Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
This is the Tim Power Show on your VOCM. The
views and opinions of this program or not necessarily those
of the station.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Here's Tim. Hello everybody. It is Wednesday, November, fifth day
after the federal budget. It's getting a fair amount of attention,
as it should given it's the first budget of the
new Carney government. It's supposed to be a budget with
that has generational investments in it. It's a budget that's
certainly getting some criticism from different sectors, and we'll have
(00:32):
some of those critics on today. We will also look
at the politics of that budget because it's become the
preoccupation here in the nation's capital. So we're going to
do all of that. I'll get to that in a minute.
I just want to outline the rest of the show.
Doctor Tom Cooper is going to join us to dive
(00:53):
into some of the businessy elements of the budget, some
of the tax measures and measures there that are designed
to help business and attract business to Canada away from
the United States and elsewhere. We'll get doctor Tom Cooper's
take on that. Of course, Tom is at Memorial University.
(01:14):
We are going to talk to Keith Russell, the newly
elected MAHA for Lake Melville. Of course, Keith previously served
in that role in a different era. He and Phil Earle,
the Labrador MP, and others were part of a meeting
looking at informed looking at the crime and safety issues
(01:37):
in the Happy Valley Goose Bay area. We'll talk to
Keith Russell about that, We'll talk to Jim Dinn, the
NDP leader, about his reaction to the budget, and we're
going to talk to Quadrangle about their new facility. So
all of that coming up on this show. Let me
(01:59):
give you a few highlights of the budget, then we'll
get into the politics of it. So again you've probably
heard this, but important to put it out there again.
And this is as is being reported by all media outlets.
They do the math a little bit differently, but one
hundred and forty one billion more over the next five
years in spending, but that's offset by fifty one point
(02:19):
two billion in cuts, a seventy eight billion dollar deficit
this fiscal year. Slashes to the federal bureaucracy of forty
thousand jobs over a five year period. I believe is
the intention there fifty one to billion to spur infrastructure development,
major projects like high speed around newports. Carbon capture and
(02:40):
storage likely face approval in the coming months. I'll note
that Premier Wakem expressed some frustration that there weren't Newfoundland
specific major projects announced, though he did recognize as was
the case, that there was a I would call it
tertiary mentioned of gull Island and Churchill. The big number
(03:02):
at many in Newfoundland and Labrador connected to the military
will likely applaud this eighty one billion for the Canadian
Armed Forces. Immigration getting slashed with temporary residents like students
and foreign workers being cut by nearly fifty percent, and
this has got some attention at home. Former Premier Hogan,
now leader of the Opposition, and Premier Wakem have both
(03:24):
spoken about this that it looks like the previously proposed
emissions cap industrial emissions cap will be scrapped. And we've
gotten into all the weeds on other budget issues on
different programs during the day. So let's talk about the
politics as this was happening yesterday. Chris Dan Tremont, who
(03:45):
is a Member of Parliament for Southwest Nova Scotia, was
a Conservative member of Parliament yesterday, but he crossed the
floor last night. He is and it says he likes
the Carney budget, like this style of leadership that Pierre
Polyev offers. He has also said, and we'll hear from
him in some clips, in a clip in a moment,
(04:07):
that he is also of the belief that more Conservatives
are likely to cross the floor. That certainly has been
the rumor here in Ottawa today. There have been at
least two Conservatives who were being spoken about over the weekend.
(04:28):
Over the weekends, excuse me, over the course of the day,
wh would like to make it to the weekend. I
suspect without being part of the conversation whose name was
mentioned as floor crossers. They've come out and said no, no,
we're staying where we are. But the desire to continue
the conversation about floor crossings seems to be continuing. We'll
(04:50):
see how it plays out. Why does all that matter? Again?
Back to the math. Prior to mister Don Tremont crossing
the floor, the Liberals needed three votes or three abstentions
to pass the budget. Now they simply need to although
it is unlikely to be simple. Both the Conservatives and
the blockbec while so they will oppose it, the NDP
(05:14):
and the Greens. The Greens say they are prepared to negotiate.
The NDP is still reviewing what course of action it
may take. I will say again, as I've said repeatedly,
it doesn't feel like people are wanting an election, but
accidents can happen. But let's listen to mister don Tramont. Earlier,
(05:34):
he went to an event with the Prime minister this morning.
The Prime Minister brought him clearly showing that he and
his budget had some appeal, perhaps looking to entice others.
