Debt a millstone around our neck, says Mount Pearl Southlands MHA

PC turned Liberal turned Independent MHA says biggest concern moving forward is province’s financial woes

By Mark Squibb | Vol 7 No. 25 (Dec. 19, 2019)

Like many of us, Mount Pearl Southlands MHA Paul Lane’s biggest concern for 2020 is our province’s financial debt.

There’s a lot of it. More than $13 billion worth of net debt.

“The biggest concern facing our province right now is staying afloat,” said Lane. “In the last budget we borrowed $1.2 billion. We now have a net debt — we were told in the fiscal update by Minister Tom Osbourne— our net debt now is almost $14 billion.”

That’s not counting the costs of rate mitigation either.

“If we’re going to mitigate rates to keep the bills where they are now — which government has committed to — then we, the government, have to come up with, I believe, somewhere in the neighbourhood of six-to-seven hundred million dollars a year. And while they are saying in the new year, there’s going to be some announcement with the federal government, we don’t know what that is, if it’s going to actually result in total mitigation, partial mitigation, or what it’s going to mean.”

Despite the massive debt load, Lane said that there is a some starlight shining in the night sky.

“With that challenge identified, and it is a huge one, I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom for the future,” said Lane, who noted he firmly believes in the potential of the province’s resources, particularly, oil.

“I do understand the challenges around climate change. However, I do agree with the premier that the world is not coming off fossil fuels overnight,” Lane said. “And we do have some of the cleanest oil in the world. So, think there’s a huge opportunity there that we need to capitalize on. I think that’s a bright spot.”

But Lane added government must diversify the economy, and not hang all our hopes on oil.

Some of that work, he said, has already begun.

“We’re seeing more development in terms of mining, and that’s a positive thing,” Lane said. “Aquaculture, if done properly, and I emphasize if done properly in terms of all the environmental assessments and putting in all the mitigation measures, and we’ve seen an issue where perhaps best practise wasn’t followed recently, but if it is done properly, there’s no doubt that that has a huge opportunity in terms of employment. Certainly we’ve seen the cannabis industry — albeit I’m not in favor of the approach, of giving big tax breaks to companies like Canopy, and I will always question when I see huge companies getting tax breaks or any kind of grants or subsidies… but with that said, there has been some movement there and apparently there’s more projects in the pipe, so there’s opportunity there. And I believe there’s opportunities in agriculture as well. Government has recognised it to some degree, but I think there’s a lot that could be done, particularly for smaller farmers and operators. And certainly in the tech industry, there is just the potential in terms of technology and even getting in on the green technology. From my perspective, I think there is no reason to believe that we cannot have a bright future given the tremendous amount of natural resources we have, and the skilled workforce.”

But a major diversification and weaning off oil dependence will not happen over night. Lane foresees many ‘bridging years’ ahead of us, years where we slowly build and diversify the economy

“And I just hope you can get through these bridging years, and get to the good times, while managing this huge millstone we have around our neck, which is of course the provincial debt,” he said. “Government has a role to play in encouraging and supporting growth and diversifying the economy, and there are things they can do to help that along. But it’s not just as simple as waving a magic wand… I don’t believe that in the year 2020 all of a sudden the economy is going to be diversified. That would be totally unrealistic to expect that. But I would expect for government to try and advance the agendas in a number of these areas and to see some meaningful movement towards that.”

As for the possibility of another provincial election in the coming year, Lane said that depends on what happens inside the Liberal government.

“I believe if there is an early election, it will be due to the internal politics of the Liberal Party. It will not be the Progressive Conservatives, it will not be the NDP, and it will not be the Independents who are going to likely cause an early election,” said Lane. “I believe, if it will be caused, it will be caused when the Liberal Party itself will decide at some point and time that they need a new leader, and that will trigger a series of events.”

But Lane said election years are not necessarily good ones for the province.

“What you see in an election year of course is quite often is government overspending,” he said. “They’re trying to buy votes. When you see increased spending leading up to an election, you have to question the motivation behind it… We also see a lot of promises. Unfortunately, not all the promises are kept.”

When Lane was removed from the Liberal caucus in 2016 for voting against the now notorious Budget 2016, he chose the road of independence.

It is a decision, he said, he has not regretted.

“Being an Independent is absolutely fantastic because you get to say what you what, when you want. You get to do what you want, when you want. You’re not beholden to any party, or anybody else. I can just represent the people of my district, and their interest, and I’m not constrained in any way by party policy, or what the leader wants,” said Lane. “Leading up to the provincial election in May, all three parties wanted me to run for them. In the end, I decided to run as an Independent. I’m glad that I did. Obviously, I’m pleased with the result, and the faith that the people of Mount Pearl Southlands have put it me.”

