Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Tim Power Show on your VOCM.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
The views and opinions of this program are not necessarily
those of this station. Here's Tim. Hi, everybody on this wet, windy,
stormy November fourth. Great to be with you today. That
will be a lot of our focus, at least to
start the show. You're well familiar with now, the fact
that we're in the midst of what they're calling a
(00:25):
bomb cyclone which is moving across the island, wind and
rain storm intensifying dramatically. There's coastal flood warnings in effect
for Buren in southern Avalon. There's a storm surge and
coastal flooding warnings in effect for the northeast coast for
tomorrow and the west rest of the week. Wind warnings
(00:48):
also in effect. Rainfall amounts could reach fifty millimeters in
some areas, snow and higher elevations on the west coast,
Northern Peninsula and parts of Labrador. And of course, as
Brian just pointed out, transportation affected with airline and faery cancellations,
all kinds of traffic advisories. Let me just give you
(01:09):
a couple of a few of them. Brian gave you too,
but I'll repeat them again. Color to VOCM says the
barricades and the construction site on Wyatt Boulevard have been
knocked down and are scattered on both sides of the
road with rut cuts into the road have filled with
water and are washing out. The lights are out at
Bruce Street. Traffic is hung up in that area and
(01:30):
very slow moving. We are also getting a advisory from
the City of Saint John's please advise that Westerland Road
will be closed until further notice due to debris from winds.
If you counter a road or a sidewalk hazard during
the storms, such as downtree object or a power line,
(01:51):
it is important that you stay away from the area
report any road hazard to the city. So that is that.
Let's see, I think we have Dave Neil there, do
we from Environment Canada Dave Boy any good news in
(02:11):
any of this? How long is all this going to
carry on in various parts of the province.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Well, certainly going to be going for pretty well the
rest of the night tonight and likely lingering through through
part of the day tomorrow as well. So really a
lot of the heavier precipitation, a lot of the stronger
winds really going to be happening through the night tonight
as we get into into Wednesday. Some of the precipitation
(02:36):
will linger around a little bit through the day on Wednesday,
but really we're expecting the bulk of that really through
the night tonight, but the winds will still be quite
quite stiff out of the northwest across pretty well to
the whole island, probably likely into tomorrow night.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Now, is this Hurricane Melissa, the remnants of Career? What
is this? What is this bomb cycling? Where did it
come from? Dave?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Well, this actually just formed off the off the US
East Coast near near Cape Hatteras. That's where we we
do tend to see a quite a bit of storm
formation really through kind of late fallen into the into
the winter months as well. So uh so, it's not
related to any sort of tropical system. It's just a
storm that kind of came off of the US East Coast.
And and we do see these, you know, they're not
(03:26):
super super common, but they're not exactly completely out of
the question. We have seen some some very rapidly intensifying
storms like this in the past, for sure, And.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Is there anything behind this one that's caused for concern
or too early to tell about that, Well, we do.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
We are kind of tracking another one. Like obviously right
now with the with the storm of this magnitude, all
of the focus has really been on on getting the
details with this one. But yeah, there is another little
disturbance that's likely going to move south of the island
sometime on Thursday as well. That one won't be quite
as quite as significant, but still could bring some strong
(04:06):
winds in a mix of precipitation to parts of the
south coast of the island, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
And for the over the next couple of days. Do
we I mean, how long do these bomb cyclones last? Dave,
I guess this is the best question I could ask you.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Well, this particular one, this one is going to move
across the east coast of the island through the night
tonight and it will move away from the island tomorrow.
But it does kind of slow down a bit, It
does move rather slowly as it as it tracks away
from the island. So that's kind of why, that's kind
of why those those stronger winds are lingering around. Also
(04:42):
those high water levels, those very highways, large swells. We
are kind of expecting especially across the more north facing
coastlines of the island, even upwards, all across the all
across the Labrador coast as well, So we're expecting those
to kind of hang around really for most of this
week and and and even up towards Labrador even could
(05:03):
potentially linger into Saturday as well. So it's, uh, it's
taken its time. It's going to eventually get it get
out of our hair, but it's it's going to take
its time as it's as it moves off to the northeast.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
All right, before I let you go. You just heard Brian,
you heard me? Is there anything new that people need
to be aware of now as they start to head
home for the day, if they have in fact gone
to work.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Well, one of the biggest things actually right now is
really through for central and western Newfoundland, we have seen
some of that mixing or changing to snow, perhaps a
little earlier than we had anticipated. So there's some of
the highway cameras, particular in western Newfoundland showing some accumulation
of snow on the ground. Even here so far as
(05:48):
as Gander, we're seeing a bit of a little bit
of accumulation just to you know, not not much, but
some snow down as well. So for areas that are
kind of that central and western, those western regions, I
should prepare to have a bit of a slower commute
is going to be a bit more of a like
a wintery conditions there. In terms of eastern Newfoundland, of course,
(06:10):
we still have the coastal flooding warnings going for parts
of the really southern Avalon and beer In Peninsula for
high tides tonight and tomorrow morning, and then the northeast
coast there we also have coastal flooding mornings in effect
really for the high tides starting tomorrow morning and really
persisting through a good portion of the rest of the week.
(06:31):
So we're expecting still regardless of where you are on
the island, it's good like we going to be a nasty,
nasty night, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
All right. Well, I appreciate the time as always, Dave,
thank you for the update, and we will be keeping
you busies I'm sure you expect. Thanks very much, Dave,
not a problem, Thanks for having me, all right, that
is Dave Neil from Environment Canada, and throughout the show
we will give you any updates that you need to
know as you're making your way home. All right, on
the show, we are fully loaded array of great guests.
(07:01):
In a couple few minutes, we'll have doctor Tyler Eddie
from Memorial University Marine Institute. Doctor Eddie is one of
the authors of that new study that's getting lots of
attention how North Atlantic harpse heals eating habits may be
affecting groundfish recovery. We're going to have Steve Outhouse. He's
been in the news a lot. He of course was
(07:22):
the successful campaign director campaign manager for Premier Tony Wakem.
He's going to join us and respond to some of
the criticisms that have been made about him by the
NDP and others about how they believe his faith and
past activities may interfere with any role he has in
the Wakem government transition. I should say, we'll talk to
(07:44):
Steve about that. We've got John Harris coming up from
the Meuse to talk about budget expectations and we all
all federal budget because that's happening today and we'll have
a report on that tomorrow morning and this evening. And
at the end of the show, we've got the Regional
Executive Vice President from Peasac on to talk about the
budget watch party they're having. They may be the most
(08:07):
anxious people awaiting what Mark Kearney and his front finance
minister decide when it comes to the civil service and
its size. All that coming up, But history history made today.
Dick Cheney, the well known former Vice president of the
United States, passed away. He was eighty four, I believe
(08:30):
eighty three eighty four. He of course was side by
side with George W. Bush from two thousand to two
thousand and eight, the Iraq War, all that led to that,
different conflicts around the world. A hugely influential figure, many
seeing him in a dark light, others less. So here's
a report on the former vice president's life from Khou
(08:52):
Out of Houston.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
Richard Bruce. Cheney forged an identity as a no nonsense,
boyal gatekeeper.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
For George W.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Bush, through whom access and influence flowed.
Speaker 5 (09:03):
I affect him because he's strong, he's steady, and he
gets a job done.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Cheney was a seasoned Washington insider long before becoming vice president.
He began his public service career in the Nixon administration
and then became chief of staff for President Gerald Ford.
In nineteen seventy eight, Cheney was elected to Congress from
his home state of Wyoming. He spent a decade there
until the first President Bush asked him to serve as
(09:28):
Secretary of Defense. After President Bush lost reelection, Cheney became
head of the oil services giant Halliburton. It was a
job that kept him steeped in foreign policy, and later
the job became a lightning rod for his critics.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
When George W.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Bush secured the Republican nomination in two thousand, he tesked
Cheney with vetting candidates for vice president, but ultimately offered
him the job. Cheney's health was a major concern. He'd
had three mild heart attacks in a quadruple bypass before
he was fifty. Suffered another heart attack shortly after the
two thousand election.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
I've got a doctor that follows me around twenty four
hours a day.
Speaker 5 (10:06):
That comes with a job as a vice president.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
His health continued to be an issue once he was
out of office. In twenty twelve, at the age of
seventy one, Cheney underwent a heart transplant. In the Bush administration,
Cheney was considered a hawk who is instrumental in the
decision to invade i Roq. Cheney believed history would prove
they made the right move.
Speaker 6 (10:28):
What we did in Iraq and taking down Saddam Hussin
was exactly the right thing to do.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
During the second term of the Bush administration, Cheney would
find himself at the center of controversy when his chief
of staff, I Scooter Libby, was sentenced to prison in
connection with the leak of a CIA agent's name. The
President communed Libby's sentence but did not pardon him, a
move sought by some conservatives. Late in his career, Cheney
(10:53):
admitted he differed from many and his party on the
issue of gay marriage.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Many of you know one of my daughters is gay.
Speaker 6 (11:01):
I think people ought to be free to enter into
any kind of union they wish.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
In his twenty eleven memoir, Cheney q Secretary of State
Colin Powell seeking to undermine President Bush by expressing doubts
about the Iraq War. He also said Powell's successor, Condolleza Rice,
misled the president about negotiations with North Korea. Both have
disputed the claims. Cheney had no interest in running for
(11:27):
president after leaving office, but he continued to be an
outspoken voice for the Republican Party in Washington. I'm some Inservadi.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Certainly a fascinating historical figure. And Halliburton well known in
Newfoundland and the Labrador because of its dominance in the
oil industry. And you do wonder, as angry as people
were in the time of Bush and Cheney, how different
and perhaps more palatable they look today to the world,
(12:00):
particularly to Canada. We will continue to cover that story,
but we're also, as we said, going to give you
some updates on some outages. What do I have latest
power outage Outage Center current outages Patty's Pond and they're
described as unplanned Duffets Road, Evergreen Village, Tops Road, Magnolia Place,
(12:20):
that's where it is, Elizabeth Park, Outer Ring Road to
James Height, Sigona Avenue, Donovan's Tops, the Road to corn
Sandy Road, and Danny Drive, a TCH Northern Pond Road area.
