Dulse And Fog

News Item you won't find in energy hub (tm) promotional materials

2009-01-06T08:58:00.000-08:00

According to the New York Times, the Northeastern Governors are prepared to develop a regional low-carbon fuel standard. If Eider Rock is to be built for export into the North-east market and they decide they want their own low-carbon fuel, then do we need to build it?

The Luckiest MP in New Brunswick

2008-12-02T07:42:00.000-08:00

Recent reports suggest that, as a result of the parliamentary intrigue surrounding Ottawa's possible coalition government, Beasejour MP and Liberal leadership candidate Dominic Leblanc will be given a post in a Dion-led ministry.

Having met Mr. Leblanc on more than one occasion, this blogger has to ask: if this chap's name was Dominic Leclerc, or if his father was not the former governor-general of Canada, would he seriously be put on a short list of 3 names likely to be named prime minister a year from now?

Did Shawn Graham Just Win a Second Term?

2008-10-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

The new Tory leader, David Alward, decided his first statement upon becoming provincial leader was to request that partisans sing Happy Birthday.

He then declined to sing along. Nice.

The return of McKenna?

2008-10-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

This blog, and La Presse, seem to think so....

Steve Murphy, hack journalist?

2008-10-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

Andrew Krystal, perhaps the most straightforward talk-radio host in Atlantic Canada, spent this morning taking Steve Murphy and the ATV newsroom to task for their airing of Stephane Dion’s fumbling of an economic question during a taped interview.
Krystal’s criticism? That leaders fumble all the time in interviews, and many reporters (keen to have lucid answers) will give the politician the chance to call a mulligan. Harper himself had to use a mulligan when conducting an interview with Krystal over Iraq a few years back - because the interview was taped, the talk radio host gave the conservative leader a chance to do a do-over.
Murphy gave Dion this chance, but then decided that having a leader stumble over the verb tense in a single question was more news-worthy than having a lucid discussion on economic matters. This shows either poor news judgement on Murphy’s part, or an implicit conservative bias (in his memoirs, Murphy regales in telling the reader how hard he was on John Turner during the 1988 election campaign).
Let’s be clear. Dion’s fumble is in no way an indication of his ability to handle the current economic crisis. This was not at all like Sarah Palin’s incomprehension over the Bush doctrine, or suggestions that close proximity to Russia made her an expert in Foreign Policy. It was a linguistic fumble, and offered no glimpse as to the Liberal leader’s economic thinking. Perhaps Dion would have satisfied Murphy if he took a page from Harper’s playbook and simply stated, “If I were Prime Minister today, I would tell all Canadians to buy Nortel. It’s a bargain!”
Alas, Dion didn’t choose to play stockpicker. And in turn, the ATV newsroom didn’t choose to be impartial.

campaign bubbles, and the lessons of elections past

2008-09-25T09:15:00.000-07:00

The Toronto Star reported today that the Harper campaign lives in a bubble.
No surprise here, really. All winning campaigns innoculate their candidate from the flotsam and jetsam of real campaigning, if only to protect their lead.
The challenge for Liberals here is to pierce the bubble. Fortunately, there are lessons from 1988 and 1993 that should guide the Dion team.
1/ Call upon the PM to leave his bubble, and listen to the challenges facing ordinary Canadians. Turner did this in advance of the debates, reminding voters (and the media) that campaigns were about more than staged photo-ops organized by Mulroney, and on rare occasions should be about vital issues (like Free Trade). This warms the electorate up to step two…
2/ Bet the farm on the debates. Turn earnestness into passion, in both English and French. Everyone remembers how Turner came back from the dead in the 1988 English debates as a result of his passionate defense of Canadian sovereignty, but few remember how he performed above expectations in French, as well (read Graham Fraser’s Playing for Keeps for a refresher on the Debates).
Dion needs to start memorizing some great gut-check lines (in both languages), to make voters warm up to the idea that this guy could easily hand out treats at 24 Sussex come Hallowee’en (in other words, seem human). He should talk about how he wrote so many pesky letters to Lucien Bouchard that the guy eventually left politics in a huff, or mention how he first came to Ottawa with little more than a sleeping bag and a napsack, at a time when few in the country were optimistic about Canada’s longterm prospects. In other words, show some emotion, but whatever he says, don’t talk about that dog Kyoto.
3/ Challenge both Layton and May in the French debates, and ask (before Harper) why Duceppe is even here. He needs to start making a play for the abundance of progressive votes out there. He should also quote from his father Leon Dion, to remind the Quebec electorate that he’s something else besides a mousy caricature from Le Devoir, and would arguably better represent his home province than Duceppe.
4/ Inject some energy - chaos, even - into the campaign. The media has been increasingly reporting about the dismal enthusiasm surrounding the leader’s tour - poor attendance at campaign events, a light campaign schedule, etc., etc.
Dion needs to shake things up, by presenting some of the energy his team showed the morning of the leadership race. Go reckless, and avoid whatever bubble might be created for you. Mainstreet, phone-bank, do anything, as long as it shows activity.
Some historical tips, on how to successfully leave the bubble?
In 1988, after his own campaign fell into temporary disarray by the re-emergence of Turner in the polls, Mulroney righted the Tory ship by facing the key issue, unscripted. In one campaign stop, he sat down with anti-Free Trade protestors, and debated the merits of their concerns point blank. He certainly did not win their vote, but the media scrum that reported on their encounter showed a Prime Minister who was supremely confident of the direction he was ready to take the country.
Press reports state that Dion is in Quebec City today. He should be taking the media to the suburban neighbourhood he grew up in, and attempt to connect with voters. A risky strategy, especially if there are few Liberal voters to be found in Quebec’s suburbs, but to change the dynamic of this race Dion needs to cut through the media lens, and reach out to all those who fear a Tory majority.
In 1993, Chretien helped create a winning campaign by literally manufacturing enthusiasm. There was precious little down time on his tour, as even the late-night hotel stops became campaign events (I remember, because I used to attend them). It did not matter that these events were only scripted enthusaism, or that they were held well after reporters had filed their stories. They created energy, and that is just one of many items the Dion campaign seems to need.

