Let me explain. A few weeks ago, Parrott rose in the “Special Debate” in the House to speak on the Tories new Churchill Falls deal with Quebec. It wasn’t an actual debate; it was a fast-track rubber stamp. It passed by a slim majority (21-18). The strategy was to get it passed, and quickly. Quebec wants it, Ottawa wants it. The Tories had the votes (just barely). All they had to do was get through it.

So why did Parrott pick a fight?

To my mind he made a couple of gaffes. First, during a speech in the House about this very contentious issue he decided to deride some of the people opposed to the deal. He attempted to marginalise them as “do nothings” on the internet. It seems he meant to say these were people who preferred not to make a deal with Quebec, just sit out the remaining years of the original lop-sided contract. I think he meant these people preferred to do nothing. It came across to many as deriding people on the internet as people who do nothing.

Will this be a rallying point in a fight not yet over?

Parrott and his colleagues got elected for a bunch of reasons, but near the top was the voters dislike of the Liberal’s Churchill Falls deal and their promise to have a referendum on any deal they could strike. Then they broke that promise. Was that a mistake? Time will tell.

Then Parrott taunted his opponents. He seemed to deride social media as a bit of a joke.

As mainstream media dies a slow death, is mocking folks on the internet wise? Will this be an instance where social media is harnessed to effect change? Stop the deal? Bring the Tories to heel? Will Newfoundlands online feel their oats?

When I worked in the House of Assembly one of the tasks my colleague and I were asked to perform was to vet speeches for politicians. Everyone needs an editor, no one more than a politician giving a speech. We often picked up on things our bosses wanted to say but maybe shouldn’t.

Had I been working for Parrott I would have highlighted that part and asked him if he really wanted to poke the bear? Stir up a wasp’s nest? As a former legislative reporter who listened to a million droning speeches that phrase jumped out.

Why give comfort and motivation to your opponents? If he had not mocked those folks, his speech would have just dissolved into all the other hot air no one was covering. The House was open four days. Everyone spoke. Do any of us remember a word?

There is no doubt social media will replace mainstream media. There is no doubt it will become a force in politics. I have no idea how or when but it’s coming.

From what I can see Parrott’s jab ticked people off. It also gave them a rallying point. Many online are now calling themselves Do Nothings. There are some trying to organize a Do Nothing movement.

Students of American history will remember Democratic President Harry Truman’s attacks on the Republican’s “Do Nothing Congress” back in the 1940s. To this day that phrase is used as a political slur in the US. It was used this year (Google it). Parrott can be excused if he did not know that. A capable editor not so much.

The Tories are going to act like it’s a done deal and try and distract us with other issues. It will be up to the Do Nothings, and others, to force the issue. Keep it foremost in people’s minds. Mainstream media won’t do that. Social media may.

Will this be the first instance of a new power in our politics – the power of the internet? Will it bring “Do Nothings” together as one to defeat the hated agreement rammed through without the promised referendum?

Or will the online community remain a divided, fractious, disorganized free for all it has been so far?

Has Parrott inadvertently started something? Is this the proverbial tiny crack in the damn that slowly spreads until the dam fails. Or is it just ho-hum? Am I just blowing smoke? Time will tell.

Either way I predict its going to be hellish interesting. 

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com

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By Ivan Morgan

I have always hated authority of any kind, and that has often made my life unnecessarily hard. Here’s one of the times it didn’t.

Many decades ago, I was the single father of four kids, trying to keep everybody’s bodies and souls together, and like most 40-year-olds I was awash in a sea of responsibilities and troubles.  In addition to the several jobs I worked to pay for everything, I was a volunteer for activities my kids were in. I was a soccer coach and a cub leader. As you can imagine I was a very busy boy.

Authority in my mind has always extended to calendars. The calendar said it was mid-October, well into Fall. The calendar said one thing, but the weather said another. I listened to the weather.

