradorians and I for one wont be voting for the PC GOVERNMENT, I will be voting LIBERAL. Thank you for using your space to allow my message to get out.

Most abortions happen because the father or mother believes that a baby might be an inconvenience or that he/she might not fit into their financial situation. As a result, many have to make the difficult decision to abort their child and make themselves vulnerable to many horrendous physical and mental side effects. The Right to Life Association believes that the government should ease the worry of mothers and fathers, help prevent them from suffering as a result of an abortion, and encourage them to give life a chance. The Right to Life Association has been doing this since 1980 by providing baby supplies, shelter, and support to those in need at Elizabeth House Centre for Life. Such measures will result in a lower abortion rate. The Right to Life Association applauds Premier Williams and the Progressive Conservative Party for taking such a stance, but calls for even more to be done to support mothers and fathers in need.

The have and have not provinces can never be equal, but provinces are equal as provinces , however large and however small with shared wealth , we Newfoundlanders and Labradourians have made up our minds to have our fullest rights but we shall have them as rights , not as gifts or concessions . I congraulate Mr:Williams with regard to his position with Ottawa and the oil companies , if Newfoundland & Labradour is to take it's place on the world stage and not have to endure another Smallwood era we need the kind of political catalyst that Mr:Williams is proving to be .

Mr. Williams if you really want to turn the NL population around, how about offering a real incentive, like a provincial subsidized daycare program, to support working families who pay thousands of dollars per year for child care. As a mother of three in a two income household, we pay $1300 per month on child care. Offering $1,000 for each child born or adopted is hardly an incentive to have more children and frankly a waste of tax payers money. This money would be better served being put into a provincial subsidized daycare program that provides "ongoing support" to working NL families instead of a one time bonus. I wonder how many working mothers were sitting around the table when this idea was presented?

A sweep by either pary serves no democratic purpose. A government is only effective if an effective opposition exists to hold it accountable.

Who really wins an election? Is it the voters or the candidates?

The Liberals have no leadership at the Federal or Provincial levels right now. I hope Danny Sweeps the province, including all 4 seats in Labrador. Danny Williams has done more in the past 4 years than any other government in this province since confederation.

Willams Kicks ass