He brought him to his first post budget announcement, and
then mister Dontramont spoke to reporters. Here's what he said.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
What was the deciding factor in crossing the floor, And
if you could also indulge, how many other conservatives in
or caucus feel the same way that you do.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Well, let's start with the story of how I got here.
You know, I would think over the last number of months,
I wasn't feeling that I was aligned with the ideals
of what the leader of the opposition had been talking about.
So I've been sort of re looking at, you know,
what my career is bringing and what I can do
(06:23):
for my constituency. So over the last a little bit,
talking to many of my friends in the Liberal Party.
As Deputy Speaker, I get to know a lot of
those a lot of those members personally ask questions, see
what's going on, and understanding the point that we are
in Canadian history, where we are where where it's time
(06:45):
to actually try to lead lead a country, to try
to make it better and not try to knock it down,
not to continue to be negative.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
In my case as a.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Nova Scotian, we're always trying to find ways to work
together to solve solve issues that are important to our communities.
And I didn't see it by sitting in the opposition.
I saw it by being a part of the government caucus.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Sorry, and just in terms of how many other Conservatives
feel the same way that you do that are currently
sitting in caucus, yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Would suggest that there probably are those that are in
the same boat, but I will let them tell their
stories if that time comes.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
We listened to the Prime Minister just a few points.
You will remember what was it two thousand and fifteen
when we had seven Liberal MPs and we had that
same configuration in nineteen ninety three. Nova Scotia now has
joined Dufoundland of past Eras and having all Liberal MPs.
(07:51):
There are no Conservative MPs in Nova Scotia now, mister
Doctremont was the only one that was there, so there
are eleven MP's. They are all Liberal. There are some
who are support of the Conservative Party Nova Scotia who
are lived at mister Dontrement. Floor crossing is a very
(08:11):
emotional thing and there's been a pretty blistering critique at
mister don traumat form from his former colleagues. Say more
about that in a moment, but let's hear the Prime
Minister on mister don Trama and the potential that others
may follow.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
How many Conservatives has your caucus approached about joining the
Liberal Party? Well, i'd say the following. First, I want
to underscore what I said at the start, how much
I admire Chris dntrament appreciate his joining the government at
this crucial time for a country. And I think that's
the point to all MPs, wherever they're sitting in the House.
(08:53):
This is a time where we need to act as
a country, be as unified as possible, to act boldly
and to invest in the future of Canada. That's what
this budget does. And we'll speak to anyone publicly or
otherwise that can support us.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
So there you have it, Mark Curney not hiding the
fact that there is a seduction underway. That is not
unusual in minority settings, particularly ones that are close. You
only need hearken back to the days of a mister
Martin when he held government in two thousand and three
two thousand and four and Belinda Stronik, then a Conservative MP,
(09:33):
was brought over to the Liberal side and he won
a budget vote because of that and the support of
another independence So this stuff does tend to happen when
things are tight, and indeed they are tight. So we'll
see what it means at a minimum what it has
done today for the opposition, and this must be frustrating
for them. It has taken them off message. Pierre Polyev
(09:55):
has in the past connect with Canadians talking about their
affordability issues and challenges. The opportunity to do that effectively
today for him and his party has been diminished because
the league question is are people going to move over
from your party to the Liberals? Will the Liberals co
opt three more people they need to have a majority government?
(10:19):
Who knows? Time will tell. As I say, this place
is afloat rumers, as it often is, but they are
fast and furious. Today I will tell you we were
supposed to have a conservative MP join us on this
program today, but that MP suddenly had scheduling issues wasn't
able to join us. So what started as the opportunity
(10:42):
that they sought out to provide a critique of the
budget disappeared because of scheduling conflicts. It's a coincidental thing,
but who am I to judge or assume there may
be other reasons at play. Anyway, We'll continue to monitor
all of this because it is some interesting political dress
and there are piractical implications. If you're in the Canadian military,
(11:03):
if you are involved in and hoping to get some
new infrastructure, if you're in the public service, all of this,
all of this politics matters, and if we all get
thrown into an election in the next number of weeks,
that will be something that may not sit well with Canadians.
(11:26):
Though important to point out it will likely be on
the week of the seventeenth when the voting starts. A
lot can happen between now and then, whether it be rejection, seduction,
or anything in between. Speaking of in between, we're going
to take a commercial break and when we come back,
doctor Tom Cooper is going to join us to look
at some of the more specific measures in the Carny
(11:47):
budget that are there to encourage businesses to come to Canada.