In those days I worked on Water Street and lived in St. Phillips. I remember it was an aggravating day at work. What about I don’t remember. I remember a government official, with a bad haircut and polyester tie and jacket reading me the riot act. He was angry and aggressive. What about? I don’t remember. I was told under no circumstances was I to be late in the morning. Again, I don’t remember why.

I was getting flak from all sides. I do remember the day was bright and warm on Water – a moody late summer afternoon with a hot sun and no wind. I decided to leave early. Not ask to leave early, just go. It was such a glorious day. Too lovely for what I was going through.

I was home when the school bus dropped the kids home. They were astonished. I never did that. I was the responsible one. The one that made sure everything was done. The glue, if you will, that held everything, and everyone, together. Any single parent reading this knows exactly what I am talking about.

We were well into the school year; it was a typical weekday with our tasks, duties and lives mapped out for us: supper, homework, laundry, meals prepped for tomorrow, TV and bed. Another busy day tomorrow. On that glorious afternoon I just didn’t care.

I said to the kids, “Let’s go swimming then have a barbecue.” Swimming? Seriously?

There was no resistance. No “What about homework?”  No “But my favourite show is on soon.” No “But it’s a school night.” It was a golden evening, and we soon found ourselves on the wharf.

I took the lead, plunging into the water. Soon we were all in. I can still remember the smell of warm creosote and cool ocean. After a glorious dip, wrapped in towels, we ambled back to the house.

I fired up the barbecue, we all got dry clothes, and sat around the deck. My oldest made a salad. It was dusk by six, a red sun shining gold over the ocean and bathing us in that lovely fall light. The leaves were turning but it was warm. Magic.

I was in a funny mood. I told the kids we are all staying home tomorrow – no school, no work, just pipping off. That way we could stay up late and sleep in.  Again, no argument. We sat in the dark roasting stuff on the barbecue. Later we curled up and watched movies. Hell, I even had a few beers – a total weekday no-no for me.

I remember that evening because I learned something. The calendar assigns holidays, the state, your employer and the school system enforce when and what you do: weekends, shifts, semesters: when to work and when to relax.

Sometimes you have to make your own holiday. Sometimes pipping off is key to living. Sometimes – not often – you have to just say to hell with it.

We all know the world today is overwhelming. It was then too. I am not saying drop out or run away. Stay an active member of society, teach your young ones the same. But also teach them how to pip off. Teach them not to be ruled by calendars, timetables and everyone else’s drama.

If it’s a nice day, once in a while choose not to be stuck in traffic, not to make sure the homework is all done, not to address the latest work crisis.

If it’s a nice day, turn your back on all of that, pip off and take everyone swimming.

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com

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It’s puzzling. Candidate Tony Wakeham promises voters a referendum on a new Churchill Falls deal with Quebec. Later, Premier Tony Wakeham says there is no time for a referendum. Cynical move. Right out of an old political playbook.

Candidate Tony Wakeham says there is no need to rush into an agreement with Quebec. Then later, Premier Tony Wakeham tells a gathering of NL Trades members, “We need to get building right away. We need to get this deal done today, and we need to act now.” More from the old playbook.

What is puzzling though is that Premier Tony Wakeham then does something stupid. Like promise the Innu in Labrador an “independent” audit of the records in the Provincial Archaeological Office (PAO).

The Innu are unhappy about the PAO’s view that they’ve only resided in Labrador for a few centuries. The Labrador Innu contend they have resided in Labrador for thousands of years. And what makes this disagreement a top-of-mind issue for Premier Tony Wakeham is he needs the Labrador Innu onside in his Churchill Falls deal.

The Premier seems to think an “independent” audit may discover a dust covered box, full of artifacts hidden away in the back of a storage room in the bowels of the Confederation Building, those artifacts will support the Innu claim, and then they’ll be happy partners in his Churchill Falls deal.

The Stupid Part?

There is no dust-covered box of artifacts waiting to be discovered. All of the evidence in the Provincial Archaeological Office has been disclosed over the course of several years in two trials of Innu caribou hunters charged with violating provincial wildlife regulations.

