More Election Talk

Why is the Premier suddenly talking about an autumn election, when he recently passed legislation stating that there would be fixed election dates? It makes you wonder what is going through his mind when he states that there may be some reason to go to the electorate a year before his mandate is finished.

We would presume that he has some insight on what his budget will look like next year and he will either have to make deep cuts into the civil service or increase taxes in order to pay for all his promises. We are only starting to feel the effects of the recession now, next year, when we feel the full impact of the downturn in the economy, we will see tax revenues plummet and there is no way the Premier will be able to deliver on all the promises he has made.

The cuts made to the public service this year were minor in comparison to what he will have to do next year if he wants to control spending at all. His MLAs in the Capitol region will be decimated and he desperately needs them to maintain his government. Never being someone who wants to deliver bad news, especially prior to an election, the Premier is contemplating calling an early election, renew his mandate and then bring all the bad news down blaming it on the recession stating he didn’t know it was going to be as bad as it is.

Don’t be fooled, if he does launch a campaign this year he will still make promises that he can’t keep. He states that he has done a good job of managing the economy and says that he will keep spending in check. Does anyone truly believe this? The Premier goes on talking about the transparency with his government and his plans, the only problem with the Premier and his transparency is that people will see right through it.

What a Difference a Day Makes

(or in this case, what a difference a couple of months makes.)

It seems the Department of Education is suddenly and unexpectedly short 10 million dollars. Education Minister Kelly Lamrock has devised an ingenious plan to fix the problem by forcing teachers to either accept more students in some classrooms or fewer resources for students in general. I guess Liberals support a teacher's right to choose.

Where did this budget shortfall come from anyway? Well, this "unexpected" deficit comes just couple of months after the Grits sat down with the Teachers union and signed an agreement to raise their salaries by 14.5%.

See all the smiles here:

http://www1.gnb.ca/cnb/multimedia/display-e.asp?ID=1745&num=1

You might ask, how much is a 14.5% increase worth? Well, if you assume the average salary for the 7,500 teachers is the province is $50,000 then the increase will be worth over $50 million in the last year alone.

Now we here at the NB Conservative may not be that good at math but we can read a calendar. On December 8th, the Graham Government admitted they had created a huge provincial deficit. On December 17th Minister Lamrock signed a deal with the teachers worth tens of millions of dollars. But it actually took the Liberal Government a couple of months to figure out - "Hey, we don't have the money to pay for those big pay raises for the teachers".

Minister Lamrock has a Letter to the Editor in the papers today where he incredibly states "Tough times call for tough decisions and frank discussions about new approaches."

Maybe that should read "Tough times call for big contracts and photo ops with politicians, followed by lower quality education for our kids."

Liberal. The L stands for Lobbyist.

Here at the New Brunswick Conservative, we are shocked at the level of incompetence the Graham government has attained.

Well, not really, that is kind of what you would call a Shawn Graham Guarantee*.

But we did not think it would become so obvious to so many in such a short period of time.

Well, that too is kind of what you would call a Shawn Graham Guarantee*.

We knew the Liberal bench was shallower than the Becaguimac in August, but we thought the senior bureaucrats King Shawn placed in important positions would be highly skilled, best-of-the-best and very qualified.

Well, that would also be termed a Shawn Graham Guarantee*.

But the fact is that the presidency of a major NB Crown Corporation was given to a political hack with no qualifications, simply because he was in the room when the 'good patronage jobs' were being handed out. How could that happen you say? Simple. The presidency of NB Liquor was given to the person who most helped Shawn take the Premier's chair. The former Executive Director of the Liberal Party of NB. Because everyone knows political party EDs are a proving ground for executives.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2009/04/13/nb-clendenning-conflict.html

Once even the left wing elites at the CBC point out the emperor (president of NB Liquor)has no clothes, you know it must be obscene. The Graham government has taken incompetence to a new low.

Evidently $140,00 per year to tour wineries around the globe and abuse New Brunswick consumers with exorbitant pricing is not enough. You must then socialize the beer making business and use accounting rules for toilet paper to fudge your numbers.

But wait, there is more. You get caught up in a conflict of interest investigation. But El Presidente has an out. He allegedly only took the money (the quid), he did not provide the 'pro quo'.

For those that do not know Latin (or do, since I am a product of the NB Education system), to make it clear, the allegation is the lobbyist took the 'Consulting Fee', but the Lobbyist did not deliver the required 'Patronage'

Corruption is a very harsh word. But sometimes only very blunt words will deliver a very blunt message. We have corruption at the highest levels of the Graham government, and it must be expunged.

If the Premier has any ethics left, he will ask the President of NB Liquor to resign, before the case comes before the judge.

NB Liquor needs to be led by someone with the skills required for the job. Maybe El Presidente could become the President of RDC and just shovel money around ridings that are winnable in 2010.

* This is not a Guarantee

St. Paddy’s Day Massacre - Brought to you by the Church of Self Sufficiency

The New Brunswick government delivered the budget today.

Massacre may be an understatement.

Here is the rundown:
Runaway Deficits
Hundreds of Civil Servants Fired
Higher Unemployment
Higher Debt

The 3/4 of a billion dollars in overspending is nothing more than Deferred Taxation. We are presently unsure to whom we are deferring it, but some possibilities include our kids, our grandkids, the rich, the poor, the middle class, our neighbours and friends. Pick who you think it will be.

This budget will go down in history as the worst budget this province has ever seen.

Welcome

Welcome to my blog, hopefully you will find something here that interests you, and I do hope you will contribute.

I am new to this, so will take any advice you offer, but will not necessarily listen.