Back with doctor Tom Cooper in a moment, Welcome back.
Great to be back with you, and we're going to
keep our analysis of the budget going. Delighted to have
doctor Tom Cooper from Memorial University. Among the many things
(12:08):
he does, Tom is a business strategy professor and looks
at global business and Tom looking at this budget. One
of the things that both the Prime Minister and the
Finance Minister are talking about our efforts they're making in
the budget to attract global investment and to compete directly
(12:30):
with the US. They've talked about having this super charge,
productivity tax cut and benefits in there, and a lot
of it deals with how the federal government would deal
with the development of new facilities manufacturing and how they
would record expenses there marginal tax rate. Can you take
(12:54):
us through these things too as best you can and
talk about what the attempt is here and what they
may actually do in terms of attracting business to Canada.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
It's Tim so I'm excited by this kind of stuff.
This is nerdy stuff, but it's this whole budget. I
would describe it as more form over fireworks, so less
stuff to get people, maybe super interesting, but when you
start to dive into it is really exciting. So the
budget is really trying to shift Canada's economy from what
I call credit card type of issues, so consumption, real
(13:29):
estate growth, to productivity, innovation, industrial competitiveness, so kind of
stuff you can put mortgages on. So it's very kind
of long term. Part of that long term is, as
you mentioned, is new capital investment, tax incentives, workforce attraction measures,
and then industrial and artificial intelligence, innovation sports. Now, if
(13:51):
I'm listening.
Speaker 6 (13:51):
To this, I'm going, oh god, Tom is going on about.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
Kind of super nerdy things. But what does that actually mean.
So that means is, first of all, they set US
billion dollars to attract high skilled workers, including engineers, advanced
manufacturing technicians, AI specialists, and applied scientists. So and they're
really targeting their integrations streams. The US has cut off
(14:14):
basically a lot of immigration and work saying hey guys,
we want our heye people. Sorry, it's in general we
want people to come in now where tach the super
deduction is and you've got to read a little bit
of budget to find that, but it basically allows an
organization or company to write off their new capital investments
more quickly. So what that means if you have a
(14:37):
new plant, construction, expansion, industrial equipment, it's basically tag free,
which is super exciting, or at least you can do
it much much quicker. And that's different than the budgets
we've had in the past before, So it's very much
You know, this changes the math for companies thinking about
building and expanding in Canada. As you alluded to, it
(14:58):
makes investing in have to be cheaper and faster, and
that's why it's really based around superproductivity.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Yeah, and as I understand it, you can correct me
if I'm wrong, but what I've read to data about this,
it would make our marginal effective tax rate for corporations
the lowest in the G seven. Again, if you can
explain that as best you can, Why does that matter?
Why do companies want to invest in G seven countries?
(15:28):
What is the benefit they get from doing that? Just
take us through that, Tom.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
Yeah, company's want to do two things. Sim and my
make it really simple. They want to make profit and
they want to pay less docs and taxes alluded to profit. Now,
if you spend a lot of money and you can
write that off your taxes because you're building something that's
a new building or a new investment that's going to
help the Canadian economy, well then you just suddenly made
(15:57):
more profit. So it makes Canada way more as a
place to come and set up shop and make investments
and especially research and development, which is really the future
of our economy. And once again it's investing rather than spending.
And I think that's the best way us thinking about
(16:17):
it and allows you once again, I build a building
for say one hundred million dollars that's going to improve
I don't know fish craft manufacturing is going to complete
the productivity. Well, traditionally you'd be allowed to write that
off maybe in six seven years. Now you can do
it potentially in one or two or a much shorter
(16:39):
time period. That's attractive to companies.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
An important to note. One of the criticisms that Mark
Karney did have of business and I think still does,
and this comes from days at the Bank of Canada,
was they were sitting on too much money. He's obviously
thought about how to do this for a long time.
Got to get your take on this, Tom, because again
Carney's mantra is invest more, spend less. One of the
(17:03):
things that was also announced was measures to encourage investment
include a two billion dollars for a critical Mineral Sovereign Fund,
which will help unlock natural resources that are crucial for
the development of new technologies. The details we don't know
in broad, in broad mannery, or in specific manner. Yet
(17:24):
critical minerals certainly something new Finland and the Labrador is
looking to get into. What do you interpret that to
be and the opportunity it presents.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
I would imagine is that they'll be God might be
put aside, especially to unlock some of the infrastructure that
you're going to need to access these critical minerals. Some
of them are in No I'm not a geologist him,
but if it's like most minerals, they're not easy to access.