Premier Wakeham, want to see the PAO’s collection of artifacts? Want to review the evidence? Go read the transcripts of the two trials.  

Unfortunately, neither of the two trials reached a verdict. The charges were stayed so the Province and the Innu never got the benefit of the ruling of an “independent” auditor in a Labrador courtroom.

An “Independent” Audit

Before Tony Wakeham announced an “independent” audit of the PAO he could have asked himself this question and this is part of the stupid part. Would the Innu have accepted the judgement of a court in Labrador if it found the evidence of the PAO more convincing than the Innu version of history?  

If you checked the “doubtful” box, then Tony Wakeham doesn’t need an “independent” audit. He needs an archaeologist whose interpretation of the collection of artifacts aligns with the Innu view of their history. That is Tony Wakeham’s immediate need and that should not be a problem.

Archaeologists disagree about lots of things and finding one or several who favour the Innu’s view of their history is easy. Nobody is going to unearth a conspiracy. Different archaeologists interpret artifacts differently.

Or… There is an alternative. If Tony Wakeham really cared about whether the Innu have been in Labrador for 300 years or 3,000 years, then he could skip the differing archaeological interpretations of the artifacts.

Tony Wakeham could ask for DNA testing. The Innu could demand it. Does the DNA of the Innu in Labrador today match the DNA of the remains of early occupants whose gravesites have been identified by archaeological field research?

Don’t expect Tony Wakeham to do it or the Innu to demand it. Ask yourself, why not? Then resign yourself to the fact that Tony Wakeham’s “independent” audit isn’t going to arrive at a definitive answer to the question of how long the Innu have been in Labrador. At best it will just be another opinion by another archaeologist that will fail to satisfy ever

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By Ivan Morgan

It’s hard writing a column with your parents looking over your shoulder, but here we are.

Since the new Churchill Falls MOU flap began in August, I have been haunted by my mother and father (both gone).  I could write about anything this week, but I was raised a certain way, and I was taught there are times when issues are just too important to not discuss them. There comes a point where you have to pick sides. Especially if ghosts from the past are staring at you with furrowed brows and arms folded. So, I confess I am against what people are calling the MOU2.

The Shoreline’s production schedule means this was written last week – and a week can be an eternity in politics (remember I had John Hogan and the Liberals winning the last election – whoops. So, take all this in context.

I went to a rally on the steps of the Confederation Building this morning not really expecting much but came away enthused. As a journalist I see my role as reporting what’s happening, not picking sides. As a columnist I write what I see, and I can and do pick sides. Like the people at the rally today, I think this new MOU2 deal with Quebec is not good enough.

I have been to many protests on the steps of the Confederation Building over the decades, and as protests go this one was predictable. Great signs, lots of speeches, some chanting.

I was encouraged by the number of souls who showed up on a Monday lunchtime, although they were mostly old timers like me. There were young people there and that was encouraging. A person recognized me as a Shoreline columnist and pointed out that – just like so many times before – there were no women speakers. She was angry about that.

That interested me because this column was originally going to feature my father, who was always angry about the original Churchill Falls deal. I changed that to featuring my parents. My mother and father had a partnership. They fought Joe Smallwood together. They both fired me up about politics. They were both horrified by the 1969 Churchill Falls contract. It was not a good deal back then, that was hammered into my 10-year-old brain.

And frankly, neither is this MOU2. Hence the protest. I would not be their son if I didn’t say something. On some level the Wakeham government also knows this is a bad deal as they have gone back on their promised referendum and are trying to fast-track it and hope they get away with it. They hope people will have short memories. It’s up to all of us, men and women, to speak out against this deal as one voice and try and get a better one.

We cannot be divided by anything, whether gender, race, or political beliefs. We must stay united. This deal will be in effect until my grandchildren, if they stay here, and that’s a big if, retire.

I spoke to the organizers about the lack of women speakers, and they said they really tried to find a woman speaker but had no luck.

