MetaFilter posts tagged with dannywilliams

We got so much power now

Lemurrhea — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 03:43:33 -0800

Gros Morne National Park, tucked away on the west coast of Newfoundland, has long been a getaway for both naturalists and hiking buffs.[Warning: resizes browser] A panoramic view of select locations in or near the park. In 1987, Gros Morne was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. "The Park is a classic locality for understanding of earth's evolutionary history in terms of evolution of an ocean basin and evolution of a continental margin."[warning:pdf of unesco's evaluation] In addition to the earth rising from its grave, a significant portion of Newfoundland's research on all things aquatic is done at the Bonne Bay Marine Station. There is more to Gros Morne than just nature. It is home to the Trails, tales and Tunes festival and the Gros Morne Theatre Festival, among others. Recently, premier Danny Williams (prev) has proposed that a set of hydro lines running from Labrador's Lower Churchill plant could run through Gros Morne on their way to the (comparatively) heavily-populated regions of Newfoundland. Opponents are up in arms, claiming that "the national park could lose its United Nations designation as a World Heritage Site.". Premier Williams claims that rerouting the lines could cost $100 million, and wants the federal goverment to pitch in. Disclaimer: through friends & family, I probably know people involved with every business or NL group linked here. That's just how it works in small communities, I'm not shilling.

NAFTA vs the British North America Act

Pseudology — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 02:18:38 -0800

NAFTA treaty may face constitutional challenge in Canada. Premier Danny Williams Of Newfoundland and Labrador, already famous for his immensely successful ABC (Anything but Conservative) campaign during the 2008 federal election, is terminating the forestry tenure of AbitibiBowater and expropriating its assets. This move came as a response to AbitibiBowater's decision to close a newspaper mill. I have reposted the Globe and Mail Article to an empty blog because soon the link will require payment to access. Original link here This is about two things. First, it's about government actually enforcing resource contracts. Lumber mills and Aluminum smelters have been closing all over Canada not because they're no longer profitable but because it became much more profitable to close the mills and sell power from the hydro plants they were only allowed to build on an implied or contractual agreement that required them to run a mill or smelter. Even written contracts haven't been enforced. Newfoundland is finally doing something to put a stop to this trend that has made resource companies buckets of money and put thousands of Canadians out of work. Secondly this is about the abuse Federal Law when it comes to international agreements. Provinces are constitutionally guarunteed the right to manage their own resources. Constitutionally, this decision cannot be interfered with by the federal government. This has been tested in the courts. But the federal government has the sole right to make international agreements. The question is, can it bind provinces to these agreements without their consent? Hypothetically it can't. But this has never been tested in the courts before. Danny Williams has unanimous popular support. If he wins this one he could probably run for Prime Minister and win by a landslide.

Vote in my space.

gman — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 18:40:36 -0800

Newfoundland's Progressive Conservative Premier registered his Anything But Conservative campaign today with Elections Canada. The same agency also deemed that the online vote swap on Facebook is in fact legal. They're hiring.