Memo to Sarah Palin

2008-09-12T07:31:00.000-07:00

The Bush Doctrine is ultimately responsible for shipping your son off to Iraq.

Dion, the linguistics professor

2008-09-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a while for this blog, but in honour of the federal vote, this scribe has decided to plunge once again into the frigid waters of Fundy democracy.

The Liberal leader was in Saint John today, and besides giving a workman-like speech on the merits of the Green Shift, he poked fun at the linguistic absurdities of Canada's two official languages.

After mentioning carbon credits blahblahblah and his jet from Inuit Air, Dion noted the oddity that in French, you travel in a plane, while in English, you travel on one. He then wondered how anybody could ever travel on top of a jet.

It wasn't quite Chretien's pepper-on-a-plate, but it was refreshingly human, and a novel way of poking fun of his own challenges with the language of Churchill. And the crowd genuinely laughed.

Any bets not one of the scribes on the leader's tour picked this up?

Risk Premium, and Peak Oil

2008-05-26T07:26:00.000-07:00

Over the last year or so, the Telegraph Journal has regularly published the columns of Roy MacMullin, a Moncton-based energy writer and peak-oil disciple.

While his columns are interesting enough, they fail to convince this reader how a new world of very expensive oil barrels will fundamentally change public policy in New Brunswick (even if this economic fact probably should). Apparently, this economic fact haven't caused much concern over at Irving Oil either, as plans for Eider Rock keep lurching forward.

My beef with peak oil? It focuses too much on geology, when the real issues policy-makers need to concern themselves with are over the environment and foreign affairs. While climate change gets most of the attention, the really smart analysis seems to focus on where more and more of our expensive oil comes from. Not surprisingly, NYT columnists and others are identifying petro-dictatorships as a key catalyst behind high summer gas prices.

A fantastic article in Texas Monthly puts a very human face behind the worsening oil economy, in the form of the story of a kidnapped oil worker in the petro-rich troubled Nigerian delta. No need for a geologist to explain tapped reserves here - as long as this oil-producer (and others) is torn by civil strife, that summer trip to Freeport is going to be more expensive, and millions of residents in petro-dictatorships will continue to suffer.

Wouldn't it be nice if New Brunswickers could pay a premium for fair-trade oil, like they do for their coffee? I know I'd feel better coughing up $70 at the pump, if I knew that the gasoline that was refined here in Saint John came from oil regions in which children could walk into their neighbourhood woods without coming across guerillas with automatic rifles.

A Speech Communications NB will never, ever, be able to write...

2008-03-19T06:32:00.000-07:00

It its constant quest to instill every single New Brunswicker with the mantra of self-sufficiency/transformational change/status quo is not an option, a rather pedestrian provincial budget has just been tabled, and it includes a hefty increase in funds for the government's provincial communications agency.

Leaving aside the merits of communications professionals (I too was once a spin doctor - ed.), it certainly would be nice if a New Brunswick political figure could speak honestly about the pressing issues of the day, without resorting to focus-grouped talking points.

On a totally different plane, Barack Obama has just given the speech of his life, speaking in Philly about the question of race in the United States. Historians will be digesting every syllable of the prepared text for years - long after this fellow leaves the Oval Office.

And like all wonderful political addresses, this one was prepared without much input from communications professionals (in fact, a number of Obama's campaign staff did not want him to give it). Yet Barack's speech is now dominating the American news cycle. In contrast, the provincial budget has produced barely a murmur.

It's a shame that lesson hasn't been picked up by anyone here in New Brunswick - spending all the money in the world on press releases doesn't change much if you don't have anything significant to say.

Who Wants To Draft Elsie?

2008-03-17T10:37:00.000-07:00

The civic election season is upon us, and so far there are few bright lights running for council. The Saint John Mayoral race, however, is bubbling along nicely. There are 3 likely candidates - Norm McFarlane, Michelle Hooton, and Ivan Court. The current council's black sheep - maverick John Ferguson - may also turn into a dark horse, and throw his hat into the ring.

A St Patrick's Day prediction, for those who feel lucky? If Ferguson stays out, McFarlane will win in a game of attrition. If Ferguson jumps in, the muck will really start to fly, and Hooton just might remain standing at the end.

Of course, if Elsie Wayne were to relaunch her elephant campaign, all bets are off.

Scene from American Democracy

2008-02-13T10:17:00.000-08:00

Amount of TV time directed toward Democratic caucus in Calais, ME: O minutes

Number of voting caucus members: 51 persons

Number of write-in ballots: 2 ballots

Final Score: Barack Obama 27, Hillary Clinton 26

Is it a chicken, or an egg?

2008-02-05T08:42:00.001-08:00

The provincial government has just released another report, this one highlighting their plans to increase the population of the province.