Like so many rallies of the past, we started with the Ode to Newfoundland; everyone singing loud and proud. We got to “As loved our fathers, so we love. Where once they stood, we stand.”  That needs to be changed. It ticks off many women. It should say parents. I think we mostly agree on that. But this is not the fight. Proponents of the MOU2 will do whatever they can to divide us, ignore us, mock us, dismiss us. We cannot let these other issues divide us.

Maybe I am a romantic old fool whose time has passed, but I believe in this place, and I believe we have the right to be the principal beneficiary of our resources, including Churchill River power. My parents instilled this in me. MOU2 does not grant us that.

We need to stand up and exert our rights. We need to make ourselves heard. We need to stand our ground. We need to be a single united voice on this one. We need to stop this deal.

If we don’t maybe Hilroy was right.

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com

The post Time to pick sides on the new Churchill deal appeared first on The Shoreline News.

In a previous role, I was in a position that afforded the time and privilege of going through every detail I could find regarding the Muskrat Falls agreement. I read thousands of pages of research and reports, empaneled local experts on law and hydropower, and called upon the resources of a skilled research team in the Opposition Office led by Joy Buckle who had assembled perhaps the smartest group of Opposition staffers the province had seen in decades. And their talents were badly needed, because the Opposition at that time had only four members, two of whom were often on sick leave and a third who wasn’t available for other reasons. Burgeo – LaPoile In their absence, MHA Kelvin Parsons carried the Opposition Office on his back and made a good job of it.

From the get-go, it was obvious the Muskrat Falls scheme was just that — a scheme. Only an idiot, a cynic, or someone who hadn’t done the research could support it. Turns out there were many such people around. Very few had done the research, including the ministers and MHAs on the government side who promoted it, or the leading lights in the media.

It was a terrible deal and a shameful decision by Premier Kathy Dunderdale to ram it through the legislature.

Muskrat Falls was worse than the Churchill Falls deal because our government hatched it and entered into it willingly. It wasn’t forced to go along with a bad deal as Joey had to when the Province of Quebec and Hydro Quebec had us over a barrel in the 1960s.

Twice burnt, it turns out, has finally made for the third time shy.

I don’t know if this new Churchill Falls deal is good or not. I haven’t had the time to go through it like I did Muskrat Falls. I do know we have given up a lot over the intervening years since the first one was signed, such as when Premier Brian Tobin gave Hydro Quebec veto power on the board of CFL(Co) which controls Churchill Falls.

We have been given such a screwing by Quebec since 1969, and by Nova Scotia since Muskrat Falls was implemented, that Newfoundlanders are finally tired of taking it and looking for someone to blame. That’s the tone of the voices of people who called Open Line and demonstrated at Confederation Building ahead of the vote in the legislature – suspicion and rage.

But we shouldn’t let anger cloud our judgement. Opposing this deal for the sake of opposing it is as wrongheaded as those ‘Millionaires for Muskrat’ who bought television ads blindly supporting that $16.5 billion boondoggle.

When the Liberals proposed the first version of this deal before last fall’s election, one of their selling points was that Quebec was going to pay for it and we were going to benefit from it. The adage that, ‘He who pays the piper, calls the tune’ immediately came to mind. Were we giving up control of our resource for a few more shekels from power sales? I don’t know.

Version two of this deal appears to have been pressed upon us by Prime Minister Mark Carney who is desperate for some kind of economic good news in the face of Trump’s tariffs, and a provincial election in Quebec which may bring the resurgence of separatists. It was under that weight that Carney pressured Premier Tony Wakeham into cancelling the promised referendum on this deal. It’s hard to say no to a prime minister when the country’s back is against the wall.

And while the vote has been taken in the legislature to approve the memorandum of understanding with Quebec, this is not a done deal. We have until spring to officially sign it. Quebec’s election may change some things before that. It leaves a few more months to try to understand this deal so that we can say with confidence whether it is good, or bad.

