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#4: The Atlantic Accord. In 1985 Brian Mulroney and Brian Peckford hammered out an agreement that allowed Newfoundland and Labrador to become the principal beneficiary of resources on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The resource would remain with the Government of Canada, but 100% of the benefits of royalties and revenues would go to the province off whose shoreline the resource was found. This is a signed contract folks, much like the same contract that was signed between the governments of Newfoundland and Quebec over Churchill Falls. However, as the oil began to come ashore it was quickly discovered that any royalties realized from the oil drilling was in turn taken away by the federal government (Jean Chretien) in transfer payment clawbacks, leaving the province with zero benefit for the resource. The cry from Newfoundland was hey how are we supposed to become a self sustaining province if we are still at the status quo? When Alberta's oil industry began to take off the federal government of the day saw fit to let them gain a few years of growth while their economy grew before clawing back the transfer payments, they yelled. When Martin came to power he felt so damn guilty for the injustice that the previous government, of which he was finance minister, had inflicted on the province he agreed to reopen the accord for discussion. The result was the revised 2005 Accord, still giving Newfoundland and Labrador a chance to pull itself out of the financial doldrums, but it would just take a little longer (does anyone else see a pattern here?). Just two short years later we find our economist from the west, who's greatest achievment to this point was working the mail room at an oil company and who's lust for power is so strong he will drive a spike through the heart of Canada in order to gain the lofty heights he so desires, rides into Ottawa with a hate on for eastern Canada that would make the columists at the Globe and Mail look like sunday school teachers. So our white knight on a steed decides to whittle away a bit more at the newly signed accord and the result is what we are faced with today, which amounts to a loss of $1.5 billion over the next 3 years to the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and a serious breach of contract between the province and the government of Canada.[/FONT]
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There have been countless other incidents over the years of lesser importance but serious nontheless where the province has taken a backseat to shady business practices, government meddling and outright lies and deceit. Harper perpetuates the stereotypical misconception that eastern Canada is a huge sinkhole who can't stand on their own without help from the rest of the country. And he'll do whatever is in his power to make sure it stays that way. Well man, it's like this. We can't give away any more. We're a proud people who only want what's right. We cannot continue to send our minerals to smelters in Ontario, our timber and water rights to Abitibi, our fish to the foreign trawlers and our people to Fort McMurray. Not to mention the disproportionate number of young people from our province dying on the killing fields of Afghanistan for a country that would rather we simply float out to sea. [/FONT]
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So mister if you think Newfoundland and Labrador has been taking from your country think about this. Since the day we signed on the dotted line in 1949 to become Canada's 10th province, a vote that is still mired in controversy, it has been an uphill battle all the way for justice, fairness and a sense of belonging. There is a concerted effort among certain individuals and groups in this country who's sole aim it is to keep Newfoundland and eastern Canada at a disadvantage. That way they can send us the transfer payments, scream that we are always on the take, use our under-employed people to keep the economic engines of Ontario and Alberta humming along and create anomosity amoung the general population towards the province by injecting people like Mike Duffy in the media to spout his inane BS. [/FONT]
You know the worst thing of it all is that if it wasn't for the maritimes in the first place, there wouldn't be a Canada, let alone the democracy we all use, which the west has bastardized into some kind of sick joke. The Maritimes was what brought the Rest of Canada to the world and vice versa......
At the time the Maritimes were a boom town overall.... but once everybody decided to develop westward, all the people and money went with it, figuring that we were perfectly well off..... but like an aging car, it never last very long if it's not maintained.... and then when we finally require some kind of assistence or help to balance ourselves out like the rest of the country, we'd get a couple of bones tossed our way here and there to shut us up, while everytime the west complained about their problems, they got it all.... citing our fishing and ports should keep us going.
Ports sorta.... fishing no.... as you explained above.
And since we've been trying to get a balance for so long, the west just considers us as beggers and a drain on
their nation..... oh... .and that we simply just don't want to work.
Sure, that would explain why so damn many maritimers flew out west to work on those sh*tty oil sands.... because there's no work here period.... everybody needs to live, so they'd rather work grunt work, like the old days of coal mining.... because they have no other choice.
And now the oil sands are slumping due to the economy..... and who's the first they cut off? The Maritimers who spent the effort to go all the way out there to try and make a living. Now so many are back in Cape Breton and elsewhere, right back to where they left off, it was a waste of time.
And of course those out west try and downplay it saying it's the typical seasonal slump.... yet the airline that carts these workers back and forth each week has discontinued its services..... so what does that tell you?
Quite honestly, I've been thinking we should just pull a Quebec and leave.... only maybe make our own nation or join back with the UK..... I'm sure they'd love to have our ports to trade more with the Americas in an easier fashion.
If "Canada" doesn't want us and we're just a hinder, then why not make it easy on them.... afterall, everybody out west are seperatists and out to destroy the nation anyways...... why not do what they expect?
Like they keep saying to us.... Screw em.
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Oh and just to keep things balanced, once we're gone, we'll
catapult Rodney MacDonald and Mike Duffy accross the wall to the West since they love them.... we sure as hell don't need em. (Of course Duffy will require rockets strapped to his ass to make sure he clears)