The goal is to increase the provincial population by 100,000 by 2026. The list of recommendations supporting this goal is rather pedestrian, but at least there is a firm target of 6,000 more New Brunswickers by 2009.

Interestingly enough, employment growth in NB is the rosiest it has been in quite some time. This begs the question - will 6,000 new jobs attract 6,000 new citizens, or is it the other way around?

Perhaps another NB report will answer that one.

I've heard it through the grapevine...

2008-01-31T12:44:00.000-08:00

that the premier will announce UNBSJ will remain as part of UNB in his address tonight.

Ed Doherty will sleep soundly - likely for the first time in months...

Can We Bring Back 'The Picture Province'(TM)?

2008-01-31T07:59:00.001-08:00

Apparently, the province of New Brunswick has a new brand.

Never mind hope restored, or any other message steeped in history or having significant meaning.

Our uplifting message is now "In New Brunswick you can be yourself, you can belong and you can be better."

It's a bit of a snore, but at least it's better than the status-quo is not an option.

Saint John City Hall, Decider

2008-01-30T09:45:00.000-08:00

Many scorned George W. Bush when, in one of his many malapropisms, he declared that he was the 'decider.'

A similar mentality decended into Saint John a few weeks back, when mayor Norm McFarlane declared that despite upcoming consultations surrounding the North of Union development, the wrecking ball was already booked. The 'decider' had apparently made a decision.

Now, he appears to have wisely backtracked some, and allowed the public to voice their opinion in public forums and online. The only problem? When the reader attempts to get background information on the official site, he/she is told 'it's coming soon'.

Oh well, at least this city has a past record of hasty decisions. Anyone bored enough to examine 1960 council minutes will find a resolution that called upon the city to replace the historic city market with a more modern structure.

By the way, that resolution was made behind closed doors.

Thank you, Iowa....

2008-01-04T06:19:00.000-08:00

Mega-pundit Mark Halperin has just declared Barack Obama as the likely next President of the United States.

For the record, this blog called it a few months ago.

The Fracturing of the Irving Empire?

2007-11-21T08:56:00.000-08:00

Wow.

The Globe and Mail's business section led today with a story suggesting that the Irving family - New Brunswick's wealthiest - is split over succession plans, and as a result may end up formally splitting up the myriad sections of the company.

The process, which will likely take over a year (and result in lots of work for Bermuda lawyers!), will formally separate forestry from energy, and may also produce a number of junior stand-alone companies.

Here's an idea. Once the legal papers are all signed, take the various components of the Irving Empire public. The resulting I.P.O.s would be larger than the province's budget, and provide regular New Brunswickers with an opportunity to share in the company's wealth.

Of course, this would also make company books public...

Where Is Journalism For Sale? Here in NB, apparently...

2007-10-24T08:35:00.000-07:00

Say what you will about the control Irving-owned Brunswick News has over New Brunswick's daily papers, at least the crusty journalists at the Telegraph Journal work reasonably hard at crafting the daily news. Their record is far from perfect, but on any given day an NB reader can at least get more out of the TJ than its provincial cousins, the Daily Gleaner, or the Times-Transcript.

The once scrappy urban weekly, here, however, has clearly lost whatever journalistic principals it might have once had, in the pioneering years before it was consumed by Brunswick News. It's latest low, almost laughable to anyone who watches local media?

The October 18 cover story, proudly circulated throughout Fredericton, Moncton and Saint John, asks New Brunswickers to why not? consider natural gas.

Hardly the pull-no-punches reviews of urban life that here was once known for, but as a cover story it appears relatively benign (after all, natural gas is somewhat cleaner than the majority of energy sources NB Power forces New Brunswickers to consume on cold winter mornings).

The only problem? When you turn inside to actually read the cover story, it turns out that it is little more than a breathless press release/advertorial, prepared and paid for by Enbridge NB, the province's largest supplier of natural gas.

No wonder copies of here are now orphaned regularly, left in brightly-coloured newspaper boxes throughout the province. Saint Johners once had a small newspaper worthy of conversation. Now all they get is an 'urban' product about as newsworthy as a Walmart flyer.

In Golf, it's called a mulligan...

2007-10-17T10:54:00.001-07:00

In politics, it's a do-over.

The Graham government has just announced a working group to examine the future of post-secondary education in NB. All indications are that this working group is supposed to fix the PR nightmare left by the work of the last guys.

The working group will be led by NB PSE officials.
Rick Miner has not been invited back.
The polytechnic idea may soon perish thanks to the work of over 4,000 Facebookers, another 1,000 or so committed emailers, and a united Saint John community.

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby, Right Round

2007-10-12T05:45:00.001-07:00

Two government lines, two different dates.

"Although these are only recommendations from an independent commission and final decisions haven't been made yet by our government, I am pleased that the report kept the students' interests as its central theme.."
- Minister Ed Doherty, from a September 7 GNB News Release

"Before meeting with the students, I want to meet with the university presidents, and I also want to meet with the community college stakeholders," he said. "There will be an opportunity in the future to meet with the student groups, but our top priority today is to meet with the stakeholders at the university."
- Premier Shawn Graham, quoted in the Telegraph Journal on
October 11

If students' interests are the central theme driving the reforms, wouldn't these students be considered key stakeholders?

Aren't they worried about the wrong set of student numbers?