Either way, we must accept that the only way we are ever going to amend the original Churchill Falls deal or sign a new one that gives us a better return, is by working in partnership with Quebec. We may own the river, but they control the geography between Labrador and the North American market. So, let’s keep an open mind, open ears, and see if we can figure out if it’s win-win this time, and not win-lose. Let’s not condemn it out of the gate because we’re mad. If we’re going to condemn it, we owe it to ourselves to understand why.

editor@theshoreline.ca

The post Let’s keep an open mind appeared first on The Shoreline News.

By Ivan Morgan

There’s an old expression that says 80 percent of success is simply showing up. I wish I had understood that better in my youth. In my dotage I try to make people see the truth of it.

That’s especially true in politics. If someone has a campaign, show up. If you have opinions about stuff, voice them. Don’t be silenced. Show up, be counted.

It’s true for protests. If you feel strongly about something, and someone is organizing a protest, show up. Be heard. Can’t physically show up? Make yourself heard anyway. Will you achieve your goal? Maybe not. But energy breeds energy. Showing up is better than not.

A group of people – NL Proud on Facebook – are trying to organize a protest against the Wakeham Tories Churchill Falls MOU. They want to gather on the steps of the Confederation Building on September 14^th – that’s the day the Tories are opening the House for a special session to “debate” the new deal. In fact, what they will be doing is rubber stamping it, part of their fast-track plan, banking on most of us not caring.

It would be great if 10,000 people showed up, but it’s a Monday morning. Labour Day has passed; everyone is back to the grind. School is starting. People have lives.

Can’t make it? I think it’s imperative that you speak out in any way you see fit. 

What about this new deal? We know the Tories want it. We know Quebec wants it. We know the federal Liberals want it. Do we? We were promised the ability to have a say, and the Tories seem to be poised to break that promise.

We all should care. There are a growing number of people who say the Wakeham Tories’ new agreement with Quebec isn’t good enough. Maybe it is and maybe it isn’t. My sticking point, as I wrote last month, is they campaigned on a promise to give us a say.

What do you think? That’s what’s important. Are they afraid we won’t accept it? Read that line again. Who is working for who?

This is a very important decision. I did a straw poll of people I know, and most of those whom I asked think Wakeham’s Tories got elected on the promise of a referendum. There seems to be a lot of pressure from forces outside this province to get this deal signed ASAP without us having a say. Why?

If you’re one of the people who is not keen on the deal, or one of the people who wants a say on this deal, you need to show up. We all need to show up on this issue. Maybe not on the Confederation Building steps on a Monday morning, but somehow.

There are lots of ways of being heard – of showing up. We need to e-mail Tory MHAs. We need to Facebook them. We need to let the media know. We need to not be ignored, not this time, not on this issue.

In my lifetime I have seen governments cave in to public pressure. Not often but it can happen. It needs to happen now.

Pressure, real pressure, will not be ignored. You might think your little text or call doesn’t mean much. Just like 10 people on the steps of the Confederation Building don’t mean much. But hundreds and thousands of such actions matter. Thousands of such messages will get attention.

Showing up matters. Speaking out matters. We are being denied a basic democratic right that we were promised.  

The Wakeham Tories were not given a mandate to cut a deal with Quebec and sign off on it. They were given a mandate, by us, to cut that deal and let us vote on it.

What does one say about a group of politicians who break such a fundamental promise? Don’t show up, don’t speak out and those politicians will have their answer.

The premier, the Tory party, the federal Liberals, and Quebec do not seem to want you to have your say. They are banking on you not caring enough to speak out, not caring enough to get involved, not caring enough to send a message, not caring enough to show up.

Care.

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com

The post Show the politicians that you care appeared first on The Shoreline News.

By Ivan Morgan

An expert is defined as someone who has spent over 10,000 hours studying or doing something. Well, I have spent that much time over the years trying to understand the history of the Churchill Falls hydro issue, but I am no expert. I have spent the last little while reading others’ opinions on the new deal. I find the whole thing utterly fascinating.