All of those are outages that are being reported it
(12:42):
They were reported at about three thirty five, so just
over what forty or so minutes ago. That is something
we will keep an eye on. Good luck to you
all out there. It is not for the faint of heart.
We'll take a break now. When we come back, doctor
Tyler Eddie, you'll talk to us about a study into
heart seal eating patterns and what that might mean for
(13:03):
ground fish and cod in particular. Back with doctor Eddie
in a moment. Welcome back. Well, this study is getting
some attention. It was released the other day and the
headline of the news release is North Atlantic harp seals
eating habits may be affecting ground fish recovery. One of
(13:25):
the people who was part and parcel of this study
was doctor Tyler Eddie from the Marine Institute. It was
his one of his students, Miss West get her first name,
Hannah West, who co authored the paper with doctor Eddie.
Doctor Eddie, this is getting some attention because it looks
(13:47):
like we're stepping back into a time when we were
told previously that harp seals were eating our ground fish.
They appear to be doing it again at a fairly
high volume.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Is that what you found, Yeah, yeah, that's what we found.
They We were looking at a number of different time
periods from before the codfishery collapsed in the mid eighties,
and then we also looked from twenty thirteen until twenty fifteen,
and then a more recent period from twenty eighteen until
twenty twenty, and our studies showed that, you know, they
(14:20):
have had consistently high consumption of cod through those different
time periods. It does vary during different time periods, you know,
as the abundance of prey changes through time, you can
imagine the amount that they eat changes. But yeah, that's
that's what we found.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
And it's pardon my ignorance, but is codfish their primary
food source?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Well, harp seals are generalists, so they'll eat a lot
of different things in the system. So they'll eat arctica,
delete herring, del eat capelin del eite, sanlance, elite, shrimp,
dell e. Yeah, they'll eat a lot of things.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
So, like the rest of you put it on the table,
except in their case, you put it in the ocean
and they do eat it. What I found really fascinating.
You revealed that from twenty eighteen to twenty twenty, consumption
rates were twenty four times higher than fisheries catch rates
for Atlantic cod, green halibut, and American what do you said,
(15:22):
class place place? You always forget a place, so translate
that into English. For us, it seems like they ate
a hell of a lot of fish and the catch
rates were down as a consequence. Is that what that's
telling me?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:36):
So, I mean, if you look at our present day
catch rates, they're quite low compared to what they were
historically before the cod fishery collapse. So, I mean a
lot of these comparisons are related to the fact that
the fishery is catching a lot less than it did historically.
So when you put you know, those comparisons together, you
end up getting that big difference in terms of the
(16:00):
amount of fish that harp seals are consuming. But one
interesting fact is the harp seal population has actually declined
from about seven and a half million in the late
nineties to about four and a half million at the
most recent population estimate. So even though they are consuming
a lot, their population is in decline at the moment.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
I won't pull you into the debate as to whether
what that may mean about a future seal hunt, but
it does still seem that they're eating a lot of fish. Again,
am I reading that right? I mean, are they having
a material impact on the regeneration of cod stalks?
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah, They're definitely a significant source of mortality for cod stocks.
They're not the only thing that's at play, Another important
factor that we found in a related study was the
amount of food that's available for cod is also a
very important predictor in understanding cod growth. So, for example,
we know that capelin stocks have been very low since
(17:07):
the cod collapsed as well, and so a related study
that we did suggested that if capelin was able to
recover to those historical levels, that would also lead to
an increase in cod population. So there's both you know,
impacts from the predators that are eating them, but there's
also impacts from their food availability as well. So it's
kind of a complicated system that we're working with here.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Now you make the point in the news release that
I see there find your findings provide support for including
harp cel predatation as an ecosystem factor in future fishery
stock assessments in the province. So to date, they have
not been properly factored in.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, so recently we've so I attend these fishery stock
assessment meetings, so I've been privy to these conversations. So
capelin has been included as one of the ecosystem factors
that is accounted for, and the population models that are
used in these stock assessments for northern cod. So we
do say, okay, if we expect more capalin in the system,
(18:10):
we think that's better for cod, and that influences the model.
We haven't done that for harp seals yet, and there
was talk at one of the framework meetings a couple
of years ago about doing it, but the decision in
the room at that point in time was based on
the evidence. It was decided not to include them. But
I think what our study does is it gives an
(18:32):
additional evidence to suggest that, yes, this is a significant
source of mortality on northern cod.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
But if you've got the second largest seal population in
the world at four point four million according to the
data that I'm reading here, Again, I just take this
from a common sense perspective, why would the measurement of
what the seals were eating have been discounted in the
first place. I hear there's none of it evidence, but
(19:01):
it would seem just on the surface. What am I
not getting right to understand why they weren't counted in
the first place.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
I mean, I don't know the complete answer to that.
What I can tell you from the scientific literature is
that there have been studies, you know, earlier studies from
you know, the turn of the two thousands that suggested
that they did have a strong impact. And then there
was more recent studies that use different sort of techniques
and different accounting methods that suggested that there wasn't as
(19:34):
strong an impact of harp seals. And then you know,
this study contributes to the body of scientific literature to suggest, okay,
there is you know, evidence based on the approach that
we've used to suggest that yes, there is a top
down as we call it, or a predation effect of
seals on God.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Last question for you, have you gotten any sense that
DFO is going to include this now as part of
the ecosystem factor analysis.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
I'm not too sure. I mean, I know that, like
I say, it has been considered in the past, so
I wouldn't say that it won't be considered to get
in the future. But you know, these meetings, the stock
assessment meetings usually take place early in the year, in
the winter of February March, and anytime there's a change
to an existing assessment model, usually there's an accompanying framework
(20:25):
meeting where people say, okay, it doesn't make sense to
change the approach that we have been using So there'd
have to be a couple of, you know, scientific meetings
to take place before anything would change. But I think
it would be on the table because it's been on
the table in the past, in the past.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
All right, doctor Tyler Eddie, thank you for the time,
So thank you for sharing this information. I know or
in listeners will be fascinated by it. Thank you for
your time, my pleasure, Take care. All right. That's doctor
Tyler Eddie. He is one of the co authors of
this report that looks at North Atlantic harp seals eating habits. Again,
I am a late person to all of this, have
(21:01):
worked at DFO, as my next guest has as well.
Why would you not count seals? And what the I
don't know. Somebody who's much wiser than me, which is
all of you, has the answer. Call me, tell me.
Let's talk about it. But before we do that, we're
going to take a break. When we come back, the
gentleman who was in charge of Tony Wakem's winning campaign
(21:23):
joins us. Next, Steve Odos back with me in a
moment here on the Tim Power Show. All Right, before
I get to my guest, we've got to give you
a bunch of updates fast and furious. It's one of
those days. First one I have for you, we have
an accident on the Trans Canada Highway. It's a single
vehicle rollover about four kilometers east of Whitburn. Traffic is
(21:47):
moving slowly as there is debris on both sides of
the divided highway. Next RCMP advisory RCMPII are saying heavy
snow and cooling temperatures in western Newfoundland are creating hazardous
road conditions, including along the Trans Canada Highway. Motorists are
(22:08):
urged to stay off the roads if possible. If you
must travel, please exercise extreme caution and drive according to
road and weather conditions. We will bring you these updates
as we get them. But let's go back to politics
for a moment. It's a busy political day on the
federal scene. Of course, the budget coming down in about
(22:31):
two what about an hour an hour from now. We'll
cover that extensively when it gets dropped. But most recently,
the election concluded in Newfoundland and Labradors we all know
Tony Wakem was elected the new Premier of Newfoundland and
Labradors sworn in his cabinet's been sworn in the person
credited with helping Tony Wakem get that victory is Steve Outhhaus.
(22:54):
He was his campaign manager, campaign director, was there with
him in his leadership race, and he's here with us now.
And Steve, the funny part of all of this is,
just before you came on, I was talking about the
fishery and harp seals and I think the first time
I ever cross paths with you or saw your name
(23:14):
was when you were working in one of those departments
as a spokesperson. So the world's very circular, isn't it.
Speaker 7 (23:21):
Indeed it is. Everything leads back to seals.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Well, we could go down so many paths with that,
but we'll stay off that one for now. Look, glad
you could come on. First of all, let's get to
how the wind happened. And starting with something I remember
you talked to Veo Sam about it, you talked to
all the media about it. Was the first controversy on
(23:48):
the campaign, or at the beginning of the campaign, was
the PCs didn't have any buses, and some were viewing
that as well, that must mean you don't have any money,
you didn't need the buses. In the end, it appears
you invested in things like social media. Just tell us
a little bit about some of the thinking around the
traditional approach to campaigning in Newfoundland and the more modern
(24:12):
approach you took as it related to social media outreach.
Speaker 7 (24:16):
Yeah, well thanks Tim, it's great to be on with you.