2007-10-10T09:42:00.000-07:00

Saint Johners are still feeling mighty raw at Rick Miner's idea to close down UNBSJ, and letters, faxes and emails are putting a fair bit of pressure on government MLAs.

Amidst government's desire for transformative change in education, however, they may be focussing on the wrong set of numbers (or no numbers at all, in the case of Miner's report). In 2005/06, according to GNB's own education statistics, local school districts 6 and 8 saw over 220 kids drop out.

Just this Spring, UNBSJ saw over 422 of its students graduate. While this is a fine achievement, a comparison to the number above suggests that in its drive for self-sufficiency, the province is looking at the wrong institution to reform. For every 2 graduates UNBSJ produces, Greater Saint John still turns out 1 high school dropout.

According to the last census, a high school drop-out in SJ earns slightly more than $18,ooo. A university graduate earns more than $45,000. All of this suggests that perhaps we need to radically overhaul our high schools, and not our institutions of higher learning.

But to do this, we'd actually need to have government officials look at numbers for a change.

My Saint John Includes UNBSJ

2007-09-14T07:49:00.000-07:00

In what will surely go down in history as one of the most ill-advised recommendations in the history of NB government commissions, the province's PSE commission has recently recommended the effective downgrading of UNBSJ from its current status as a comprehensive university.

The poor souls found at the Edmunston and Shippegan satellites of U de M are also to be sacrificed, in the name of "transformational change" that no one really seems ready to embrace. All told, if the commission recommendations are to be accepted, students from both the Fundy Coast and the North Shore of the province will be forced to migrate elsewhere (including, obviously, out of province universities) if they hope to complete a 4 year university degree. The significant international perspective UNBSJ is bringing to New Brunswick will also effectively be undermined, as will the research capacity of our province.

Ultimately, if the most dramatic proposals are accepted, our fine province will be less-educated. Poor old Louis Robichaud's revolutionary experiment of Equal Opportunity (and its strong education component) is now facing the prospects of its own funeral. Let's hope these dumb ideas are promptly shelved, and the old man's expirement gets to continue. New Brunswickers deserve access to quality higher education today, just as they did in the decade in which UNBSJ and UdeM were first established.

The Lonely Life of an NB Blogger....

2007-09-05T10:24:00.000-07:00

The Telegraph Journal has recently launched its own blogosphere, and sadly, most of the highlighted blogs are uninteresting.

Need an example? This gem highlights a nose-hair trimmer, which can apparently be bought on ebay. I'm sure Dalton Camp can rest in peace knowing his old TJ columns have been replaced by online musings of weird ebay stuff.

An actual attempt at significant blogging in New Brunswick, meanwhile, is about to retire from the internet as a result of apparent reader indifference.
( http://www.portcitypolitics.blogspot.com)

Good night, port city politics. You were certainly cranky, but at least you avoided discussions of nose hair.

The Sandpipers were here! The Sandpipers were here!

2007-08-20T10:08:00.000-07:00

Since this blog writes the odd bit on NB culture, it's easily time for a post on nature.

And what better topic than the Bay of Fundy's migratory

sandpipers! As the images taken at Johnson's Mills highlight,

they're quite a show...

Another Number Not Seen In the Times & Transcript

2007-08-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

Odd things happen when papers essentially farm out their business section.

Take the Telegraph Journal (please! -ed). In recent months, they have practically phoned in a large part of their business news from their Moncton desk, despite the fact that the provincial paper is based in Saint John.
Because the Moncton Times & Transcript publishes whatever employment-related news release that emerges out of the hub city, you can't expect that paper to focus on good news in Saint John. But since the Telegraph Journal isn't doing it's job, some big stories are being missed.
A prime example is the latest Labour Force Survey. According to the July data, in the last year 4 out of 5 jobs created in NB were located in the Saint John CMA. For whatever reason, this sort of news isn't found in the provincial daily.

Oh well. Maybe Enterprise Saint John should just hire Paul Zed's communications staff. They will send out press releases on everything....

AECL and NB sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G...

2007-08-01T06:43:00.000-07:00

According to this sunny news release, AECL (or more enthusiastically, TEAM CANDU!) is prepared to conduct a feasibility study on a second Lepreau.

AECL is about to write (and pay for) a report that suggests NB should go ahead with a fancy-pants new reactor, primed to deliver over 1,000 MW of electricity to the United States.

Considering how the federal crown corporation is about to examine the export-worthiness of its own product, perhaps it is too much to ask for due diligence. But it would be really nice if someone at the provincial crown corporation, NB Power, thought hard about this:

With a utility debt of over $2.9 billion, and average earnings from exports falling in at around a meagre $300 million annually, NB Power isn't necessarily in the best position to expand its load capacity.
Lepreau I may have been a good investment, but it was built over 25 years ago. Since that time, NB Power generation assets have certainly had a spottier record of performance (Coleson Cove? Belledune?....anyone? Bueller?)
The Americans are considering building over 25 new nuclear reactors, all with the financial assistance of Congress. Perhaps the New England energy market may not be as lucrative as AECL hopes (prays?) for.

All this to say that a Lepreau II feasibility study is certainly warranted, but perhaps not one that will be written by the folks who want to build the darn thing. Unless, of course, AECL offers to move Deep River, Ontario here to NB. At least that would help this province's population strategy...

UPDATE: According to the optimists, this project - if it goes ahead - won't cost NB taxpayers a dime, and NB Power may not in fact be the operator. Developing...