Getting back to business

Mount Pearl North MHA hopes for a less theatrical House of Assembly in 2020

By Mark Squibb | Vol 7 No. 25 (Dec. 19, 2019)

Near the top of Mount Pearl North MHA Jim Lester’s wish list for 2020 is a less theatrical government, both inside and outside the House of Assembly.

“The theatrics of politics are continually playing as a disfavour, and we just need to take practical approaches to the issues that are facing our people, and make some changes within how government delivers services so that it’s effective and it’s practical,” said Lester.

Over the last several months, government has chewed up its time debating members’ behaviour, from Environment Minister Perry Trimper’s accidental ‘race-card’ voice mail, to the censure of Christopher Mitchelmore.

Lester himself found himself on the receiving end when Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Jerry Byrne accused him of condoning moose poaching. Byrne withdrew the comment, along with an accusation hurled at NDP member Jim Dinn that he did not do enough to support Indigenous people. The discussion over whether Bryne should be censured chewed up two days of debate in the House .

Lester said it has been a common theme in 2019.

Mount Pearl North MHA said he hopes for a ‘less theatrical’ House of Assembly in 2020.

Mark Squibb photo

“This past sitting of the house, we had, I’m pretty sure, just as much debate on people’s decorum and code of conduct versus the real issues that affect people’s everyday lives,” he said. “The amount of legislation that we passed, I would consider more ‘housekeeping’ type legislation – changes in legislation to reflect the passing of a federal law, or changes in legislation to correct a grammatical error.”

One of the biggest disappointments of 2019 for Lester was the findings of the recent Citizen’s Representative’s Report (the ‘Mitchelmore Report’) which found the then Tourism and Business Minister had acted incorrectly in hiring Lieutenant Governor Judy Foote’s daughter Carla Foote for a position at the Rooms, skipping the interview process and increasing the salary of the position to match the salary Foote has been receiving when she worked in the Premier’s Office.

”I had a really, really big issue, and still do, that a politician grossly abused his authority, as was documented in the report,” said Lester. “He hired somebody outside the normal and acceptable course of protocol, and not only was that wrong, it’s going to cost the people of this province an additional $50,000 a year until that individual decides she wants to retire.

“The premier got up, several MHAs on their side got up, and said ‘Ms. Foote is the best person for the job.’ Well, maybe she is. But we don’t know that, because she was selected through a non-completive process. As a business owner, I know the advantages and the benefits of an interview process. That’s the best way to ensure that you’re going to get the best candidate for the job.”

Given such scandals, as well as the Liberals’ position as a minority government, holding only 19 seats, Lester thinks that Newfoundlanders may be heading to the polls again in the near future.

“Unless we see more of a leadership quality emerge within the governing party, yes I do foresee an election happening very soon,” said Lester. “Governments usually fall when the public loses confidence in their leader, or the party itself losses confidence in their leader.”

If the government does fall in 2020, it would be Lester’s fourth election in five years.

In 2015, he ran in the Mount Pearl – Southlands district, losing to Paul Lane by less than five percentage points (or, just over 200 votes). He ran again, this time in Mount Pearl North, in a 2017 by-election, following the resignation of Steve Kent, winning a significant 46.89 per cent. Just two years later, Lester ran in the 2019 provincial election, winning with 49.2 per cent of the vote.

“Maintaining the trust and faith of the people to be able to represent them in the House of Assembly is quite an honour,” Lester said. “It’s not one I take lightly… It’s pretty awesome. Every time you’re successful in a campaign, the feeling that night is exactly the same. But I know what it feels like to be on the opposite end of the scale. It’s just as strong an emotion.”

Of the 2019 election, Lester said the campaign offered the same old politics.

“We’ve seen much of the same old election promises, election propaganda, coming out, and that’s part of the political theatrics that have continually done us disfavor.” He argued. “People are not sold into that type of election talk anymore. They’re more skeptical of everything that comes form a politician’s direction. And I can understand that… They have every reason to be more skeptical. Especially under this administration. How things are done in the House of Assembly and how things are done in news releases are often two different things.”

Despite the spin and the scandals, Lester said people are still optimistic about the future — maybe just not in government.

“People’s optimism has increased, but it’s not due to government, it’s due to their own self-reliance,” he allowed. “People have realized that, ‘Hey listen, under this current situation that we have, it’s going to be up to the people of the province that are going to change this around’. Now we do need direction and we do need leadership from government, there’s no doubt… When I got involved in politics, I didn’t get involved to maintain the status quo. I got involved with aspirations to try and make a bit of a difference.”

Looking ahead to 2020, Lester adnitted he has some goals.