They could be up in Canada's North, they could be
even in the central and you find Labrador it's difficult
(17:56):
to access. Mining requires signific against significant capital investment, building dutchess,
building roads to get there, but also digging, sampling, all
those sort of things. So I see it as government
company mining companies specifically maybe be able to access some
of that funds where government is basically acting as a partner,
(18:18):
then they can go into the private section amazing and
more money.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
One of the big headline items that is relevant for
business but also for consumers potentially is the government in
the budget is not fully declarative on the fact that
it will end the industrial emissions cap, but it is
pretty close to being so saying it will end the
industrial emissions cap if organizations, corporations, and the regional jurisdictions
(18:49):
can find an appropriate industrial carbon pricing mechanism. Is this
a better approach than what was there before? Tom? And why?
Why is this construction helpful for increasing investment?
Speaker 5 (19:04):
I think, once again, Tim, this is kind of a
long term play rather than a short term play. Short
term you would just say, Okay, well we're going to
keep a cap, we're going to regulate it, we're going
to make sure companies to only produce a specific amount.
If you go to put a price on carbon where
it can be traded, where it can be a market,
(19:27):
where it can be basically valuable, because you're trading it
back and forth, and where you're trading the credits back
and forth. Then you're creating a market solution to what
right now is a regulatory problem. It's worked in other jurisdictions.
It's still slow to take on because it's hard in
terms of the pricing and the markets and what do
(19:50):
you do with it and all what sort of thing.
So I would say that I'm excited by it, but
I'm excited in the long term in terms of what's
going to look like because in terms of productivity and
what it means for specific companies. You mean, it's easier
almost to have the camp because they know that's how
much they're allowed. But in terms of trying to address
(20:12):
this as a long term problem, I think that the
market solution is better.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Last one for you, A lot made of the infrastructure investment.
We've seen infrastructure investments of great significance before hearkening back
to the financial crash in eight HA put a lot
of money on the table then for infrastructure investment. I
heard somebody from the Canadian Construction Association today say this
(20:38):
is a wise move. Your take on what the infrastructure
investment the government lays out may do for our overall
economy and creating opportunity.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
I'm excited by tim because we have If you look
at the Canada's infrastructure scorecard, we have very low on
a lot of our infrastructure, especially in roads, water and sewer, etc.
There's a lot of infrastructure that was put in place
in the nineteen seventies effectively, and now that's been slowly deteriorating.
It's just showing its age as well as the age
(21:15):
accelerating because of climate change. So ultimately this could be
a really interesting strategic opportunity to build the Canada of
the future. The negative side though, is like anytime you
have all these different projects, there's only so many skilled
trades workers out there, and there's only so much capital
(21:37):
out there, and there's only so many projects. And that's
the negative part of it, is that if you have
five of these projects all at once, then you increase
your cost significantly because they're basically fill trades. People are
going to be up to the auction and they'll go
to wherever they get paint the most, and so this
is the problem. As a supplying demand.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Appreciate the time and the inside time, because I think
I'll a lot of this got dropped yesterday and we
haven't had time to go into it in detail. This
is really helpful. Thank you for joining us today. I
always appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
Always appreciate as well.
Speaker 6 (22:09):
Tim, have a great day of thanks.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
All right, take care. That's doctor Tom Cooper, Memorial University
Business Strategy, International Business Experts. You heard his feedback on
some of the measures that are in the budget. When
we come back, enough is enough, Happy Valley Goose Bay officials,
residents want to take back their community. We'll talk to
the MCHA for Lake Melville about all of this when
we return on the Tim Power Show. Borrowing from Sean
(22:36):
Ridgeley's story in the Telegram of today, the sub headline
says Happy Valley Goose Bay officials and government are at
their wits and dealing with crime in the town. Pledge
urgent action. Diving into the story, Sean writes, falling a
rash of fires suspected to be caused by ourson and
Happy Valley Goose Bay. Recently, a public safety meeting was
held on November first to show solidarity and hear the
(23:00):
concerns of the residents. Among those in attendance for a
Labrador m P Philip Earl and mh A Keith Russell,
representing the first time that both of them had been
seen together in the town. Both stressed the importance of
collaboration at all levels of government and community in order
to make progress. Joining us is Keith Russell, the newly
(23:24):
elected MHA for Lake Melville. Keith, congratulations on your election.