Oh, Snap! It's a Word-Fight over at Maclean's

2007-07-27T07:30:00.000-07:00

Maclean's columnist Mark Steyn has spent the last few months vigorously defending the honour of Lord Black of CrossHarbour, and suggested on almost a daily basis that quite possibly the Worst Canadian Ever (TM) would be declared innocent of the mountain of charges against him.

Of course, Steyn was wrong, and has been licking his wounds online ever since the 4 guilty verdicts were announced.

Now, rival Maclean's blogger Paul Wells has rubbed a little salt on Steyn's wounds. In his blog, Wells soothes all those who fret about Canada's high dollar by reminding them of one of Steyn's earlier predictions:

True, 96 cents is a little salty, but have no fear. By December the loonie will be down to 60 cents US, or maybe 55. Also, rampant environmentalism will send unemployment skyrocketing. All by December! Five months hence!Trust me. I have it on the highest authority.

Oh, Mark Steyn, you may be a decent writer, but your fortune-telling instincts are about as sound as the girl on the late night Quebec infomercials.
And of the old National Post alumni, Wells has you easily beat. He's sort of a Bruce Hutchinson or Dalton Camp to your Warren Kinsella.

Let's All Head Off to Maine

2007-07-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

With a strong Canadian dollar, the old New Brunswick tradition of cross-border shopping is being rekindled, after almost a decade-long slumber.

The new $400 personal exemption on duties certainly helps make a weekend trip very attractive - not to mention a pretty good summer concert series at L.L. Bean.

But NBers now have a new reason to reward Maine business with their consumer spending. In the face of an increasingly out-of-touch President, Maine's two Republican Senators have now begun to openly side with Democrats on the question of ending the Iraq War.

Good neighbours, indeed.

NB Dept of Poverty Reduction

2007-07-10T06:35:00.000-07:00

Title from an actual NB Government News Release:

PAUPERS TO BE SOLD AT KINGS LANDING

Glad to see that Family and Community Services has finally come up with a way to reduce poverty. This is way more innovative than a $100 rebate on heating bills...

Kudos to Fred...

2007-07-03T09:39:00.000-07:00

As in Fredericton, who is now attempting to jump onto the band-wagon of post-Kyoto environmentalism.

Their mayor Brad Woodside is still a bit of a loser, but at least City Hall has put together a decent environmental website. Now, if only they could come to the realization that their summer air-conditioning load is largely supported by NB Power's use of dirty fossil fuels.

Of course, the city of stately elms largely imports its power from dirty-fuel generators that are safely beyond the view of local residents, so Frederictonians can certainly be proud of their nice website, if nothing else.

Not to be picking on the capital city. At least they weren't Quispamsis, which tried to get a government grant in order to send out Christmas LED lights. Quispamsis also happens to have the richest household incomes in New Brunswick, so they can afford to cough up the cash needed to buy Canadian Tire's latest holiday trim.

It's an Equalization Pile-On!

2007-06-19T06:55:00.000-07:00

Just when you thought you heard enough of Bill Casey, the fiddling NS premier, and that guy from Saskatchewan, Saint John's Paul Zed decides to offer his thoughts on the frothing equalization stew.

His claim? That Stevie Harper is short-changing NB to the tune of a billion dollars, according to some academic study nobody ever bothered to read (the best kind of academic study, for sure!). Zed has laid this claim, in all its partisan glory, on the front page of the online globe and mail.

Actually, the essay is not that bad (I wonder who wrote it?), and it certainly is a better Saint John contribution to a national debate than anything Elsie Wayne ever said.

The only problem? Too much equalization discussion will surely drive anyone mad. Just ask Danny Williams.

Vegas, Anyone?

2007-06-07T11:24:00.001-07:00

The Government of New Brunswick has now decided to underwrite the gambling purse of New Brunswick's threatened horse-racing industry.

Others may disagree, but in my mind supporting gambling as a means of economic development is just plain silly. It may work in Vegas, but only for those who forget that Nic Cage's awfully depressing Leaving Las Vegas was based on an autobiography.
Back in the real world, $1 million is about to be wasted, while just south of the border, New York's horse-racing industry (with fancy racinos, to boot) is looking for another handout.

Canada's New Government (TM) at Work...

2007-05-17T05:59:00.000-07:00

First, came the 5 government priorities, which managed to help propel Stephen Harper into 24 Sussex.

After that, John Baird was going to turn his government green.

Now, with a spring election safely behind them, Canada's 'new' government is focussing on the sort of issues Canadians really want action on - preventing an imminent flood of strippers from former Soviet Republics.

How is this even on Canadians' radar, outside of a depressing strip of dead-end strip-joints near the Toronto Airport? I'd like to see the polling on that...

You won't see this in the Moncton Times & Transcript

2007-05-14T10:20:00.000-07:00

uh-oh.

The latest labour force data for New Brunswick has been released, and behind the rosy announcements there is a very troubling figure.

It appears that Metro Moncton, the dominant engine of employment growth for much of the last decade, has stalled a bit, or to be somewhat blunt, apparently fallen off a cliff.

According to the Labour Market Bulletin, Metro Moncton now has 6,000 fewer in its labour force than last year. It's participation rate dropped a whopping 6.4%.

Yikes. How can any NB urban area lose 6,000 from its labour force, and everybody miss it?

