Please allow me the opportunity to respond to a National Post column written by Jackson Doughart on Feb. 18, “Why is the rest of Canada bailing out Newfoundland?”
Well, that sounds like a good question on the surface — or should I say an innocent one.
Doughart must be fairly young or missed his history class in school when it comes to the history of Newfoundland joining confederation in 1949.
Greg Malone with the help of James T. Halley wrote a book “Don’t Tell the Newfoundlanders” which was published or copyrighted in 2012. It gives the story that the fix was on for Newfoundland to be a part of Confederation.
Newfoundlanders of the day did not want any part of Canada but were shanghaied into it by holding a vote that did not suit the powers to be so they held a second vote — so much for democracy!
Newfoundland and Labrador wanted to become part of the United States of America because of our strategic location and our vast resources. We, the people, have been downtrodden ever since our existence.
In the early years of the fishery, the British merchants controlled the people by keeping them living on credit that was never able to be paid off.
Again in the war years when Americans had bases set up in Newfoundland there again the British set the amounts the Newfoundlanders were allowed to make even though everyone else could make what the United States were paying — once again to keep us down.
Labrador, with the five headwaters on the boundary of Quebec, the Privy Council gave to Newfoundland March 22, 1927, with its abundant hydro potential and limitless iron ore resources.
In the 1970s we became involved in the oil industry with large amounts of vast crude oil that is still being explored, extracted with apparently no end in sight.
So my point in all this is we know, or think we know, what Ottawa is bailing out Newfoundland in dollar amounts such as transfers for payment and taxes.
We have never been told how much Ottawa has taken out of our province in royalties over the years for the abundance of resources to feed Canada.
From here I see being a Newfoundlander and living in Canada as really being Quebec and nine provinces and two territories — feeding Quebec’s lucrative health-care system, and generous daycare programs.
The SNC Lavalin court cases, Bombardier bail outs, tax money for roads paid over the years and still a poor road system would make you wonder who is kidding who?
Oh and the 1976 Olympic fiasco bail outs, on and on it goes.
When I hear people in Canada talk about Newfoundland, like I hear so often, it makes me sick.
The indigenous people are right. They also have been downtrodden like Newfoundlanders so often have — go for it guys.
Canada has always been for the betterment of Quebec and only Quebec. It is time people wake up and look around and see the deceitfulness of Ottawa and what Newfoundland has experienced.
I could go on and on but people only have so much time to read about the plight of Newfoundland and all of Canada but Quebec.
M. Wayne Williams,
Proud Newfoundlander,
Bracebridge, Ont.