Some preliminary thoughts.

We have all heard of fantasy football and fantasy hockey, where you get to pick your team. I am not big into sports but thought I would indulge some fantasy politics.

If I had a half hour with US President Donald Trump, I could fix our Churchill Falls problem.

Hear me out (and no, I haven’t lost my mind.) I would explain Canada to him. Churchill Falls perfectly explains how Canada works. Unlike the USA, where all 50 States get two seats in their Senate – little Wyoming, population 588,000 souls, and California, population 39.36 million, both have two seats. Our House of Commons works differently. Quebec has 78 seats. Newfoundland has seven. More votes, more power.  That’s why the Churchill Falls hydro facility, which is our resource, in our province, makes billions for Quebec and very little for us. That’s why the federal government will not force Quebec to treat us fairly. Despite owning this incredible asset, our province is mired in poverty. These are facts.

I would explain to His Orangeness that while Quebec demands “fair” treatment from the rest of Canada and the USA, when it comes to dealing with us, the shoe is on the other foot.

I would offer Melania’s husband a very short history lesson (to match his rumoured short attention span). We were once our own nation. We were so hopeless we voted ourselves out of democracy in favour of being run by a committee. Then World War Two happened and the Americans arrived and gave us an incredible economic shot in the arm. After the war a political party was formed to push for a return to democracy, self-rule and economic union with the USA. Britain and Canada would not allow them to be on the Confederation referendum ballot.

That’s how Churchill Falls happened. There’s more but remember the attention span thing.

Now the federal government has shown up with $10 billion of Canadian money to try to convince us to sign another less than perfect long-term power contract with Quebec. More money than before but still not very much. It’s a complex deal but the bottom line is Quebec doesn’t want to pay much for our power and wants us to sign for another 50 years. I would ask the President’s help in getting more money and a shorter contract from Quebec.

How would he do it? Don’t know. Would he do it? Don’t know. If I approached Trump the federal Liberals would scream we are dealing with Satan the Devil and so forth, we are betraying Canada, holler about national unity and “elbows up.” Who cares about any of that if we get more money from our resource? Money we need. From a resource we own.

I would ask Trump to demand Canada show true national unity by forcing Quebec to cut a fairer deal for our power. They depend on profits from selling our cheap power to the US at a fabulous markup. They depend on our power to keep their own rates low. Much lower than ours. It’s our resource. We want low rates too. And we could sell it to the Americans for less than Quebec – why not if we got the profits?

For my entire life politicians have scored easy points making Quebec the bad guy. They are not. Their job is to get the best deal they can for their province – their people. That is also our job. Which is why I would try and sell Trump on this. When Quebec had the advantage, they used it. In my fantasy I convince Trump to level the playing field, get a good rate for his people, and piss off Ottawa too (obviously one of his favourite things to do)!

I am not a Trump lover. I am not unpatriotic (whatever that means). Canada is a federation. Quebecers are Quebecers first, Canadians second. I am a Newfoundlander first, and a Canadian second. That’s how federations work.

We have suffered because of this federation. Is it unCanadian to want to be the principal beneficiary of our own resource? Getting Trump’s help is unthinkable but allowing another province to profit from our resource isn’t? 

Why seek Trump’s help? We need real help and Canada ain’t giving it.

Ivan Morgan ca be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com

Editor’s Note: I don’t often take issue with my friend Ivan, but there are two things in this column I have to rebut. First, that “our province is mired in poverty.” On a per capita basis, and in actuality, Newfoundland and Labrador is fabulously rich compared with many other jurisdictions. Since the oil royalties started rolling in, we’ve had a spending problem, not a too little revenue problem. Second, “We were so hopeless we voted ourselves out of democracy in favour of being run by a committee.” Again, I disagree. Newfoundland politics between the Great War and the late 1940s was no more corrupt, nor its politicians more incompetent than those of many other countries. Sadly, our leaders and business class bought into the notion that because of some scandals and pressing public debt we were incapable of governing ourselves, an idea that should have been dismissed on the face of it. When the Newfoundland government voted itself out of existence in 1934 in favour of Commission of Government, it was with the intention of “taking a break from politics,” not giving up independence altogether. Many a book and thesis have been written on what happened afterwards to divert us away from a return to self government.