“I have to take a more aggressive stance in voicing what I feel needs to happen,” he said. “We need more fiscal responsibility. We have to stop living in this fantasy world. We have to put more policies in place to encourage business development, but sustainable business development. We don’t want to see what just happened up in Labrador with the data centre basically imploding. We want to see good, strong businesses. No more theatrics of big announcements and big spending, we need to make small financial changes in a lot of different places for us to really have a positive future. It is we the people who are going to change the destiny of our province.”

Lester said the future of the oil industry in the province will need to be a topic of conversation in the coming year.

“Oil will always be a big part of our province. But our province is such a small part of the oil industry globally, and you have a pressure to decrease the amount of oil being used. We have to look at getting more value for our oil. So, I would like to see government’s focus coming off the extraction of oil and more focus on the value of our natural resources, be they oil, be they minerals from the ground, be they forest products. This bulk export of our resources has not done well for us, and it has too change.”

Like many, Lester is concerned about the financial future of the province. The 2019 Fall Fiscal Update, released Dec. 11, found the province’s revenue had dropped by $392-million in the fiscal year.

Lester said that continually borrowing ‘just to keep the lights on’ and reliance on revenue streams, such as the 2019 Atlantic Accord Deal signed by premier Dwight Ball in April, are not good enough.

“Money does not solve economic woes. It’s working people with money. That’s what stimulates the economy, and gets a healthy economy moving again,” said Lester. “Royalties in lieu of work, or cash payments in lieu of work, doesn’t do us any favors. It basically covers up government inefficacies. “It actually creates a worse situation. Because all of a sudden, you’re dependent on this free flow of money coming into the provincial economy which is not sustainable.”

Lester said that many of the issues facing residents of Mount Pearl North are similar to problems facing the province at large.

“I don’t believe that government can act quick enough to address the need for long term care,” he said. “I believe that we may have to consider some sort of public — private partnerships to take away that backlog. In a perfect world, government would be able to take care of everybody to the full extent. But unfortunately, we are living in far less than a perfect world.”

Despite the challenges, Lester said that he has high hopes for a good 2020.

“I do believe that people have faith and hope in the ability of government and bureaucracy to deliver basic services,” said Lester. “I believe that people more or less believe in each other, and that is what is going to change the destiny of our province.”

Stoyles not onboard with right-turn only

By Mark Squibb | Vol 7 No. 25 (Dec. 19, 2019)

Some residents of Mount Pearl might need to adjust their route home in the near future.

The City will be installing a right-turn only sign at the intersection of Blossom Avenue exiting onto Park Avenue in response to a safety concern from a resident of Blossom Avenue.

“It’s a little bit difficult in terms of sightlines, because as you know, there is a retaining wall on the corner on the right-hand side that makes seeing up and down Park Avenue from Blossom a little bit difficult,” explained councillor Andrew Ledwell.

He noted the resident had requested that the City change the traffic flow on the avenue to a one-way street; instead, the Infrastructure and Public Works Committee recommended keeping it a two-way street, but will install a right-turn only sign.

Ledwell noted that accident data showed the collision numbers were low, but with the addition of the Team Gushue Highway, there would be more traffic in the area.

Councillor Lucy Stoyles was not on board with the idea.

“The reason why I’m not going to be supporting the change is that we haven’t done anything to let the residents know,” she said. “We’ve had one person contact us and ask us for a change.”

Stoyles said in her opinion, the retaining wall did not present much of a safety issue.

“Even today in the rain, I didn’t find it dangerous,” she said. “There is a spot to stop, this is where you have to stop, and you know you’ve got to edge out a bit further because the wall is a bit higher. But I don’t really believe the residents would want this change. And it’s not only the residents on Blossom, it’s the other streets off it, and the people who use it on a regular basis.”

She said that residents in the area should have been polled.

“I think we’ve got to be a lot more proactive when we make changes like this, because once we make the change, it’s done,” Stoyles said. “I would rather see us poll residents and do a bit more work on it before we make a major change like that, so I can’t support this motion.”

Councillor Bill Antle said residents in the area were, in fact. polled.

“I talked to 80 per cent of the residents – one of them even called me back afterwards— and they are all in agreement with no-left-hand turn on Blossom Avenue onto Park Avenue,” he said. “Right now, most of the residents refuse to go that way. They go the opposite way. Some of the residents told me they’re quite happy with this happening. They’re telling me that sometimes people are using Blossom Avenue as a thoroughfare, as a race track to go from Smallwood Drive to Park Avenue to get beat the traffic.”

Antle said the other 20 per cent of the residents were not at home.

Deputy Mayor Jim Locke clarified that the road would indeed remain a two-way street, and added that he believed there was a valid safety concern. The retaining wall was put in by the City some years back, he recalled, because there used to be a concrete wall up that was listing out, and that was even higher than what’s there now.

“So, we put in the retaining wall, and it’s still a sightline issue,” he said. “And the challenge that some of the residents have, that I spoke with, is that you have to be out fully into the land that’s heading east on Park Avenue before you can see around the wall.”