Did Bernard Lord suddenly take half of his old constituents with him when he started communiting to Montreal?

stand by, for technical difficulties

2007-05-11T11:55:00.000-07:00

Technorati Profile

Facebook comes to NB

2007-05-03T07:31:00.000-07:00

Much like the rest of the internet world, New Brunswick has warmly embraced Facebook. This is a welcoming event, if only because it makes for more interesting digital reading than Charles Leblanc. Sadly, even online our parochialism still shines through (ex: how come SJ gets a network and not F'ton? M'ton? New River Beach? South Branch?)....

There are, however, some really interesting Facebook groups that make our tiny province look like a wonderful little laboratory for democratic exchange.

Some examples?
Saint John needs a 24 hour liquor store - 833 members
Fredericton Call Centre Employees - 100+ members
Port City Gossip - 80+ members
Saint John Singles - 2 members?
Dairy Queen Fredericton Employees - 180 members!?!
Fredericton Drivers Make Me Violent - 500+ members
Bring the Eagles to Moncton - 400+ members??
I lived in Moncton now I'm gone - 350+ members
I'm drunk in my facebook picture - NB chapter - 150+ members
Is the Saint John Telegraph Journal a tabloid? - 150+ members

of course, if group memberships were linked to elections, the guy who's going to get an image of Bruce Frisko's face tattooed on his body because 25,000 Maritimers told him to is likely going to be the next Premier of PEI in a couple of weeks...

It's a slam dunk (in my humble opinion)

2007-05-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

In Points of Departure, Dalton Camp argued that one of the reasons why Pierre Trudeau was able to defeat poor old Joe Clark was because of the constant game of courtship between the mass media and PET.

Well, if this New Yorker article is any indication, Barack Obama will in all likelihood win the 2008 Democratic nomination. No other candidate in recent memory has produced such gushing media tributes this early - and no, the 2003 Howard Dean phenomenon doesn't count, since most news clippings were more about Dean supporters (or the Dean web community) than Howard Dean.

My prediction? Barry Hussein Obama will lead the Democratic ticket in 08. Hillary just can't sell the same amount of high-brow magazines.

Go East, Not West (at least for a power bill decrease)

2007-04-25T06:32:00.000-07:00

The last post showed how NB Power could look west to Ontario to see how they could decrease, (and not increase by 9.6%!!) their residential charge.

It turns out they didn't even have to leave Atlantic Canada. Newfoundland Hydro also reduced their rates this year.

Here comes the Hydro Hammer

2007-04-19T11:20:00.000-07:00

NB Power, the utility that never saw a rate increase it didn't like, has just applied for a 9.6% increase.

Our Ontario cousins, meanwhile, benefit from a regulator-approved decrease in their electric bill.

Someone tell David Hay to start shopping for electric power in Ontario. New Brunswickers could use the discount.

A Fine Nor-Easter

2007-04-16T12:17:00.000-07:00

The winds are howling, and Saint John is currently enveloped by a wicked storm.

No word on any blown rooftops, but I suspect the harsh climate will dampen attendance at tonight's anti-council uprising being planned for Exhibition Park.

Who knew that Mother Nature favoured Saint John's incumbents?

UPDATE: The populist rabble drew 300 curious voters, and Ivan Court continued to run for mayor by showing up in front of the first empty mic stand he saw..

let's bust this damned thing

2007-04-13T11:14:00.000-07:00

Those of you with way too much knowledge of Canadian history would recognize the title of this post as a catchphrase from one of Laurier's more prominent Toronto financial supporters, who was prepared to rather abruptly put an end to the Laurier era simply because he was against the Liberal leader's support for reciprocity.

Of course, the Liberal turncoat/bagman had help in his campaign against one of the more successful Liberal administrations in history. A chief actor in this reversal of fortune was Conservative leader Robert Borden, who essentially entered into a non-compete agreement with Quebec nationalists in advance of the 1911 federal election. This entente with Henri Bourassa et al. was termed an unholy alliance, but proved to be quite effective politics. Laurier, one of the giants of Canadian history, was effectively torn to political shreds by opponents with little in common except a shared desire to see someone else in charge of the Canadian government.

Those of you who fret about the agreement between Stephane Dion and Elizabeth May might do well to remember who won the 1911 vote.

bravo! un vrai chef...

2007-04-12T12:34:00.000-07:00

Stephane Dion, on the appointment of separatist Daniel Paille:

“I am well aware that there are talented people in the Parti Québécois and the Bloc Québécois, people with whom I have much in common...Nevertheless, I maintain that part of their talent and potential to contribute to their fellow citizens is negated by their separatist ideology. As far as I am concerned, you need to believe in a country if you are to contribute your utmost to it.”

Arguably, the most lucid remarks he's made since becoming Liberal leader. Kudos to his latest speechwriter.

My Father-In-Law Will Be Thrilled

2007-04-11T11:32:00.000-07:00

Apparently, the Province of New Brunswick has honoured its Charter For Change commitment, and just made it easier for long-term hunters to luck out on the annual moose draw.

Now, if only there was a decent recipe for moose stew...

Maybe Saint John should simply join Sherbrooke...

2007-04-05T06:43:00.000-07:00

Much has been made in recent weeks of the enormous amount of federal budget $$ being directed toward Quebec, but there has been little discussion of what the budget didn't include: a restoration of the federal government's Commercial Heritage Properties Incentive Fund.

The lowest block of properties on Saint John's historic King Street was the sort of project the fund helped restore.