Speaker 5 (24:18):
And yeah, when it comes to campaigning, you have to
look to how to stretch every dollar you get. Everything
is it's very precious. As you know, it comes from donors,
it comes from people who want to help you with
your campaign. And there was no secret going into it
that the Liberals had been out fundraising the PCs for
some time and we needed to make the most out
(24:41):
of our budget. But I can tell you honestly, if
you gave me two million dollars to run the campaign,
I wouldn't have sunk it into buses. I mean, first
of all, our path to victory was largely outside the
overpass and was having our leader get around the province
and that included a lot of small communities and going
down some some difficult roads like not metaphorically but just
(25:03):
getting out there on the highway and getting around the province.
So a smaller vehicle was actually helpful. And you know,
I know from running other campaigns a bus is a
huge expense. I mean usually you're looking at sixty thousand dollars,
you know, to rend it. For the course of the campaign,
as you mentioned, I mean, we spent a significant amount
of money on social media advertising and trying to reach
(25:26):
those eyes that are you know, all across the province
and seeing our message and interacting with it and so on.
So we felt the money was better spent there, and
I wouldn't change that decision at all.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Another thing that was interesting for me during the campaign, Steve,
and I don't want you to give away your bag
of tricks, but often talking to candidates from all parties,
one of the things I don't know if they lamented
it or observed it, or perhaps a combination of the two,
was the days of the Big Newfoundland Rally, the big
showcase of candidates, the all of the showmanship, the momentum
(26:04):
generating events were fewer and far between. Was that a
is that a new reality? A reflection of affordability being
so central in this campaign that there wasn't the opportunity
or the appropriate propriety of being large and loud in
the way you campaigned.
Speaker 7 (26:24):
I think it's a bit of both.
Speaker 5 (26:27):
I mean, in terms of the new reality, I do
think the days that we've seen of you know, an
army of volunteers that fled into every campaign office for
parties of every stripe to knock doors tirelessly, you know,
six days a week, that there are fewer and fewer
people who are who will get out and do that.
And I think a lot more people, while they still
(26:47):
care passionately about politics and have a lot of you know,
they understand the impact it has on the future of
a province or a country, there is less time spent
getting out there for events and going out for volunteering
and things like that, and I think that is part
of the new reality. I definitely think post COVID, we've
seen that across the board and that's not unique to
(27:10):
Newfoundland and Labrador. That's that's across the country really. But
also again in terms of where we were doing a
lot of outreach in terms of smaller communities, just mathematically
you don't have a lot of those numbers, right, So
you go into a small, small community, it's just important
to connect with as many people as you can. You know,
(27:31):
sometimes a meet and greet with you know, fifteen to
twenty people, you know, in Saint bar of Blanca Meadows.
I mean that's kind of equivalent to you know, having
a larger scale, you know, gathering here in Saint John's.
So it was you know a little bit of column A, a
little bit of columb.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
In the past, also, Newfoundland elections have often been about
the big question do you support this deal or that deal?
And certainly the question the Liberals were looking to push
was do you support the MoU and all of the
things it's going to bring to you? It seemed and
proven I think through the success you had in the
campaign that you and Tony Wakem were focused on the
(28:13):
pocketbook issues, the safety and security issues. When did you
know that was the path to go down?
Speaker 5 (28:19):
Yeah, So going into the campaign and again we were
somewhat tight and what resources we had, I mean, we did,
you know, the best research we could and and you're right,
in an election, people do try to drive a question
like that, and the Liberals made it very clear that
they were going to try to run on the MoU.
And so what we dug into and ask people about
(28:43):
very clearly the majority of Newfoundlanders and Laboratorians that we
could speak to through our research polling and so on
said that they just didn't have enough information to decide
whether it was a good deal or not. So it
was a risk for either party. For the liberals, you know,
them pushing it to say we need to get this
done and then let's get it over the line because
it's going to result in all these things. There was
(29:05):
a skepticism that we found that people didn't really believe
that it was going to do what mister Hogan and
the Liberals were saying it would do. So knowing that
and doing the research, and I'm sure the liberals did
their own so, you know, and they made their decisions
on that. You know, we just said, for us, the
position to take on this is we're going to work
to get people the information that they need so they
(29:27):
can decide what direction we go. And that's where the
Independent Review came in. And again that that was sitting
in front of the liberals from January when you know,
we had proposed that and mister Wakem and the PC
caucus had proposed that and said we need this to decide.
The Liberals decided that nope, we're not going to do that,
and anyway, that is what it is. So once that
was sort of neutralized. And we did address that in
(29:50):
day one of the campaign. I mean, mister Wakem's speech
that night talked about the independent review and what he
was going to do and the steps he would take
to bring it back to Newton Finlanders and Labors for
a referendum. We had our position laid out on that
for the whole campaign, and then we were able to say, okay,
So with that sort of addressed, how about we now
(30:11):
look at healthcare, and we look at affordability, and we
look at crime and these types of things that mattered
to people and whether or not after ten years it
was time for a change.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
About three or four more minutes for you. I know
you're busy working, so I appreciate the time. Voter coalitions,
I mean we talk a lot about them, Steve. I
don't know if people know what they mean or they
don't mean. Often in Newfoundland they were along regional and
religious lines. I mean, is this is Tony Wakem's government,
(30:41):
a government that speaks more for rural Newfoundland in terms
than it does Saint John's. Does it connect better that way?
Is there a particular coalition you can point to? What
can you tell us about that? Well?
Speaker 5 (30:55):
I do think that the frustration was felt a bit
more acutely from the Liberals in rural parts of the province,
where they were feeling that the last government was ignoring
concerns or not addressing them properly, and so there was
definitely more appetite and hunger for that outside of the
Metro area. There was a little more satisfaction with the
(31:16):
Liberal government within Metro and we saw that with the results.
Speaker 7 (31:19):
I believe so.
Speaker 5 (31:21):
But the government in and of itself, I mean, it
is I mean, it was more than just a slogan
about the you know, we're here to be a government
for all of us. You know, I think that you're
going to see decisions that benefit all Newfoundlanders and Laboratorians.
And so in terms of that voter coalition moving forward,
I mean, we're going to continue to try to build
and I believe that the PCs will try to build
on that.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Let's get to some of the criticisms, because I know
you've heard them, and I know you're happy to address them,
and I will just say is a bit of a
precursor to this. I've known Steve for a long time.
I know he's a person of faith, and he shares
that privately has been my experience. But Steve, one of
the criticisms even though you've worked for very progressive conservative politicians,
(32:04):
I would argue, like Leola Hern, like Aaron O'Toole, is
that because you had done some work with Blaine Higgs
and New Brunswick, and you've done some work with Danielle
Smith in Alberta, and because you're a person of faith,
that you would bring your views or your the practices
that mister Higgs and miss Smith brought into their particular
(32:27):
regional politics into politics in Newfoundland and the Labrador. The
NDPS raised this criticism others have. How do you respond
to that?
Speaker 5 (32:37):
Look, I mean, I think it's fair for people to
raise whatever concerns they have, But I would say, you know,
I would prefer that people try to get to know
me personally, but I obviously not in a lot of
people are going to take that time. I mean, my
role in managing a campaign, I am, as you know,
a small sea Conservative. I want to help any sort
of you know, the blue teams across the country win government,
(32:58):
and I want to help good people get elected. But
I'm there to help those leaders and those politicians implement
their policies and their agenda, not my own. If I
want to do that, I'll put my name on the ballot.
And you know, mister Wakem has been very clear. He
runs a very inclusive and a very you know, transparent.
You know, he's very clear in his views of you
know that he will be here to represent all of us,
(33:20):
doesn't matter, you know, whether you're a person of faith
or not a person of faiths, or you have different
backgrounds and outlooks and so on. And so I was
drawn to Tony Wakem as a leader. I thought he
would make a great premier.
Speaker 7 (33:32):
The first of all.
Speaker 5 (33:33):
I thought he'd make a great party leader and then
a great premier. And I believe he will be that.
So my job is to help him and his team
implement the vision and the agenda that they're running on.
It's not for me to come in and start to say, oh,
let's do this or let's do that. That's not my
role in some days. Should I ever make the foolish
decision to put my name on a ballot, then I can.
(33:53):
I can, you know, argue with people and debate about that.
But until then I'm here to help leaders carry out
their agenda.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Listen, the only foolish decision you and your wife make
is all those triathlons and ironman that you iron man
that you do, but you do them for good causes. Actually,
in fact, the last time I ran into Steve, he
was marshaling a race that my son and I did
here in Ottawa. And if you do want to get
to know him personally, you can see that he posts
pretty regularly about some of those incredible exploits that he does.
(34:21):
All right, Steve, appreciate the time. Thank you for joining
us today.
Speaker 7 (34:25):
Thanks Sam, great to chat with you.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
All right, take care of that is Steve Outhouse. He
was the campaign director campaign manager for Tony Wakem. He
also is on the transition team for the Premier. Well,
today's Federal budget day. We're forty five minutes away. I
guess from knowing what's in there. Wanted to get our
friend John Harris on. John, of course, is the editor
(34:50):
of the Muse, the paper Memorial University. He's well connected
and understands the university community and many other communities. John
Federal budgets.
Speaker 6 (35:05):
Yeah, this is a this is a big day. I mean,
I think when you have the.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Will you give voice too. At the muse looking for absolutely.
Speaker 6 (35:13):
I mean, I think this is a big day for
I think everybody's waiting to see what's going to come
out of this budget. Obviously, the fate of the government
is hinges on it passing, so everybody's holding on to
every word that's coming out in the next less than
an hour. Like you said, But in terms of, you know,
the university community, who I look to for sure is
(35:35):
you know, Robin Whitaker is the president of the CUT,
the Canadian Association of University Teachers. I'm looking forward to
getting her reaction. I'm going to be speaking interviewing her tomorrow.
Speaker 7 (35:46):
But from the.