The post If I could talk to Trump appeared first on The Shoreline News.

In case that was not clear enough, Mr. Wakeham promises to “submit any final deal on Churchill Falls and Gull Island to a public referendum so all us can have our say.”  The crowd cheers some more.

 October 16, 2025:  A month later soon-to-be-Premier Tony Wakeham stands in front of his cheering supporters to claim a victory in the Provincial election. Churchill Falls? Wakeham says, “Once we get the final negotiations done, however long it takes, then yes, we will bring it to the people of Newfoundland and Labrador to have its say . . .but I will not be rushed.”

August 17, 2026:  Premier Tony Wakeham is joined by Quebec Premier Christine Frechette and Prime Minister Mark Carney to announce his Churchill Falls deal. So long suckers. There will be no referendum.

Wakeham says, “In my conversations with the Prime Minister one thing has been clear, there is a need to move fast.”  Wait a minute Tony!  What happened to, “I will not be rushed”?  Oh, right, the election is over and the script has shifted to, “The time is now.  The urgency is now.”

September 14, 2026:  Want to have your say, the one Tony said “all of us can have” when he launched his campaign?    

Tony is going to give you a special sitting of the Legislature on September 14th, just a couple of weeks away. Tony says the Members of the House of Assembly will “scrutinize the deal on behalf of their constituents.”  

Hmmm?  A couple of weeks to not only digest the 71-page deal memo, but “scrutinize it” and we know that reading skills are not the strong suit of every member of Tony’s Cabinet. 

Like to wager on political events?  There are 21 PC members in the House of Assembly? How many PC members are going to vote in favour of the deal Tony had to “move fast on.”  Putting your money on 21 is probably the smart play.

The post Uh-Oh Pinocchio appeared first on The Shoreline News.

“I will not sign any deal that Newfoundlanders and Labradorians do not approve in a referendum.” Tony Wakeham, October 14, 2025.

There must be a referendum on the Churchill Falls deal.

The Premier has gone back on his promise – made the day he launched his election campaign – to have a referendum on any new Churchill Falls deal with Quebec. Instead, he says, there will be a special session of the House of Assembly.

Is it déjà vu all over again? Am I the only one who gets an uneasy feeling about this?

A debate in the House? The House is controlled by his government. This is not a decision that should be in the hands of the people who negotiated the deal. This is a very big decision which we should all make together. A debate in the House means it’s a done deal. It should not be.

I have been involved in several referendums, but the one we didn’t have is the one I regret the most. That was also about a deal so fabulous it didn’t need a referendum.

There should have been a referendum on Muskrat Falls. I believe a referendum on that project would have saved us all billions and billions of bucks. 

I worked in the House of Assembly at the time, and the arrogance of the government side was something to see. They had nothing but dripping contempt for us in the opposition, and disdain for the few who questioned the project publicly. They were certain they were right; it was a great project, and nothing could go wrong. They were not interested in opposition, they were not in interested in debate, they mocked the idea of a referendum.

They told the public not to worry. It was a brilliant project. In fact, they said it was the most studied project in history! ‘A referendum? All the experts say it’s a great project, who cares what some Joe on the street thinks?’

I did. I have faith in the Joes on the street.

Government did not. Instead, government relied on a slick communications campaign to convince a trusting, unsuspecting public. We got to scream into the wind.

We all know what happened.

This can’t happen again. I am not saying this is another Muskrat Falls. Maybe this is a terrific deal. I am saying we must have a say. We were promised a say. 

The Premier promised. Democracy is important. This deal is important. What you and I think – despite what the “experts” and the government think – is important. I have been told recently that this new deal is “too complex” for average folks to understand. We’ve heard that one before.