Oh well. Never mind that rehabilitating older buildings can revitalize historic downtowns, while creating a greener, more efficient urban environment. Ignore the relatively small federal contribution needed as a catalyst for development. And definitely do not read this New York Times article.

Instead, spend billions more on an equalization scheme that leaves virtually no one happy a few short weeks later, except for maybe Mario Dumont.

Nice. Perhaps, when the feds spend millions celebrating the anniversary of Champlain's settlement of Quebec, someone should ask how much the feds spent to commemorate his earlier naming of the River St. John...

The Many Pleasures of First Past The Post...

2007-03-28T10:32:00.000-07:00

Still on the entertaining Quebec election results, Henri Bourassa's old broadsheet LE DEVOIR has a tantalizing article where pollster Jean-Marc Leger argues that it if weren't for the pesky fringe parties (like a suddenly relevant Quebec Green Party), Andre Boisclair would be Premier today, and not be fighting off the knives at his back.

According to Leger's logic, when you take away the PQ-siphoning votes of Quebec Solidaire and the Parti vert, a number of key seats (including Jean Charest's In Sherbrooke) suddenly fall into the hands of le parti quebecois. The revised seat totals, in an imagined election where the fringe were not a factor? PQ 48, Lib 44, ADQ 33.

Of course, the fringe vote was alive and well, and sunk Boisclair much like it helped sink David Peterson in Ontario many votes ago.

Over at La Presse, commentators are now bravely predicting the end of sovereignty, which is a bit ironic, considering that if it weren't for a few castaway votes, Boisclair may have been allowed to continue to dream about a 3rd referendum (as Premier!).

Long live the fringe voter! Is there a way we can import the UK's Raving Loony Party to all the provinces of Canada?

UPDATE: Paul Wells at Maclean's has challenged his readers to play with the Quebec vote totals some more, and they've found a few thousand vote scenario where Super Mario would have moved into the Premier's bunker...

I wonder if Kathleen Harris can be convinced to move from Florida to QC?

La Belle Province, indeed

2007-03-27T09:18:00.000-07:00

Quebec has produced it's first minority government in over a century, and bilingual New Brunswickers can find all the wonderful analysis they need over at La Presse.

The best part? The delightful image gallery, which shows why Quebec politics is so much more interesting than the politics found in most of English Canada.

Go to the link - if a picture is worth a thousand words, than these images are more compelling than anything written by Jean-Francois Lisee. My favourite is the one where ADQ partisans (or militants, as they say en Quebec) sweep the floor with their election signs. It's too bad these guys are still no good at curling...

And Now For Some Culture...

2007-03-22T10:28:00.000-07:00

Since this blog is about NB politics and culture (not to mention dulse), it's time for some local Canadian content.

For those of you who are visiting the foggy city tonight, the Peter Buckland Gallery is hosting its 4th annual Young Collectors' Night. Lots of fun can be found here.

The event is really quite interesting. Young Saint Johners (mostly the Fusion crowd) get to look at nice art, and the lucky ones get to buy the nice art. One time a few years back I almost purchased a Warholesque image of Jean Chretien, but alas, I could not afford the hefty price tag involved.

As for the image accompanying this blog? It's Beacon Light, Saint John Harbour, painted in 1879 by some old guy, and it's virtually the only Saint John image the National Art Gallery will allow into the public domain without filling out about 40-odd pages of copyright...

RESPs, Maclean's and a very good point about the Flaherty budget...

2007-03-21T10:03:00.000-07:00

Paul Wells has made an excellent point on how increasing RESP limits essentially pander to wealthy voters and their subsidized university-age children on his blog.

An even better analysis of the income inequities inherent in access to university education can be found here.

Sadly, no politician in the land (let alone New Brunswick) is ready to tackle the issue of why more poor kids don't go to university. Instead, we offer tax inxentives that can ensure Flaherty's three sons won't have to work a summer job to pay for higher tuition...

No wonder so many NB university students drop-out. Why bother staying, if the entire PSE system gives an advantage to those students who have wealthy parents? At least in Fort McMurray, everyone is on the same economic playing field.

Lies, Damned Lies and Statistics

2007-03-13T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Census is in! The Census is in!

All the number-crunching glory can be found here.

The big NB winners? Metro Moncton (thanks to Dieppe), and Quispamsis (take that Rothesay!).

Fredericton, however, is the one to watch. It had the biggest municipal growth rate of the big three.

Then again, the big three aren't that big. If you added up all the persons living in the Fredericton, Moncton, and Saint John urban areas, you'd have slightly more than one percent of the Canadian population.

No wonder Ottawa has yet to act on harbour clean-up.

UPDATE: Ottawa has in fact acted on harbour clean-up. A historic, long-overdue cause for celebration. Dulse for everyone!

Self-Sufficient, Self-Absorbed?

2007-03-12T13:36:00.000-07:00

The Graham government's committment to achieving self-sufficiency should be roundly applauded, but the latest paper coming out of the Self-Sufficiency Task Force is a bit problematic.

How so? Well, the first two papers established some broad themes for discussion, but the latest paper goes in a radically different direction and offers up twenty-odd specific solutions. Even the title is rather definitive - Policy Directions. No need for input there, I guess.

The Task Force has already recieved criticism (however unfairly) for being less than transparent in its consultations, but this third report (issued only a few weeks before the Task Force wraps up consultation) certainly sticks it to those who wanted a policy free-for-all.

The old maxim holds true, I guess. If you're going to hold a government commission, you better darn well know what you want to achieve before you get the commission started...