Speaker 6 (35:46):
CUT perspective, they say, you know, the over thirteen thousand
jobs have been lost in colleges and university across the
country and the last increase to federal core post secondary
funding was in two thousand and eight, so they're looking
for recognition for public colleges and universities a's critical infrastructure.
They're definitely looking for an increase of funding as you're
(36:09):
seeing downsizing from across the country. To hear memorial, I
think we're you know, we've seen some cuts come come
from the provincial government, but obviously it's ultimately a shared
responsibility from from you know, primarily provincial, but there's a
lot of federal funding that goes to post secondary as
well as in grants and loans. They're looking to get
(36:32):
that Canadian grant limit increase for students, and there's definitely
a question I think in terms of where things are
going to be cut from the other perspectives of other communities. Well,
you know, we ran an article from our managing Editorly
Hurly about the Canadian Independent Music Association. They're worried about
(36:54):
sixteen million dollars of music industry funding that's set to expire.
So you know, for one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars
from that funding went to music and l in twenty
twenty four, so has come to our province and you know,
pays for music industry positions, pays for albums to be
made for you know, the important funding that goes into
(37:16):
making music happen. But yeah, there's there's there's I can
get into a few other issues there, but.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
I want to ask on housing, John because the Prime
Minister previously had announced new housing agency and funds for
housing agency. I know housing is a huge issue, particularly
for gen Z's millennials. Housing issues around in and around
Saint John's are real and pronounced. What's your take on
how people are looking at that?
Speaker 1 (37:43):
Absolutely?
Speaker 6 (37:44):
I mean, I think the rhetoric so far from the
Prime Minister has been positive in terms of, you know,
building massive new housing I think how that's going to
be implemented is is important. I think that if you're
looking at only trying to stimulate private development from happening,
(38:05):
you're not going to be creating. You may get some
offshoot benefits for you know, an increase of housing in
general is good for low income Canadians. But if you're
not directly investing in non market housing, I think that's
going to be a problem where we're going to have
an increase of housing potentially, but it might not be affordable.
(38:25):
So I think that's definitely something to look at. I
think if we're you know, we're looking at a he's
talked about fifteen percent cut across all public sector, which
is concerning when you know, it's not really at the
end of the day, it's it's to be able to
afford a massive increase of military spending, which was raised
(38:49):
by the draw the Line protests that we attended and interviewed,
and that was across the country. People were coming out
so environment Park. We talked to different communit the groups
that were tending to protests, and I think they're concerned
about the five percent pledge, of the five percent GDP
pledge that would be going to military spending, which amounts
(39:11):
to about one hundred and fifty billion dollars. I think
that especially when we look at the terror fight with
the United States, and I ask myself, you know, how
much of that funding, of the billion, one hundred and
fifty billion dollars in military spending is actually going to
be going to US military contractors who you know, we
(39:32):
buy a lot of our weapons from. And is it
really you know, a Canadian first move to be cutting
fifteen percent of our public sector here in order to
pay for US military jobs, military contractor jobs.
Speaker 8 (39:48):
So I think in some ways, you know, a lot
of this public sector cuts in order to be paid
for more US demands like you know, increase in military spending,
increase in border security, increase in RCMP funding, a lot
of these.
Speaker 6 (40:06):
You know, at the end of the day, is it
going to create a safer and more just society in
the country. I don't really see that from happening.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
I got about a minute here or less. You're not
in elected politics anymore, but you certainly have your fingers
and a lot of different things. You cover a lot
of things, you report, a lot of things. You know
a lot of people here where I am in Ottawa.
It does not feel like will fall into an election
or one will be precipitated, despite some of the things
(40:36):
you've said that may make it more difficult for the
NDP to abstain. What's your feeling on whether or not
this budget is going to get through and if people
have the at appetite is the word I was looking
for for an election.
Speaker 6 (40:51):
I definitely know here in the province nobody wants to
go back to the polls we had the provincial election
and the minist election just month. I don't think I
think people are going to be very fatigued if there
is going to be election called. Obviously there's you know
it's it is a minority, but it is a type minority.
And I think if I'm not sure the exact number,
(41:13):
but if three or four people have the Green or
failed to show up, three so three MP's from the NDP,
the block don't show up. I think that, you know,
that's probably the likelyhood of I don't think it's gonna
we're going to see a formal support from any of
the opposition parties. But I definitely think that Mark Kearney
(41:34):
is not in the worst position for for an election necessarily.
I think that's why he's he's you know, being being
so bold about this budget. The NDP obviously currently doesn't
have a leader and won't vote for one until March. Obviously,
Don Davies is the interim leader and polliever is up
for a leadership review, and it seems to be fighting
(41:56):
a lot of the old battles in his rhetoric. So
he's not extremely you know, facing that wave of popularity
that he once did in the Trudeau era. So I definitely,
you know, I definitely to think that whatever whatever comes
out of this budget, I hope that there's there's gonna be,
(42:17):
you know, some some support for Canadians. I mean, if
I looked at food first.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
And now yeah, food, I gotta leave it there, John,
I think you're right. Sorry to cut you off, because
I got to get to peasack in a moment. I
want to give them their time. Thank you. Bye. That
is our friend John Harris, editor of The Muse. Just
quickly before we go to break and bring Crystilla Liberator
from Peasack. On power outages, Marysvale brigis Cupit Station Road
(42:42):
brigis started around four p fifteen due to severe weather
that is out, the powers out in Paradise digging up
some more information. Lights are out all along tops of road.
As you approach the tch Overpass, traffic is slightly backed
up into Paradise all right in a moment with Peasack's
regional executive vice president.
Speaker 4 (43:04):
The Tim Power Show.
Speaker 5 (43:06):
Join the conversation weekday afternoons at four pm on your VOCM.
Speaker 2 (43:11):
Welcome back, of course. One of the things people are
watching in this federal budget, which is coming out in
about thirty four minutes, is what will happen to the
public service. The Public Service Alliance of Canada Atlantic Region
is holding a budget watch event this evening in Saint
John starts at about thirty four minutes as well. It's
being hosted by Chris Deliberator. Chris, of course, is the
(43:33):
regional executive vice president of PASAC Public Service Alliance of Canada.
I should say Chris has been on with us before, Chris,
are your members anxious, angry, uncertain some combination of the
above are how are your people feeling right now?
Speaker 9 (43:51):
They're feeling all of that tim right right now, there's
a lot of uncertainty because we really don't know what
we're going to see in this budget. There's been signals
that it's going to be an austerity budget, and let's
be clear, austerity budgets are lazy, reckless and short sighted
and it really, at the end of the day, just
puts everybody in Canada at risk.
Speaker 2 (44:12):
I had Sharon on this as a last week and
she made exactly the same point. What I understand from
listening to some reports earlier in the day, probably going
to take a few days to know what the impact
will be of whatever measures the government brings in there
to address what it may view as changes in the
(44:34):
public service. What's your understanding of what you will know
and when you will know it.
Speaker 9 (44:39):
Well, we've had people in the lock up today, so
we'll know a little bit hopefully right away. But nonetheless
we're going to sit down, we're gonna we're going to
go through that information that the Financement is going to
start reading. As you said in about thirty minutes and
you know, analyze what that means for our members were
(45:00):
we're hoping that it doesn't mean the significant cuts that
have been signaled. I mean, we've all heard the figures
could be as much as sixty thousand people if if
what's being proposed as accurate, but you know, we won't
know that until we really get to dig into the document.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
Got about a minute for this one. Chris tell us
about the event which is happening in just over half
an hour, what will be happening there, and what to expect.
Speaker 9 (45:31):
So we're having what we call a budget watch. We've
invited other like minded organizations, different unions and labor organizations
as well as community organizations to come in, and we've
invited media to come as well to speak to those
folks because we think that having everybody together provides that
(45:51):
great opportunity for media to get, you know, all the
information they need in the reporting that they're going to
go forward. But it's to provide an opportunity unity for
folks to sit together and really have an open discussion
about what they're hearing from the Finance Minister as it's happening,
and talk about the concerns that they have as a
result of it.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
Well, I hope the weather is not an omen for
what may be coming today, but this could be any
day in Newfoundland and Labrador, so we won't read too
much into that. Chris, appreciate the time as always. Thank
you for joining us and giving us your perspective.
Speaker 9 (46:28):
No problem, Tim, Hopefully you don't blow away today.
Speaker 2 (46:32):
Unlikely. Take care, Chris By. That is Chris Deliberateur. He
is the regional executive vice president of the Public Service
Alliance of Canada Atlantic Division. Of course, the budget is
coming and thirty one minutes or so I'll be on
with Jerry, Lenna and Russell tomorrow to go through it.
We have coverage throughout tonight tomorrow on what it may
(46:55):
mean for you, and we'll talk about it on our
show tomorrow. Thank you for listening. Thank you you to
clut It, Dave, Greg, everybody who makes this show happen.
For now, I'm Tim Powers, Stay dry if you can,
and most importantly, stay safe. Back tomorrow
This is the Tim Power Show on your VOCM.