Tell us about this meeting, but first about how people
are feeling in Happy Valley Goosebee. I've never got such
a sense of unease and anxiety coming out of that community.
Speaker 7 (23:43):
Well, firstly, thanks there, Tim, I'm glad to be back
in the role. People are feeling hopeful, yep. Still they're
feeling I guess stress realities in our communities, you know,
the crime rates, some of the things we're so people
are very very receptive to this rally, this public As
(24:07):
you had said, I believe it was the first time
that we've seen mayor complete with counsel, the MP, the
MFA and in a public forum where we let people
come up and share their thoughts, share their ideas. And
it was an excellent, excellent meeting overall, it really was.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
And now if I remember this correctly and correct me
where I get this wrong, Keith, But think the new
premiere mister wakem had promised that there would be a
regional specific addiction center, plus also talked about increasing policing
resources across the province. When I mean it takes time
(24:47):
to do both. When might some of those things begin
to happen?
Speaker 7 (24:52):
Well, in terms of the policing numbers, the work commitments
made already, some of that was on their way, I believe.
In terms of officers in Lake Marvell, I think we
all give space. The three have been processed, two are
still in transit. I think that is the number. But
(25:13):
even at those levels, Tim the indications given from policing
on the ground or saying there is no way to
achieve twenty four hour coverage with the numbers, even with
that plus five, so there's still work to be done
and still evaluation that has to take place.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
I mean, this is fascinating and frightening. Keith again, I'm
reading from the story, and I'll just read this for
the broader audience. You already know it, but says the
town is listed as three hundred and seventy seven point
five on the Crime Severity Index scale, placing it in
the most serious category for crime in Canada. In comparison,
that same index for Newfoundland and Labrador in twenty twenty
(25:50):
four is listed as eighty nine point three. I mean
this is obviously a multifaceted problem, Keith. What do you
say to the rest of the province about, you know,
buying in and helping here. What what can be done
outside of Happy Valley goog Spay to help Happy Value
Goose Spae.
Speaker 7 (26:11):
Well, I think the directive that comes from Premier Wakens
is simply that we have to as m AHAs, no
matter what your role is with our with our party,
you have to go back and this this should be
a message to ms from from all parties uh something
such as as crime and public safety. It transcends any
parties in politics at all. So it's about engaging your
(26:33):
your your municipalities, about engaging your mayor engaging your council.
MHAs should be there to partner with them. Is to
go out and every community is going to be different.
And I tell you what Lake Mevel's and do Spay
is certainly going different. So it's we're tasked with calling it, liaising,
starting that communication, building those relationships and then eventually getting
(26:55):
to a talk which is going to be specific to
each community about appropriate resource outations and what can be
done to see positive outcomes in terms of the needs
in our communities. So it's it's up upon each MHA.
I mean, we have to be very serious now, we're
not proud of those numbers and goosepay I tell you that.
And provincially we've done a lot of work to what
(27:17):
we've done is we have we've shown that we're given
that show of solidary community if if you get my drift,
so with the MP of the MHA, the mayor of
the council, it's those established establishing that that this is
the this is the line in the sands. We are
here now the communication lines are open. We are taking
our stand together. We are we are acknowledging the issues
(27:41):
and giving the community the respect it deserves by acknowledging
those and then we're saying that the doors are open.
We need public input. Everybody's got to be vigilant, we
need to be creative. We need to go back to
our councils, to our mayors, and our councils need to
go back to start to look at their own bylines.
If there's way of strengthening they're involved. We've got to
look at, yes, resources financial and otherwise to put into
(28:04):
these communities as well. Well. It's time to reclaim our communities.
I think Tim bide by getting those citizens on you know, uh,
you know how I look at the whatever you call it,
citizens on patrol or taken you know, with that take
back to night time and mentality that we've seen with
some organizations. It's about it's not always about throwing money
(28:26):
at a problem. I think we've seen, you know, through
the last couple of decades, we've seen everything get worse
and we're still throwing resources out, but we're not getting
the results we need.
Speaker 6 (28:36):
So now it's about doing something.
