I read an interesting piece in the Atlantic earlier this month on the heels of the release of the new sensation “Fire and Fury” and in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein and the #MeToo events. The crux of the article is that if you know there is a problem and you continue to say or do nothing about it, then you are complicit.
Like many before me, I have used this column to raise awareness about overspending by government, especially the Government of Newfoundland Labrador.
The clear facts of this matter are astounding. There is not one person in this province who could dispute that we have a fiscal crisis on our hands. The provincial government has publicly acknowledged it, and the St. John’s Board of Trade and other organizations have repeatedly said it.
It is the topic of conversation in many households in the province and in the news.
Simply put, we are spending more than we receive each and every year.
We generate more money per capita than any other province. We have the benefit of a vast array of natural resources that will see the inflow of royalties and revenue for many years.
Yet we simply cannot manage to balance the provincial budget and control our spending. The debt load of this province continues to rise, with no relief in sight.
Most recently, we have seen the government negotiate a no-layoff guarantee for the public sector, and agree to what, I estimate, could tally to a half-a-billion lump-sum payout to all its employees. All this is occurring while we must borrow to cover our current bills.
Yes, we have a sparsely populated province, which brings challenges to service delivery and, yes, we have an aging population and a declining one at that. These are facts we must all acknowledge.
Why does the government continue to spend beyond our means and why are we not outraged by the fact that it continues to do so? Why are we not calling on the government to do the right thing — to control spending in a real and meaningful manner?
Are we expecting a magic bullet? Are we hoping that the price of oil will skyrocket and suddenly fix all our woes? Or, like the prodigal son, do we hope that the federal government will ignore our lack of self-discipline and bail us out?
I see the current stewards of the province’s finances continue to kick the can down the road. They rely on popular vote, and their poll numbers are good. Can we blame them for not making the tough choices and the difficult decisions when we are all burying our head in the sand and not sending them a message of the critical need for change?
To say nothing, and hope it will correct itself, is irresponsible to the next generation, and it is complicit.
It is not only our elected officials who are complicit — everyone who says, “Not in my backyard,” is complicit, too.
At some point, we will reach the point of no return, where bankruptcy will be a real, imminent threat, and where we may very well lose the ability to choose for ourselves. Commission of government has happened before and it can happen again.
To expect Ottawa to bail us out is naïve. First, we have only seven seats in Parliament. We do not carry significant enough weight to expect a bailout.
Second, the natural question from them would be, what have you done with the money you had? You have the highest revenue per capita. What did you do to control your costs?
We have a fiscal crisis on our hands, and we are close to losing control of our own destiny and the ability to choose for ourselves. It is difficult to hear these words. It was so much more enjoyable to hear the cries of a former premier say, “We are no longer a have-not province!”
But the reality is stark. The most vulnerable will suffer the most. The first programs to be cut will be those that have no advocates, and those who are not part of a union.
We are already seeing a spike in patrons to food banks in our province and to outreach places like the Gathering Place and the Salvation Army. We will drive our kids away in droves. We are once again seeing an increase in outmigration.
Our children and grandchildren will suffer because of our mistakes, our complacency and our willingness to live in hope of a magic solution, and our not having the courage to accept the situation that we are in and ask — no, demand — that our politicians make the difficult choices.
We are the change we seek. It is up to us to say to the government, “Make the difficult choices #forthem.”
As a province, we have so much potential. We have one of the most beautiful places on Earth, with the friendliest people in the world. We are acknowledged over the world for those attributes. People should be lining up at the border asking to move here.
But we are squandering our future, all for the sake of the now, all for the sake of not being willing to accept the fiscal situation we are in and hit it head on.
Stop pointing fingers and stop rubbing the genie’s lamp. Stop being complicit. Remember, the decisions we make today will forever impact our children. Let’s not be complicit — #forthem.
Dorothy Keating is the chair of the St. John’s Board of Trade.