Speaker 2 (00:04):
The views and opinions of this program are not necessarily
those of this station. Here's Tim. Hi, everybody on this wet, windy,
stormy November fourth. Great to be with you today. That
will be a lot of our focus, at least to
start the show. You're well familiar with now, the fact
that we're in the midst of what they're calling a
(00:25):
bomb cyclone which is moving across the island, wind and
rain storm intensifying dramatically. There's coastal flood warnings in effect
for Buren in southern Avalon. There's a storm surge and
coastal flooding warnings in effect for the northeast coast for
tomorrow and the west rest of the week. Wind warnings
(00:48):
also in effect. Rainfall amounts could reach fifty millimeters in
some areas, snow and higher elevations on the west coast,
Northern Peninsula and parts of Labrador. And of course, as
Brian just pointed out, transportation affected with airline and faery cancellations,
all kinds of traffic advisories. Let me just give you
(01:09):
a couple of a few of them. Brian gave you too,
but I'll repeat them again. Color to VOCM says the
barricades and the construction site on Wyatt Boulevard have been
knocked down and are scattered on both sides of the
road with rut cuts into the road have filled with
water and are washing out. The lights are out at
Bruce Street. Traffic is hung up in that area and
(01:30):
very slow moving. We are also getting a advisory from
the City of Saint John's please advise that Westerland Road
will be closed until further notice due to debris from winds.
If you counter a road or a sidewalk hazard during
the storms, such as downtree object or a power line,
(01:51):
it is important that you stay away from the area
report any road hazard to the city. So that is that.
Let's see, I think we have Dave Neil there, do
we from Environment Canada Dave Boy any good news in
(02:11):
any of this? How long is all this going to
carry on in various parts of the province.
Speaker 3 (02:16):
Well, certainly going to be going for pretty well the
rest of the night tonight and likely lingering through through
part of the day tomorrow as well. So really a
lot of the heavier precipitation, a lot of the stronger
winds really going to be happening through the night tonight
as we get into into Wednesday. Some of the precipitation
(02:36):
will linger around a little bit through the day on Wednesday,
but really we're expecting the bulk of that really through
the night tonight, but the winds will still be quite
quite stiff out of the northwest across pretty well to
the whole island, probably likely into tomorrow night.
Speaker 2 (02:55):
Now, is this Hurricane Melissa, the remnants of Career? What
is this? What is this bomb cycling? Where did it
come from? Dave?
Speaker 3 (03:03):
Well, this actually just formed off the off the US
East Coast near near Cape Hatteras. That's where we we
do tend to see a quite a bit of storm
formation really through kind of late fallen into the into
the winter months as well. So uh so, it's not
related to any sort of tropical system. It's just a
storm that kind of came off of the US East Coast.
And and we do see these, you know, they're not
(03:26):
super super common, but they're not exactly completely out of
the question. We have seen some some very rapidly intensifying
storms like this in the past, for sure, And.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
Is there anything behind this one that's caused for concern
or too early to tell about that, Well, we do.
Speaker 3 (03:44):
We are kind of tracking another one. Like obviously right
now with the with the storm of this magnitude, all
of the focus has really been on on getting the
details with this one. But yeah, there is another little
disturbance that's likely going to move south of the island
sometime on Thursday as well. That one won't be quite
as quite as significant, but still could bring some strong
(04:06):
winds in a mix of precipitation to parts of the
south coast of the island, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (04:11):
And for the over the next couple of days. Do
we I mean, how long do these bomb cyclones last? Dave,
I guess this is the best question I could ask you.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Well, this particular one, this one is going to move
across the east coast of the island through the night
tonight and it will move away from the island tomorrow.
But it does kind of slow down a bit, It
does move rather slowly as it as it tracks away
from the island. So that's kind of why, that's kind
of why those those stronger winds are lingering around. Also
(04:42):
those high water levels, those very highways, large swells. We
are kind of expecting especially across the more north facing
coastlines of the island, even upwards, all across the all
across the Labrador coast as well, So we're expecting those
to kind of hang around really for most of this
week and and and even up towards Labrador even could
(05:03):
potentially linger into Saturday as well. So it's, uh, it's
taken its time. It's going to eventually get it get
out of our hair, but it's it's going to take
its time as it's as it moves off to the northeast.
Speaker 2 (05:14):
All right, before I let you go. You just heard Brian,
you heard me? Is there anything new that people need
to be aware of now as they start to head
home for the day, if they have in fact gone
to work.
Speaker 3 (05:27):
Well, one of the biggest things actually right now is
really through for central and western Newfoundland, we have seen
some of that mixing or changing to snow, perhaps a
little earlier than we had anticipated. So there's some of
the highway cameras, particular in western Newfoundland showing some accumulation
of snow on the ground. Even here so far as
(05:48):
as Gander, we're seeing a bit of a little bit
of accumulation just to you know, not not much, but
some snow down as well. So for areas that are
kind of that central and western, those western regions, I
should prepare to have a bit of a slower commute
is going to be a bit more of a like
a wintery conditions there. In terms of eastern Newfoundland, of course,
(06:10):
we still have the coastal flooding warnings going for parts
of the really southern Avalon and beer In Peninsula for
high tides tonight and tomorrow morning, and then the northeast
coast there we also have coastal flooding mornings in effect
really for the high tides starting tomorrow morning and really
persisting through a good portion of the rest of the week.
(06:31):
So we're expecting still regardless of where you are on
the island, it's good like we going to be a nasty,
nasty night, that's for sure.
Speaker 2 (06:39):
All right. Well, I appreciate the time as always, Dave,
thank you for the update, and we will be keeping
you busies I'm sure you expect. Thanks very much, Dave,
not a problem, Thanks for having me, all right, that
is Dave Neil from Environment Canada, and throughout the show
we will give you any updates that you need to
know as you're making your way home. All right, on
the show, we are fully loaded array of great guests.
(07:01):
In a couple few minutes, we'll have doctor Tyler Eddie
from Memorial University Marine Institute. Doctor Eddie is one of
the authors of that new study that's getting lots of
attention how North Atlantic harpse heals eating habits may be
affecting groundfish recovery. We're going to have Steve Outhouse. He's
been in the news a lot. He of course was
(07:22):
the successful campaign director campaign manager for Premier Tony Wakem.
He's going to join us and respond to some of
the criticisms that have been made about him by the
NDP and others about how they believe his faith and
past activities may interfere with any role he has in
the Wakem government transition. I should say, we'll talk to
(07:44):
Steve about that. We've got John Harris coming up from
the Meuse to talk about budget expectations and we all
all federal budget because that's happening today and we'll have
a report on that tomorrow morning and this evening. And
at the end of the show, we've got the Regional
Executive Vice President from Peasac on to talk about the
budget watch party they're having. They may be the most
(08:07):
anxious people awaiting what Mark Kearney and his front finance
minister decide when it comes to the civil service and
its size. All that coming up, But history history made today.
Dick Cheney, the well known former Vice president of the
United States, passed away. He was eighty four, I believe
(08:30):
eighty three eighty four. He of course was side by
side with George W. Bush from two thousand to two
thousand and eight, the Iraq War, all that led to that,
different conflicts around the world. A hugely influential figure, many
seeing him in a dark light, others less. So here's
a report on the former vice president's life from Khou
(08:52):
Out of Houston.
Speaker 4 (08:54):
Richard Bruce. Cheney forged an identity as a no nonsense,
boyal gatekeeper.
Speaker 2 (08:59):
For George W.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Bush, through whom access and influence flowed.
Speaker 5 (09:03):
I affect him because he's strong, he's steady, and he
gets a job done.
Speaker 4 (09:08):
Cheney was a seasoned Washington insider long before becoming vice president.
He began his public service career in the Nixon administration
and then became chief of staff for President Gerald Ford.
In nineteen seventy eight, Cheney was elected to Congress from
his home state of Wyoming. He spent a decade there
until the first President Bush asked him to serve as
(09:28):
Secretary of Defense. After President Bush lost reelection, Cheney became
head of the oil services giant Halliburton. It was a
job that kept him steeped in foreign policy, and later
the job became a lightning rod for his critics.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
When George W.
Speaker 4 (09:43):
Bush secured the Republican nomination in two thousand, he tesked
Cheney with vetting candidates for vice president, but ultimately offered
him the job. Cheney's health was a major concern. He'd
had three mild heart attacks in a quadruple bypass before
he was fifty. Suffered another heart attack shortly after the
two thousand election.
Speaker 1 (10:03):
I've got a doctor that follows me around twenty four
hours a day.
Speaker 5 (10:06):
That comes with a job as a vice president.
Speaker 4 (10:08):
His health continued to be an issue once he was
out of office. In twenty twelve, at the age of
seventy one, Cheney underwent a heart transplant. In the Bush administration,
Cheney was considered a hawk who is instrumental in the
decision to invade i Roq. Cheney believed history would prove
they made the right move.
Speaker 6 (10:28):
What we did in Iraq and taking down Saddam Hussin
was exactly the right thing to do.
Speaker 4 (10:32):
During the second term of the Bush administration, Cheney would
find himself at the center of controversy when his chief
of staff, I Scooter Libby, was sentenced to prison in
connection with the leak of a CIA agent's name. The
President communed Libby's sentence but did not pardon him, a
move sought by some conservatives. Late in his career, Cheney
(10:53):
admitted he differed from many and his party on the
issue of gay marriage.
Speaker 1 (10:58):
Many of you know one of my daughters is gay.
Speaker 6 (11:01):
I think people ought to be free to enter into
any kind of union they wish.
Speaker 4 (11:06):
In his twenty eleven memoir, Cheney q Secretary of State
Colin Powell seeking to undermine President Bush by expressing doubts
about the Iraq War. He also said Powell's successor, Condolleza Rice,
misled the president about negotiations with North Korea. Both have
disputed the claims. Cheney had no interest in running for
(11:27):
president after leaving office, but he continued to be an
outspoken voice for the Republican Party in Washington. I'm some Inservadi.