Speaker 7 (28:38):
Different, being creative, working together, not letting parties and politics
get in the way, and reclaim the beauty that was
that sense of community that we've had in other community
in past decades where everybody helped everybody. You know, there
was always never we were never one hundred percent free
of crime, and we always had those one or two
(28:58):
anomalies in your in your town, but we were never
at a point where people were afraid to come out,
Seniors are afraid that somebody's going to come through the door.
We've never been there. This is the worst it's been.
But we've got to stay positive, we've got to become
more organized than we've ever been, and we've got to
let people know that we're on this. We're going to
be I met with the premier on this today. We
(29:21):
had a very long talk about my specific district, but
what's going on we'll do and how we're going to
get everybody marching together, polling otors if you will, at
all levels of government and involving the town. Anybody who
wants to throw it any ideas or participate in that.
That was the part of that was the point of
our rally, to give that microphone to people from all
(29:42):
walks of life and say, come join us and take
them back our communities.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
I mean, look, I think I've said this to you
in person, I'll say it on the radio, and people
know this about me and our families experience in Labrator.
One of the things I've always admired, particularly about Happy
Valley Goose Bay, is that sense of community and loyalty
and commit and family that I'm sure still exists there.
Last question is this, Keith, do you worry then with
(30:07):
this number and the concerns that people have that you're
going to have trouble at both attracting people to the community,
and even some longtime residents may leave because they don't
feel safe anymore. How worried are you about those things?
Speaker 7 (30:22):
Those are always, of course in the back of your mind.
But I'm going to put it this way, Tom, I'm hopeful,
I'm not going to be worried about it. I'm going
to make sure that we trend these concerns pour away
and we take control of this because, like I said,
it's time to draw that line and sand, it's time
to say no more. We've had enough. We're taking back
our communities. We're going to get organized. We're going to
(30:43):
involve every level of government. We're going to reach out
to the community, and we're going to have people get
together on a regular basis, and we're going to let
people know that the criminal element and all the negative
things in our communities, they're the minority, and that we're
not going to take it anymore as civil as.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
That all right, Well, we will continue to watch this
and give voice to all the efforts that are being
made there. Keith, thanks thanks for joining us today. Good
luck in your return to the House of Assembly. Appreciate
the time.
Speaker 7 (31:10):
All right, thanks so much, Tim, You have yourself.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Great day, all right, you two. That is Keith Rustle,
the new MAHA for Lake Melville. Of course he served
in that role before. And this is a big issue
in Goosebay, not just in Goose Pay, but certainly you
saw that crime index number. It is. It is frightening.
And somebody who has a great admiration for that community
and spend a lot of time there, I worry about
(31:33):
it too, all right. I know somebody who is not
too admiring of the federal budget, and I wonder what
he would do if he were the federal NDP leader.
Maybe I'll ask him. Oh wait, it's our friend jimmed In. Jim,
congratulations as well for getting re elected and leading the NDP.
Speaker 8 (31:53):
LO.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
And behold, you're back to work right away looking at
this federal budget, your initial thoughts on it and what
you see in it or don't see, and that that
has raised your ire.
Speaker 6 (32:05):
Well in many ways, I'll say this one of it didn't.
It hasn't made cuts to the school lunch program or
dental care, which will continue. However, I'm concerned about the
fact that it doesn't seem to have in there by
expanding pharmacare, and that I think that was that was
(32:27):
a missopportunity by this problem is to get on board
with that. Uh and the previous deliberals didn't didn't sign on.
I would hope that the PCs here reach out and
see about having it if it's possible to have that
extended to new Land Labrador. And I'm just thinking about
the number of people here suffering from diabetes and that
(32:50):
who could well, who could well make use of that.
I know a number of people who are struggling well
not only put food unsailable to for prescription medicine. So
I understand the budget and that this is a budget
about I guess what they call it Canada strong about
(33:10):
in response to the what the events that are going
on in the States and the possible threats to our sovereignty.
But there is a concern here that is going to
leave some people at a disadvantage the other. With regards
to the job cuts to the federal the public service,
(33:32):
we all talk about government needs to be smaller, and
we te I heard the term right sizing. I guess
comes down to what does right sizing mean exactly. It's
like if I were to ask you Tim how many
lifeboats should be on board a ship.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
Jim, I would tell you I don't have a goddamn clue.
At least one, I would start with one, but they're
probably a bigger number than that.
Speaker 6 (33:54):
Well, I would argue that it would really depend on
the number of people who are on that boat, right, Yeah,
picking a number of the head. So I guess what
I'm saying here is that this is this, this is great.
