Friends, our last provincial election was May 16, 2019, less than two years ago. In that election all of us who voted elected a minority government. The people spoke! There was a hope of doing politics differently.
A minority government meant all parties had to work together, and they did. It gave a greater chance for better governance through opposition parties holding government to account, challenging government to make decisions and policies in the best interests of the people, and that all MHAs would have input into solutions. And it was working!
This current election, called by Premier Andrew Furey, was premature and not legally nor functionally necessary at this time. There are a number of issues that folks felt were problematic, including calling an election before releasing the report from the Premier’s Economic Recovery Team headed by Dame Moya Greene. Some folks felt Furey should have delivered a budget prior to any election so people could see where he stands, what his plans for the province are and what he is offering.
Then there’s calling an election in the middle of a pandemic and during February, the month with the most uncertain weather, with snow storms, low temperatures, strong winds. It creates a very complex set of problems and challenges, as we are now seeing. Campaigning was really hard on voters and candidates alike. People were reluctant to open their doors to candidates, and with many people having switched to cellphones and cancelled their landlines, it was hard for campaigns to reach voters by phone as they no longer had valid phone numbers for people.
Now, because of this devastating spike in COVID-19 numbers, we have an election crisis where some people will not have been able to vote through no fault of their own.
What should have happened? We voted less than two years ago, electing a minority government with strong oppositions parties and independents to work together during this really tough time for our province. All parties and MHAs should have continued to work together to hold steady and help all our people safely get through this pandemic. All parties and MHAs should have continued to work together to find solutions to our economic problems and to plan a sustainable future. Throwing us into an unnecessary, premature and badly timed election has taken the focus away from working on the huge problems facing our province. It has stopped the important work all MHAs should be doing right now.
Calling an unnecessary election at this time has actually created more problems for our people.
Furey promised us a new way of doing politics, with transparency and consultation and accountability. I was excited. I was hopeful.
But instead, he did the opposite of what he promised. He sacrificed the health and well-being of the people of N.L. and irresponsibly called an election for his own political gain, during the worst time of the year. He was coy about when he would call the election and said it was his privilege alone to decide when it would be. He announced the date for the election and the same day the writ was dropped. That is the antithesis of the spirit of fixed election dates. And it appears he called it without consulting with our chief medical officer of health, Dr. Janice Fitzgerald! How can any of this be justified?
The people have gained nothing by this election; rather, it has destabilized our province and put us further back. It could have been so different. All of our focus and resources could have been dedicated to getting through COVID-19, with all parties working together for the betterment of our people. It didn’t have to be this way. We could have had a different way of doing politics.
I have gone from a sense of hope and optimism with Andrew Furey to profound disappointment to anger with him for having acted so irresponsibly and not acting according to the principles he promised.
I’ve always said democracy is messy, but this mess is beyond anything that folks would have imagined. Let’s hope we don’t end up in litigious hell. As Dr. Janice Fitzgerald says, “Hold fast Newfoundland and Labrador.”
Gerry Rogers, former NDP MHA
St. John’s