Speaker 2 (11:38):
Certainly a fascinating historical figure. And Halliburton well known in
Newfoundland and the Labrador because of its dominance in the
oil industry. And you do wonder, as angry as people
were in the time of Bush and Cheney, how different
and perhaps more palatable they look today to the world,
(12:00):
particularly to Canada. We will continue to cover that story,
but we're also, as we said, going to give you
some updates on some outages. What do I have latest
power outage Outage Center current outages Patty's Pond and they're
described as unplanned Duffets Road, Evergreen Village, Tops Road, Magnolia Place,
(12:20):
that's where it is, Elizabeth Park, Outer Ring Road to
James Height, Sigona Avenue, Donovan's Tops, the Road to corn
Sandy Road, and Danny Drive, a TCH Northern Pond Road area.
All of those are outages that are being reported it
(12:42):
They were reported at about three thirty five, so just
over what forty or so minutes ago. That is something
we will keep an eye on. Good luck to you
all out there. It is not for the faint of heart.
We'll take a break now. When we come back, doctor
Tyler Eddie, you'll talk to us about a study into
heart seal eating patterns and what that might mean for
(13:03):
ground fish and cod in particular. Back with doctor Eddie
in a moment. Welcome back. Well, this study is getting
some attention. It was released the other day and the
headline of the news release is North Atlantic harp seals
eating habits may be affecting ground fish recovery. One of
(13:25):
the people who was part and parcel of this study
was doctor Tyler Eddie from the Marine Institute. It was
his one of his students, Miss West get her first name,
Hannah West, who co authored the paper with doctor Eddie.
Doctor Eddie, this is getting some attention because it looks
(13:47):
like we're stepping back into a time when we were
told previously that harp seals were eating our ground fish.
They appear to be doing it again at a fairly
high volume.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Is that what you found, Yeah, yeah, that's what we found.
They We were looking at a number of different time
periods from before the codfishery collapsed in the mid eighties,
and then we also looked from twenty thirteen until twenty fifteen,
and then a more recent period from twenty eighteen until
twenty twenty, and our studies showed that, you know, they
(14:20):
have had consistently high consumption of cod through those different
time periods. It does vary during different time periods, you know,
as the abundance of prey changes through time, you can
imagine the amount that they eat changes. But yeah, that's
that's what we found.
Speaker 2 (14:37):
And it's pardon my ignorance, but is codfish their primary
food source?
Speaker 1 (14:44):
Well, harp seals are generalists, so they'll eat a lot
of different things in the system. So they'll eat arctica,
delete herring, del eat capelin del eite, sanlance, elite, shrimp,
dell e. Yeah, they'll eat a lot of things.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
So, like the rest of you put it on the table,
except in their case, you put it in the ocean
and they do eat it. What I found really fascinating.
You revealed that from twenty eighteen to twenty twenty, consumption
rates were twenty four times higher than fisheries catch rates
for Atlantic cod, green halibut, and American what do you said,
(15:22):
class place place? You always forget a place, so translate
that into English. For us, it seems like they ate
a hell of a lot of fish and the catch
rates were down as a consequence. Is that what that's
telling me?
Speaker 3 (15:36):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (15:36):
So, I mean, if you look at our present day
catch rates, they're quite low compared to what they were
historically before the cod fishery collapse. So, I mean a
lot of these comparisons are related to the fact that
the fishery is catching a lot less than it did historically.
So when you put you know, those comparisons together, you
end up getting that big difference in terms of the
(16:00):
amount of fish that harp seals are consuming. But one
interesting fact is the harp seal population has actually declined
from about seven and a half million in the late
nineties to about four and a half million at the
most recent population estimate. So even though they are consuming
a lot, their population is in decline at the moment.
Speaker 2 (16:23):
I won't pull you into the debate as to whether
what that may mean about a future seal hunt, but
it does still seem that they're eating a lot of fish. Again,
am I reading that right? I mean, are they having
a material impact on the regeneration of cod stalks?
Speaker 1 (16:46):
Yeah, They're definitely a significant source of mortality for cod stocks.
They're not the only thing that's at play, Another important
factor that we found in a related study was the
amount of food that's available for cod is also a
very important predictor in understanding cod growth. So, for example,
we know that capelin stocks have been very low since
(17:07):
the cod collapsed as well, and so a related study
that we did suggested that if capelin was able to
recover to those historical levels, that would also lead to
an increase in cod population. So there's both you know,
impacts from the predators that are eating them, but there's
also impacts from their food availability as well. So it's
kind of a complicated system that we're working with here.
Speaker 2 (17:29):
Now you make the point in the news release that
I see there find your findings provide support for including
harp cel predatation as an ecosystem factor in future fishery
stock assessments in the province. So to date, they have
not been properly factored in.
Speaker 1 (17:48):
Yeah, so recently we've so I attend these fishery stock
assessment meetings, so I've been privy to these conversations. So
capelin has been included as one of the ecosystem factors
that is accounted for, and the population models that are
used in these stock assessments for northern cod. So we
do say, okay, if we expect more capalin in the system,
(18:10):
we think that's better for cod, and that influences the model.
We haven't done that for harp seals yet, and there
was talk at one of the framework meetings a couple
of years ago about doing it, but the decision in
the room at that point in time was based on
the evidence. It was decided not to include them. But
I think what our study does is it gives an
(18:32):
additional evidence to suggest that, yes, this is a significant
source of mortality on northern cod.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
But if you've got the second largest seal population in
the world at four point four million according to the
data that I'm reading here, Again, I just take this
from a common sense perspective, why would the measurement of
what the seals were eating have been discounted in the
first place. I hear there's none of it evidence, but
(19:01):
it would seem just on the surface. What am I
not getting right to understand why they weren't counted in
the first place.
Speaker 1 (19:10):
I mean, I don't know the complete answer to that.
What I can tell you from the scientific literature is
that there have been studies, you know, earlier studies from
you know, the turn of the two thousands that suggested
that they did have a strong impact. And then there
was more recent studies that use different sort of techniques
and different accounting methods that suggested that there wasn't as
(19:34):
strong an impact of harp seals. And then you know,
this study contributes to the body of scientific literature to suggest, okay,
there is you know, evidence based on the approach that
we've used to suggest that yes, there is a top
down as we call it, or a predation effect of
seals on God.
Speaker 2 (19:53):
Last question for you, have you gotten any sense that
DFO is going to include this now as part of
the ecosystem factor analysis.
Speaker 1 (20:03):
I'm not too sure. I mean, I know that, like
I say, it has been considered in the past, so
I wouldn't say that it won't be considered to get
in the future. But you know, these meetings, the stock
assessment meetings usually take place early in the year, in
the winter of February March, and anytime there's a change
to an existing assessment model, usually there's an accompanying framework
(20:25):
meeting where people say, okay, it doesn't make sense to
change the approach that we have been using So there'd
have to be a couple of, you know, scientific meetings
to take place before anything would change. But I think
it would be on the table because it's been on
the table in the past, in the past.
Speaker 2 (20:39):
All right, doctor Tyler Eddie, thank you for the time,
So thank you for sharing this information. I know or
in listeners will be fascinated by it. Thank you for
your time, my pleasure, Take care. All right. That's doctor
Tyler Eddie. He is one of the co authors of
this report that looks at North Atlantic harp seals eating habits. Again,
I am a late person to all of this, have
(21:01):
worked at DFO, as my next guest has as well.
Why would you not count seals? And what the I
don't know. Somebody who's much wiser than me, which is
all of you, has the answer. Call me, tell me.
Let's talk about it. But before we do that, we're
going to take a break. When we come back, the
gentleman who was in charge of Tony Wakem's winning campaign
(21:23):
joins us. Next, Steve Odos back with me in a
moment here on the Tim Power Show. All Right, before
I get to my guest, we've got to give you
a bunch of updates fast and furious. It's one of
those days. First one I have for you, we have
an accident on the Trans Canada Highway. It's a single
vehicle rollover about four kilometers east of Whitburn. Traffic is
(21:47):
moving slowly as there is debris on both sides of
the divided highway. Next RCMP advisory RCMPII are saying heavy
snow and cooling temperatures in western Newfoundland are creating hazardous
road conditions, including along the Trans Canada Highway. Motorists are
(22:08):
urged to stay off the roads if possible. If you
must travel, please exercise extreme caution and drive according to
road and weather conditions. We will bring you these updates
as we get them. But let's go back to politics
for a moment. It's a busy political day on the
federal scene. Of course, the budget coming down in about
(22:31):
two what about an hour an hour from now. We'll
cover that extensively when it gets dropped. But most recently,
the election concluded in Newfoundland and Labradors we all know
Tony Wakem was elected the new Premier of Newfoundland and
Labradors sworn in his cabinet's been sworn in the person
credited with helping Tony Wakem get that victory is Steve Outhhaus.
(22:54):
He was his campaign manager, campaign director, was there with
him in his leadership race, and he's here with us now.
And Steve, the funny part of all of this is,
just before you came on, I was talking about the
fishery and harp seals and I think the first time
I ever cross paths with you or saw your name
(23:14):
was when you were working in one of those departments
as a spokesperson. So the world's very circular, isn't it.
Speaker 7 (23:21):
Indeed it is. Everything leads back to seals.
Speaker 2 (23:26):
Well, we could go down so many paths with that,
but we'll stay off that one for now. Look, glad
you could come on. First of all, let's get to
how the wind happened. And starting with something I remember
you talked to Veo Sam about it, you talked to
all the media about it. Was the first controversy on
(23:48):
the campaign, or at the beginning of the campaign, was
the PCs didn't have any buses, and some were viewing
that as well, that must mean you don't have any money,
you didn't need the buses. In the end, it appears
you invested in things like social media. Just tell us
a little bit about some of the thinking around the
traditional approach to campaigning in Newfoundland and the more modern
(24:12):
approach you took as it related to social media outreach.
Speaker 7 (24:16):
Yeah, well thanks Tim, it's great to be on with you.