I guess you know, if they're looking at cutting a budget.
But when I go to call or when someone goes
to call for seeking for help, whether it's getting EI
O as anything along those lines, is there are there
(34:17):
going to be enough people there? Like the more the
fewer people you had to do the job, the more
work they're going to do, and the less, I don't know,
less efficient we become. So those are and the job
because will they affect new flannel aby or more have
a greater impact here, So that that's the concern. So
I think about who you know, mean, they got a
(34:38):
few questions to ask here, and who's going to determine
which jobs get cut and where do they get cut?
So that's the first those two things housing is the
other one twenty five billion over five years, and I
know that works five billion a year, let's say. But
we are listening to Doug pass on this about you know,
in terms of what's the opportunity new plan be able
(35:01):
to cash in that available these funds will come, what
comes to providing the operational grants needs for more non
market community housing or are we going to be looking
at I guess more profit driven measures which don't always
result in affordable housing. There was a report we released
a few months ago Annex Consulting talked about the fact
(35:24):
that Newfland Labrador, when it comes to more non market
community based housing and deeply affordable housing supportive housing, it
probably has the lowest lowest percentage of all the provinces.
I think point three is compared to four percent national leverage.
So we know that in the time and you've flready
heard me speak to this before. Since twenty nineteen, the
(35:46):
number of shelters have emergency housing shelters increased and we
spent four million in twenty nineteen to fourteen million. So
those are the other things. And then there's the issue
around climate change and the custom integration. There are some
challenges here that are they're going to have significant impacts
on us.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
I have to ask you about this because in your
platform you talked about fiscal your prevention platform, you talked
about fiscal responsibility, getting the balance budget, managing deficits. You
have concerns about the seventy eight billion dollar deficit or
is that the reality of the time given the public
spend that is needed.
Speaker 6 (36:29):
Well, you can, you can always it is a concern.
But in the end, in cutting and solving a physical deficit,
do you create a human resources deficit? Do you create
an infrastructure deficit? You create a health deficit? Like in
the end, like we're going to and I believe this,
We're going to pay for this one way or the other.
(36:50):
So where do we choose cut? There is that illusion
sometimes that we're saving money when't actually we've become that sufficient.
The other thing is when we look at the I
know people like to compare the the budget to like
a household budget. Well, how a household and a country
or two different things. But I think we've got to
(37:12):
look at making sure that in the process of making
Canada strong, that we don't actually download uh this on
people and make communities weaker and and put more people
in the poverty. I heard one. I don't know whether
they can. Public service worker is great, who can we
if you're looking at early retirement, the question is who
(37:33):
can afford to retire in this economy? And that's the
other thing, so we can. Yeah, it is troubling, and
in our budget we did try to say, okay, here's
without making cuts, but here's what you can live within
our means. And as you can see, it was a
budget that was practical or a platform that was practical.
But that's reality, right.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
I got to ask you about this before I let you.
Speaker 6 (37:57):
It's a good question.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yep, thank you. I try to get won every interview.
I'm noting my my batting percentage is not as good
as Laddies. This this one you can speak to, though
you don't have a say in this. So uh. There
is a sense that this is the NDPR and an
interesting predicament. And you know Don Davies, you know a
lot of the other six MP's that are there. There's
(38:20):
a frustration in the NDP party that in the previous
regime under mister Singh, there was too much support of
the liberals that hurt the federal NDP at the polls.
But in the same vein there are things you just
mentioned dental care, pharmacare that the the NDP fought for
child care. How difficult is it going to be for
(38:41):
the NDP to find a way either to abstain from
this or vote for it. What's your take on that?
Speaker 6 (38:49):
I don't know if you can, That's that's a question
that I had to ask myself phone order dating the
Churchill Falls mlu and I knew like we're like where
Jordan had to vote on this, and I have my doubts,
but I abstention did come into my mind. But I
really quickly realized, you no, I don't get paid. I
get paid in here to make a decision. And and
(39:12):
it's difficult, that is, to make that decision in the
best in the best interests. So it's going to be
a tough decision in the end. As I said, there
are there are There is money for housing. It's questions
how is that money going to be spent? Isn't enough?