Or maybe not.

Don't These Guys Read Vanity Fair?

2006-05-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

Going green, it appears, is trendy again.

Brian Mulroney, perhaps the most despised PM ever, has recently been rewarded the mantle of most enviro-friendly PM ever. To his credit, he did mutter something in his speech about 'being the best of a bad lot...'

Brian Mulroney's old policy advisor, the Cape Breton environmentalist Elizabeth May, is now running for the leadership of the federal Green Party.

Stephane Dion is trying to rebrand the federal Liberal party as a political vehicle that is actually enviro-friendly - never mind that the outgoing government's rhetoric on Kyoto had a rather pungent odour of we-talk-so-we-don't-have-to-act.

In New Brunswick, the environment has suddenly been promoted to the top 5 of provincial government priorities. Sorry, licence plate motto enthusiasts, your crusade will have to wait 'till next year.

Even Vanity Fair, the glossy magazine devoted to consumerism and gossip, has come out with an inaugural GREEN issue. (ADBUSTERS, eat your heart out. Internet-inventor Al Gore is demurely sitting at the feet of Julia Roberts on the cover..)

So why, can anyone tell me, has Ottawa gutted Energuide, and left Elizabeth Weir to advertise Efficiency NB programs that are now about as effective as NB Power's energy advisors service?

There's No "I" in Team...

2006-05-10T06:55:00.000-07:00

The governing Tories have announced their latest proposal to end the legislative logjam in Fredericton, and Opposition House Leader Kelly Lamrock is predictably threatening to go nuclear.

In response to queries from the Telegraph Journal, Lamrock offered the following self-absorbed reply, taken from today's front section:

...Mr. Lamrock promised to fight the proposed rule changes to the bitter end.

"Just watch me. We'll have to see what we can do," he said.

Exactly what he's planning remains to be seen.

"I don't think it would be in my interest to set out a strategy here today," Mr. Lamrock said...

JUST WATCH ME? Has no one told this guy that Pierre Trudeau's self-absorption was in large part justified, simply because he was always the smartest guy in the room?

As for Kelly Lamrock, being one-time captain of the UNB Debating Team may give you some procedural heft, but in no way does it justify quoting PET. Heck, given his constant desire to get himself in the first paragraph of any legislative story, I'm not even sure if this guy merits comparison to Chubby Power.

Someone tell Shawn Graham nobody remembers the name of Louis Robichaud's house leader.

Atlantica and producing less poverty

2006-05-08T08:33:00.000-07:00

The West has their Pacific Gateway initiative - and the billions of federal infrastructure dollars that go with it.

Now, the Eastern business lobby wants a piece of the action. They've developed a pretty sound business case around their idea, aptly titled Atlantica.

For those who are proponents of freer trade, it's a pretty easy sell - enhance trade links between both sides of the border, and both New England and the Maritimes will prosper.

There is a potential argument to be made that Atlantica could benefit the labouring masses as well. A few years ago, Statistics Canada released a compelling analysis of poverty in major Canadian urban centres.

One interesting factoid, discovered after 20 years of census collection? Little old Windsor, Ontario, home to the busiest Canadian border crossing, saw one of the most significant reductions in poverty of any Canadian city in the post-Free Trade era.

If the Detroit-Windsor corridor saw greater competition in border services in the form of an enhanced New Brunswick gateway promised under Atlantica, a number of average Joes and Jills could benefit. Truck drivers would be able to utilize better, more efficient routes, small accountant and delivery firms could morph into specialized customs brokerages, and more New Brunswickers could be happily found in a situation where government policy leads to more work, and not more structural unemployment.

Let's move forward with Atlantica. At the very least, it could mean a shorter drive to Montreal - Canada's one true metropolis.

For The Record: Tanker Malley Is Awesome!

2006-05-05T11:03:00.000-07:00

Thank you, Tanker, for making New Brunswick politics interesting again.

Ever since you crossed the floor, ruined Cleveland Allaby's hopes of becoming a judge, fished for work for someone named Judy, got elected speaker, took credit for the budget, limited your media interviews to Miramichi's favourite (and only) rock station, THE RIVER, and then hop-scotched back into the Tory caucus, Fredericton has been blessed with political fun! fun! fun! unseen since poor old Dick Hatfield tried to share a doobie with our Queen.

Tanker Malley is one bus driver who knows how to start a pile-up. With both Bernard Lord and Shawn Graham trading insults on a daily basis (all the while being coached by their respective puppet masters, Percy Mockler and Kelly Lamrock), who knows when this legislative impasse will come to an end.

My guess? When Fredericton's May heat wave hits the legislative building, the first caucus to lose a member to dehydration will be the one to concede. Unless, of course, Frank Branch goes to jail.

Fredericton's legislature is now the baddest in the land. Take that, Stephen Harper and your boring accountability act!

Now Tony Soprano Can Visit NB...

2006-05-05T10:38:00.000-07:00

In case you missed the latest press release from the Claudette Bradshaw International Airport, Moncton is now offering a daily flight to the Big Apple.

Well, almost. The flight doesn't get you to New York City, but instead takes you to Newark, New Jersey. If any of you have seen the opening credits to the Sopranos, you'll instantly recognize the bleak landscape as you take the shuttle bus to Manhattan.

For New Jersey residents looking for a similar feeling of bleakness during their visit to NB, I would suggest one of Moncton's big box stores. Either that, or the tidal bore.