Speaker 5 (24:18):
And yeah, when it comes to campaigning, you have to
look to how to stretch every dollar you get. Everything
is it's very precious. As you know, it comes from donors,
it comes from people who want to help you with
your campaign. And there was no secret going into it
that the Liberals had been out fundraising the PCs for
some time and we needed to make the most out
(24:41):
of our budget. But I can tell you honestly, if
you gave me two million dollars to run the campaign,
I wouldn't have sunk it into buses. I mean, first
of all, our path to victory was largely outside the
overpass and was having our leader get around the province
and that included a lot of small communities and going
down some some difficult roads like not metaphorically but just
(25:03):
getting out there on the highway and getting around the province.
So a smaller vehicle was actually helpful. And you know,
I know from running other campaigns a bus is a
huge expense. I mean usually you're looking at sixty thousand dollars,
you know, to rend it. For the course of the campaign,
as you mentioned, I mean, we spent a significant amount
of money on social media advertising and trying to reach
(25:26):
those eyes that are you know, all across the province
and seeing our message and interacting with it and so on.
So we felt the money was better spent there, and
I wouldn't change that decision at all.
Speaker 2 (25:39):
Another thing that was interesting for me during the campaign, Steve,
and I don't want you to give away your bag
of tricks, but often talking to candidates from all parties,
one of the things I don't know if they lamented
it or observed it, or perhaps a combination of the two,
was the days of the Big Newfoundland Rally, the big
showcase of candidates, the all of the showmanship, the momentum
(26:04):
generating events were fewer and far between. Was that a
is that a new reality? A reflection of affordability being
so central in this campaign that there wasn't the opportunity
or the appropriate propriety of being large and loud in
the way you campaigned.
Speaker 7 (26:24):
I think it's a bit of both.
Speaker 5 (26:27):
I mean, in terms of the new reality, I do
think the days that we've seen of you know, an
army of volunteers that fled into every campaign office for
parties of every stripe to knock doors tirelessly, you know,
six days a week, that there are fewer and fewer
people who are who will get out and do that.
And I think a lot more people, while they still
(26:47):
care passionately about politics and have a lot of you know,
they understand the impact it has on the future of
a province or a country, there is less time spent
getting out there for events and going out for volunteering
and things like that, and I think that is part
of the new reality. I definitely think post COVID, we've
seen that across the board and that's not unique to
(27:10):
Newfoundland and Labrador. That's that's across the country really. But
also again in terms of where we were doing a
lot of outreach in terms of smaller communities, just mathematically
you don't have a lot of those numbers, right, So
you go into a small, small community, it's just important
to connect with as many people as you can. You know,
(27:31):
sometimes a meet and greet with you know, fifteen to
twenty people, you know, in Saint bar of Blanca Meadows.
I mean that's kind of equivalent to you know, having
a larger scale, you know, gathering here in Saint John's.
So it was you know a little bit of column A, a
little bit of columb.
Speaker 2 (27:48):
In the past, also, Newfoundland elections have often been about
the big question do you support this deal or that deal?
And certainly the question the Liberals were looking to push
was do you support the MoU and all of the
things it's going to bring to you? It seemed and
proven I think through the success you had in the
campaign that you and Tony Wakem were focused on the
(28:13):
pocketbook issues, the safety and security issues. When did you
know that was the path to go down?
Speaker 5 (28:19):
Yeah, So going into the campaign and again we were
somewhat tight and what resources we had, I mean, we did,
you know, the best research we could and and you're right,
in an election, people do try to drive a question
like that, and the Liberals made it very clear that
they were going to try to run on the MoU.
And so what we dug into and ask people about
(28:43):
very clearly the majority of Newfoundlanders and Laboratorians that we
could speak to through our research polling and so on
said that they just didn't have enough information to decide
whether it was a good deal or not. So it
was a risk for either party. For the liberals, you know,
them pushing it to say we need to get this
done and then let's get it over the line because
it's going to result in all these things. There was
(29:05):
a skepticism that we found that people didn't really believe
that it was going to do what mister Hogan and
the Liberals were saying it would do. So knowing that
and doing the research, and I'm sure the liberals did
their own so, you know, and they made their decisions
on that. You know, we just said, for us, the
position to take on this is we're going to work
to get people the information that they need so they
(29:27):
can decide what direction we go. And that's where the
Independent Review came in. And again that that was sitting
in front of the liberals from January when you know,
we had proposed that and mister Wakem and the PC
caucus had proposed that and said we need this to decide.
The Liberals decided that nope, we're not going to do that,
and anyway, that is what it is. So once that
was sort of neutralized. And we did address that in
(29:50):
day one of the campaign. I mean, mister Wakem's speech
that night talked about the independent review and what he
was going to do and the steps he would take
to bring it back to Newton Finlanders and Labors for
a referendum. We had our position laid out on that
for the whole campaign, and then we were able to say, okay,
So with that sort of addressed, how about we now
(30:11):
look at healthcare, and we look at affordability, and we
look at crime and these types of things that mattered
to people and whether or not after ten years it
was time for a change.
Speaker 2 (30:21):
About three or four more minutes for you. I know
you're busy working, so I appreciate the time. Voter coalitions,
I mean we talk a lot about them, Steve. I
don't know if people know what they mean or they
don't mean. Often in Newfoundland they were along regional and
religious lines. I mean, is this is Tony Wakem's government,
(30:41):
a government that speaks more for rural Newfoundland in terms
than it does Saint John's. Does it connect better that way?
Is there a particular coalition you can point to? What
can you tell us about that? Well?
Speaker 5 (30:55):
I do think that the frustration was felt a bit
more acutely from the Liberals in rural parts of the province,
where they were feeling that the last government was ignoring
concerns or not addressing them properly, and so there was
definitely more appetite and hunger for that outside of the
Metro area. There was a little more satisfaction with the
(31:16):
Liberal government within Metro and we saw that with the results.
Speaker 7 (31:19):
I believe so.
Speaker 5 (31:21):
But the government in and of itself, I mean, it
is I mean, it was more than just a slogan
about the you know, we're here to be a government
for all of us. You know, I think that you're
going to see decisions that benefit all Newfoundlanders and Laboratorians.
And so in terms of that voter coalition moving forward,
I mean, we're going to continue to try to build
and I believe that the PCs will try to build
on that.
Speaker 2 (31:43):
Let's get to some of the criticisms, because I know
you've heard them, and I know you're happy to address them,
and I will just say is a bit of a
precursor to this. I've known Steve for a long time.
I know he's a person of faith, and he shares
that privately has been my experience. But Steve, one of
the criticisms even though you've worked for very progressive conservative politicians,
(32:04):
I would argue, like Leola Hern, like Aaron O'Toole, is
that because you had done some work with Blaine Higgs
and New Brunswick, and you've done some work with Danielle
Smith in Alberta, and because you're a person of faith,
that you would bring your views or your the practices
that mister Higgs and miss Smith brought into their particular
(32:27):
regional politics into politics in Newfoundland and the Labrador. The
NDPS raised this criticism others have. How do you respond
to that?
Speaker 5 (32:37):
Look, I mean, I think it's fair for people to
raise whatever concerns they have, But I would say, you know,
I would prefer that people try to get to know
me personally, but I obviously not in a lot of
people are going to take that time. I mean, my
role in managing a campaign, I am, as you know,
a small sea Conservative. I want to help any sort
of you know, the blue teams across the country win government,
(32:58):
and I want to help good people get elected. But
I'm there to help those leaders and those politicians implement
their policies and their agenda, not my own. If I
want to do that, I'll put my name on the ballot.
And you know, mister Wakem has been very clear. He
runs a very inclusive and a very you know, transparent.
You know, he's very clear in his views of you
know that he will be here to represent all of us,
(33:20):
doesn't matter, you know, whether you're a person of faith
or not a person of faiths, or you have different
backgrounds and outlooks and so on. And so I was
drawn to Tony Wakem as a leader. I thought he
would make a great premier.
Speaker 7 (33:32):
The first of all.
Speaker 5 (33:33):
I thought he'd make a great party leader and then
a great premier. And I believe he will be that.
So my job is to help him and his team
implement the vision and the agenda that they're running on.
It's not for me to come in and start to say, oh,
let's do this or let's do that. That's not my
role in some days. Should I ever make the foolish
decision to put my name on a ballot, then I can.
(33:53):
I can, you know, argue with people and debate about that.
But until then I'm here to help leaders carry out
their agenda.
Speaker 2 (34:00):
Listen, the only foolish decision you and your wife make
is all those triathlons and ironman that you iron man
that you do, but you do them for good causes. Actually,
in fact, the last time I ran into Steve, he
was marshaling a race that my son and I did
here in Ottawa. And if you do want to get
to know him personally, you can see that he posts
pretty regularly about some of those incredible exploits that he does.
(34:21):
All right, Steve, appreciate the time. Thank you for joining
us today.
Speaker 7 (34:25):
Thanks Sam, great to chat with you.
Speaker 2 (34:27):
All right, take care of that is Steve Outhouse. He
was the campaign director campaign manager for Tony Wakem. He
also is on the transition team for the Premier. Well,
today's Federal budget day. We're forty five minutes away. I
guess from knowing what's in there. Wanted to get our
friend John Harris on. John, of course, is the editor
(34:50):
of the Muse, the paper Memorial University. He's well connected
and understands the university community and many other communities. John
Federal budgets.
Speaker 6 (35:05):
Yeah, this is a this is a big day. I mean,
I think when you have the.
Speaker 2 (35:09):
Will you give voice too. At the muse looking for absolutely.