Locke allowed the change will be an adjustment, but explained that residents could use Pleasant Avenue (off of Blossom) to get onto Park, adding about, he suggested, 15 seconds to the commute.  

He reiterated that traffic data in the area hasn’t been updated since the opening of the team Gushue Highway.

Councillor Isabelle Fry said she has family on Blossom Avenue, so she is familiar with the area, and agreed it was a safety concern and that she herself never makes the left hand turn for that reason.

Councillor Andrea Power agreed, and said she hoped the decision would deter people from using side streets as thoroughfares.

Put to a vote, the motion to ban left hand turns passed with all but Stoyles voting in favour. Residents of Blossom Avenue will be notified before the sign is installed.

Breaking bread together

Mount Pearl churches combine efforts to share the loaf

By Mark Squibb | Vol 7 No. 25 (Dec. 19, 2019)

A collection of business owners and church members in Mount Pearl have been working together over the last several weeks to provide a free community supper weekly to their fellow citizens who may be in need.

Each Wednesday for the last seven weeks, a community chef cooks up a meal, which volunteers from that week’s host church help prepare and serve to upwards of 150 people from the community.

The City of Mount Pearl donates the use of Park Place for the suppers.

“It’s really a huge, huge community project,” explained Scott Hillier of Coffee Maters, a member of the community supper committee and one of the volunteer chefs. “The host church gets the volunteers to come in and help serve the meal and help clean up.”

Hillier, who helped organize the effort, said the current arrangement allows everybody to get involved, without just one group having to bear a massive burden.

“I knew that the churches wanted to do something like this, and I knew that for any one church to take this on would be huge, because you need so many volunteers,” said Hillier. “Only one church has to host one night during this seven-week period. So, even if we move forward in doing it once a week, you’re only asking each church to do it once every seven weeks.”

He said that this not only prevents volunteers from getting burnt out, but also prevents people from closely associating the supper with any one domination.

“It’s not ran by a church; it’s ran by a group of churches in the city,” said Hillier. “And all are welcome.”

Hillier said that it’s a diverse crowd that come out for the suppers, including families, the working poor, youth, and seniors. Some come out just to be able eat a meal in the company of others.

“I’ve always believed in giving back. And I know that as a single dad and coming from a single-parent family, I know that some people struggle really, really bad,” he said.

The first supper was held on Sept. 11, and the last one on Dec. 18, with the committee hoping to decide in January if the suppers will continue into the new year.

No tax increases in $53M budget

City to buy its first electric vehicle, update work fleet

By Mark Squibb | Vol 7 No. 25 (Dec. 19, 2019)

There’ll be no residential or commercial tax increases, and mil rates will remain the same, at 7.4 mils for residential and 11.5 mils for commercial, in Mount Pearl’s balanced 2020 budget.

Council approved the budget during a special meeting of council on Dec. 17, just two weeks until the eve of the new year. By law, all municipalities in Newfoundland must pass balanced budgets before the end of December.

“I think, as I was quoted in the press release, it’s a very practical, and yet progressive budget,” said Mayor Dave Aker. “It fits the times, the economic times, and I think it fits the pocketbook of our residents. Budget 2020 forges ahead on the goals outlined in our strategic plan. It is representative of a city that strikes the balance of practicality and progress. This budget invests in maintaining our strong service standards, while continuing to plan and build for future generations.”

The City will invest $3.8 million next year to replace loaders, trucks, and service vehicles used for snow clearing, pothole repair, and asphalt and curb repair. It will also buy its first ever electric vehicle.

The City also plans to spend $400,000 on economic development, including a new Donovan’s Reimagination Plan, a City Centre Revitalization Plan with a focus on the Waterford River, and a Foreign Direct Investment Strategy, over $170,000 in climate change initiatives, and $750,000 on the installation of new finance, asset management, inventory, permit and payroll systems.

Hikers will be pleased to hear that $125,000 will be spent on renewed signage, as per recommendations in the Trails Master Plan.

The City has allocated $460,000 to operating subsidies for organizations including Admiralty House, Frosty Festival, the Seniors Independence Group and the Mount Pearl Sport Alliance, and has allocated $50,000 for community events such as City Days, Oktoberfest and Best in Mount Pearl awards.

The budget projects that 33 percent of the City’s revenue will come from residential property tax ($17 million), followed closely by business tax, which will supply 24 percent (or just under $13 million.)

As to expenditures, the City will spend it’s largest chunk of it’s budget,24 percent (or, about $13 million), on transportation services, including snow and ice control, vehicle fleet management, street and traffic lights, roads and streets, engineering, and public transit, followed by general government, which includes corporate services, employee benefits and payroll, which weighs in at 17 percent (just short of $9 million).