If it’s as good as they say it is, then what’s the worry? If they are confident it’s a winner, a referendum shouldn’t faze them.

How many centuries, how many more generations are going to have to pass before Newfoundlanders stop being told to abide by the decisions of their “betters.” 

We didn’t get to decide whether to join Canada. Not really. That was decided by our “betters.” We didn’t get to decide on Muskrat Falls, (a project obviously doomed from the get-go) and it ended up costing us $13.5 billion to date and counting. Now again we will have no say? It’s enough to make you weep.

A referendum does pose problems. Will opponents try to use sleazy tactics to win? Sure. But we are smarter than that. Besides, it looks like government has already started, bribing us with a 15 percent rebate of our own money. Makes my head spin.

The details of this deal need to be debated in public and then voted on by all of us. That’s why we voted for the Tories. We will have our say, which is the way it should be, and we will live with the consequences.

I have nothing but faith in the people of this province to chose what they think is right for their future. Clearly government does not. This broken promise shows us all what faith this government has in us. Perhaps we should reassess our faith in them.

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com

The post The average Joe deserves a say on Churchill deal appeared first on The Shoreline News.

A Work in Progress

Let’s hope the weather clears up for a few nights of stargazing. August for me is a month of letting go, relaxing, recharging. A good way to do that is to stargaze – enjoy the night sky. It’s very peaceful. You must get away from urban light, but that’s not the challenge here that it is in other parts of the world.

We have celestial events in August. I love the Perseids, a so-called meteor shower that’s actually the Earth passing through the debris trail of a comet. August 11- 13 is the best time, but it can be spectacular even after that. If you really want to see honest to God fireballs, this is for you.

Or on any clear night you can just lie on your back in a dark place and look up. If you are into constellations, there are books and websites that can help you out. Personally, I have always thought they were out-dated and kind of silly, made up by ancients with way too much time on their hands. Make up your own constellations. It’s more fun.

What you are looking at is our corner of the universe; and while you are staring at it, here are a few facts to boggle your mind and the minds of people who are gazing with you.

Our solar system is on one wing of our galaxy, which we call the Milky Way; a spiral galaxy of over 100 billion stars, like our sun, held together by gravity, the centre being a black hole with gravity so strong light cannot escape it. Speaking of light, a light year is the distance light travels in one of our years (299,792 kilometers per second). Our galaxy is over 100,000 light years across. (How far is that? You do the math, I hate math).

Ready for more silly numbers? Recent research indicates there are two trillion galaxies in what is known as the observable universe. That’s what we can see. Some say there are more stars in the universe than there are grains of sand on all the world’s beaches. Some say that’s bunk. You can google the arguments and boggle your brain further. (Too many numbers. I remind you I hate math.)

And as I am taking you on a boggle-a-thon, while you are staring at all this, another thing to remember is you are time travelling. Most of what you see is no longer there, as light from even close galaxies can take millions of years to reach your eyes. And they are moving away from us. You are looking at images older than our species. What you see is how they looked millions of years ago.

Now consider our planet is spinning on its axis at up to 1,674 kilometers per hour while travelling around the sun at 107,229 kilometers an hour, while our solar system moves around the Milky Way at roughly 828,000 kilometres per hour. The Milky Way galaxy itself travels through space at about 2.1 million kilometres per hour relative to the cosmic background.

Does all this overwhelming silliness mean anything?

To each their own, but it reminds me how important we are to each other, and how miraculous we all are. It reminds me that none of us are here for very long and we have only each other. To me it underscores how important it is we all care for each other.

We are here in the middle of a nothingness too vast to comprehend. We are very much on our own. If we don’t care for each other, nothing else will.

All that vastness we have managed to figure out. Wouldn’t it be great if we could figure out how to get along with each other?

Ivan Morgan can be reached at ivan.morgan@gmail.com

The post The message is in the stars appeared first on The Shoreline News.