Speaker 6 (35:13):
I mean, I think this is a big day for
I think everybody's waiting to see what's going to come
out of this budget. Obviously, the fate of the government
is hinges on it passing, so everybody's holding on to
every word that's coming out in the next less than
an hour. Like you said, But in terms of, you know,
the university community, who I look to for sure is
(35:35):
you know, Robin Whitaker is the president of the CUT,
the Canadian Association of University Teachers. I'm looking forward to
getting her reaction. I'm going to be speaking interviewing her tomorrow.
Speaker 7 (35:46):
But from the.
Speaker 6 (35:46):
CUT perspective, they say, you know, the over thirteen thousand
jobs have been lost in colleges and university across the
country and the last increase to federal core post secondary
funding was in two thousand and eight, so they're looking
for recognition for public colleges and universities a's critical infrastructure.
They're definitely looking for an increase of funding as you're
(36:09):
seeing downsizing from across the country. To hear memorial, I
think we're you know, we've seen some cuts come come
from the provincial government, but obviously it's ultimately a shared
responsibility from from you know, primarily provincial, but there's a
lot of federal funding that goes to post secondary as
well as in grants and loans. They're looking to get
(36:32):
that Canadian grant limit increase for students, and there's definitely
a question I think in terms of where things are
going to be cut from the other perspectives of other communities. Well,
you know, we ran an article from our managing Editorly
Hurly about the Canadian Independent Music Association. They're worried about
(36:54):
sixteen million dollars of music industry funding that's set to expire.
So you know, for one hundred and eighteen thousand dollars
from that funding went to music and l in twenty
twenty four, so has come to our province and you know,
pays for music industry positions, pays for albums to be
made for you know, the important funding that goes into
(37:16):
making music happen. But yeah, there's there's there's I can
get into a few other issues there, but.
Speaker 2 (37:23):
I want to ask on housing, John because the Prime
Minister previously had announced new housing agency and funds for
housing agency. I know housing is a huge issue, particularly
for gen Z's millennials. Housing issues around in and around
Saint John's are real and pronounced. What's your take on
how people are looking at that?
Speaker 1 (37:43):
Absolutely?
Speaker 6 (37:44):
I mean, I think the rhetoric so far from the
Prime Minister has been positive in terms of, you know,
building massive new housing I think how that's going to
be implemented is is important. I think that if you're
looking at only trying to stimulate private development from happening,
(38:05):
you're not going to be creating. You may get some
offshoot benefits for you know, an increase of housing in
general is good for low income Canadians. But if you're
not directly investing in non market housing, I think that's
going to be a problem where we're going to have
an increase of housing potentially, but it might not be affordable.
(38:25):
So I think that's definitely something to look at. I
think if we're you know, we're looking at a he's
talked about fifteen percent cut across all public sector, which
is concerning when you know, it's not really at the
end of the day, it's it's to be able to
afford a massive increase of military spending, which was raised
(38:49):
by the draw the Line protests that we attended and interviewed,
and that was across the country. People were coming out
so environment Park. We talked to different communit the groups
that were tending to protests, and I think they're concerned
about the five percent pledge, of the five percent GDP
pledge that would be going to military spending, which amounts
(39:11):
to about one hundred and fifty billion dollars. I think
that especially when we look at the terror fight with
the United States, and I ask myself, you know, how
much of that funding, of the billion, one hundred and
fifty billion dollars in military spending is actually going to
be going to US military contractors who you know, we
(39:32):
buy a lot of our weapons from. And is it
really you know, a Canadian first move to be cutting
fifteen percent of our public sector here in order to
pay for US military jobs, military contractor jobs.
Speaker 8 (39:48):
So I think in some ways, you know, a lot
of this public sector cuts in order to be paid
for more US demands like you know, increase in military spending,
increase in border security, increase in RCMP funding, a lot
of these.
Speaker 6 (40:06):
You know, at the end of the day, is it
going to create a safer and more just society in
the country. I don't really see that from happening.
Speaker 2 (40:15):
I got about a minute here or less. You're not
in elected politics anymore, but you certainly have your fingers
and a lot of different things. You cover a lot
of things, you report, a lot of things. You know
a lot of people here where I am in Ottawa.
It does not feel like will fall into an election
or one will be precipitated, despite some of the things
(40:36):
you've said that may make it more difficult for the
NDP to abstain. What's your feeling on whether or not
this budget is going to get through and if people
have the at appetite is the word I was looking
for for an election.
Speaker 6 (40:51):
I definitely know here in the province nobody wants to
go back to the polls we had the provincial election
and the minist election just month. I don't think I
think people are going to be very fatigued if there
is going to be election called. Obviously there's you know
it's it is a minority, but it is a type minority.
And I think if I'm not sure the exact number,
(41:13):
but if three or four people have the Green or
failed to show up, three so three MP's from the NDP,
the block don't show up. I think that, you know,
that's probably the likelyhood of I don't think it's gonna
we're going to see a formal support from any of
the opposition parties. But I definitely think that Mark Kearney
(41:34):
is not in the worst position for for an election necessarily.
I think that's why he's he's you know, being being
so bold about this budget. The NDP obviously currently doesn't
have a leader and won't vote for one until March. Obviously,
Don Davies is the interim leader and polliever is up
for a leadership review, and it seems to be fighting
(41:56):
a lot of the old battles in his rhetoric. So
he's not extremely you know, facing that wave of popularity
that he once did in the Trudeau era. So I definitely,
you know, I definitely to think that whatever whatever comes
out of this budget, I hope that there's there's gonna be,
(42:17):
you know, some some support for Canadians. I mean, if
I looked at food first.
Speaker 2 (42:22):
And now yeah, food, I gotta leave it there, John,
I think you're right. Sorry to cut you off, because
I got to get to peasack in a moment. I
want to give them their time. Thank you. Bye. That
is our friend John Harris, editor of The Muse. Just
quickly before we go to break and bring Crystilla Liberator
from Peasack. On power outages, Marysvale brigis Cupit Station Road
(42:42):
brigis started around four p fifteen due to severe weather
that is out, the powers out in Paradise digging up
some more information. Lights are out all along tops of road.
As you approach the tch Overpass, traffic is slightly backed
up into Paradise all right in a moment with Peasack's
regional executive vice president.
Speaker 4 (43:04):
The Tim Power Show.
Speaker 5 (43:06):
Join the conversation weekday afternoons at four pm on your VOCM.
Speaker 2 (43:11):
Welcome back, of course. One of the things people are
watching in this federal budget, which is coming out in
about thirty four minutes, is what will happen to the
public service. The Public Service Alliance of Canada Atlantic Region
is holding a budget watch event this evening in Saint
John starts at about thirty four minutes as well. It's
being hosted by Chris Deliberator. Chris, of course, is the
(43:33):
regional executive vice president of PASAC Public Service Alliance of Canada.
I should say Chris has been on with us before, Chris,
are your members anxious, angry, uncertain some combination of the
above are how are your people feeling right now?
Speaker 9 (43:51):
They're feeling all of that tim right right now, there's
a lot of uncertainty because we really don't know what
we're going to see in this budget. There's been signals
that it's going to be an austerity budget, and let's
be clear, austerity budgets are lazy, reckless and short sighted
and it really, at the end of the day, just
puts everybody in Canada at risk.
Speaker 2 (44:12):
I had Sharon on this as a last week and
she made exactly the same point. What I understand from
listening to some reports earlier in the day, probably going
to take a few days to know what the impact
will be of whatever measures the government brings in there
to address what it may view as changes in the
(44:34):
public service. What's your understanding of what you will know
and when you will know it.
Speaker 9 (44:39):
Well, we've had people in the lock up today, so
we'll know a little bit hopefully right away. But nonetheless
we're going to sit down, we're gonna we're going to
go through that information that the Financement is going to
start reading. As you said in about thirty minutes and
you know, analyze what that means for our members were
(45:00):
we're hoping that it doesn't mean the significant cuts that
have been signaled. I mean, we've all heard the figures
could be as much as sixty thousand people if if
what's being proposed as accurate, but you know, we won't
know that until we really get to dig into the document.
Speaker 2 (45:21):
Got about a minute for this one. Chris tell us
about the event which is happening in just over half
an hour, what will be happening there, and what to expect.
Speaker 9 (45:31):
So we're having what we call a budget watch. We've
invited other like minded organizations, different unions and labor organizations
as well as community organizations to come in, and we've
invited media to come as well to speak to those
folks because we think that having everybody together provides that
(45:51):
great opportunity for media to get, you know, all the
information they need in the reporting that they're going to
go forward. But it's to provide an opportunity unity for
folks to sit together and really have an open discussion
about what they're hearing from the Finance Minister as it's happening,
and talk about the concerns that they have as a
result of it.
Speaker 2 (46:12):
Well, I hope the weather is not an omen for
what may be coming today, but this could be any
day in Newfoundland and Labrador, so we won't read too
much into that. Chris, appreciate the time as always. Thank
you for joining us and giving us your perspective.
Speaker 9 (46:28):
No problem, Tim, Hopefully you don't blow away today.
Speaker 2 (46:32):
Unlikely. Take care, Chris By. That is Chris Deliberateur. He
is the regional executive vice president of the Public Service
Alliance of Canada Atlantic Division. Of course, the budget is
coming and thirty one minutes or so I'll be on
with Jerry, Lenna and Russell tomorrow to go through it.
We have coverage throughout tonight tomorrow on what it may
(46:55):
mean for you, and we'll talk about it on our
show tomorrow. Thank you for listening. Thank you you to
clut It, Dave, Greg, everybody who makes this show happen.
For now, I'm Tim Powers, Stay dry if you can,
and most importantly, stay safe. Back tomorrow
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