There is money there for the continued the dental program
and the school lunch program, but we also needed and
(39:33):
over the parmature, So there is that mixture there. But
and there is a like you look at the infrastructure
development and and part of me understands too that let's
let's call a spade a spay. We're in this predicament
because we've got a very unpredictable neighbor to the south,
and uh and we're bought us trying to uh trump
(39:54):
proof our economy. Uh and and and and and and
and come out of this uh strong ourselves. But my
thing is that we do not in the end, in
our in our efforts to I guess cut the deficit
that we don't also download this responsibility and people who
(40:15):
can least support it. So I don't know. It's a
tough place to be in, but I guess you got
a way to balance. And I avoid this thing about
supporting liberals or PCs. I know ourselves here we have
voted for things that are a good idea. It doesn't
matter like we've when the m OU it wasn't about
supporting liberals. It was about at this point in time,
(40:37):
supporting the process. Didn't matter who was there. Of the
times we've been on side with the PC, so we
have done our best to make sure we look at
this insues based thing and how it aligns with our
own with our own I guess ideology and politics, but
we've got to get away from there, like you know
this is a good deal, then you vote for it
instead of turning into this as your previous color talk book,
(41:00):
the partisan politics and it starting like you're voting because
I've had that thrown at me. Are you're voting with
the liberals? Are you're supporting No, I'm not. If I
look at something here, then we've been on I to
odds with both PCs and they're both time and supporting
them and others. Right, So, but it's it's a tough decision.
I wouldn't want to be in there.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Well you if Don Davis calls him, you can call.
You can give them that advice. All right. I got
to leave it there. Jim, nice to talk to you.
Speaker 6 (41:25):
Thank you appreciate it, Take care, bye bye.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
All right. That is Jim din an l NDP leader.
When we come back, the executive director of Quadrangle NL
about an exciting opening of their facility, a new community space.
I should say back with that in a moment here
on The Tim Power Show.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
The Tim Power Show shoing the conversation weekday afternoons at
four pm on your vocm.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
Only a few minutes to tell this important stories. We're
going to get right at it. If you don't know
what Quadrangle NL is, I will tell you. It's the
only charitable new phil organization in Newfoundland built to bring
together two s LGBTQI plus people and organizations in Newfoundland
and Labrador into a dedicated shared space where resources, ideas
(42:12):
and support can be exchanged. Joining us is the executive
director of Quadrangle Cult. Pol A t. Cult. How are
you today?
Speaker 8 (42:23):
I'm Will Tim?
Speaker 7 (42:24):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (42:25):
I am budgeted out, so it's nice to talk about
something else unrelated to the federal budget. And I won't
even ask you about the federal budget. I am looking
at this great picture of sixteen Forests Road and your
new special soft opening celebration that you're going to have
of a new community space. Tell us about that. Cult.
Speaker 8 (42:49):
Yeah, So we were originally at three thirty Elizabeth Avenue
as part of the Saint James United Church here in
Saint John's And you know, over the past year that
we've been for the past two years we've been, we
grew and we got a lot bigger than we were
when we first moved in. As I think every nonprofit
charity starts out as and this new space at sixteen
for Ut Road that we've just you know, started settling
(43:11):
into is going to be our new hub for the
queer and trans community for you know, Saint John's, and
we hope that we'll eventually expand and support folks across
the province.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
You are in the neighborhood where I grew up. It
is a great spot where you're going in. I think
I know precisely where sixteen Forrest Road is. Just for
people who maybe don't understand why is it important to
have your own community space cult, I think it's.
Speaker 8 (43:35):
Really important people to understand that, like the community space
we offer is a place where queer and trans folks
can come and just be. There's no extra explanation someone
has to give, there's no reasoning someone has to provide.
It's just a space where you come in.
Speaker 6 (43:49):
It's yours.
Speaker 8 (43:50):
You can hang out with us, you can enjoy some
time and play around on our game, with our games
and our systems. You can just chat with our staff,
meet with our folks, or even just have a bite
to eat and just join the library space that we're
setting up. It's truly what folks want to use it
for is what we're trying to build the space to be.
Speaker 2 (44:07):
Yeah, I say, you had a great name there, come
to the quad. I think that's awesome. When is the
soft opening and who can go? And I think, more
importantly to many people, you're going to have refreshments there
cult you will always get people when you have refreshments.
Speaker 6 (44:23):
Yes, I'm going to have snacks.
Speaker 8 (44:24):
So we had a very light soft opening today where
we had a few of our close community partners come
in and just see the space and see how we're
planning on using it. We're still trying to like clean
up you know, the moving jitters with the boxes everywhere,
on the painting we have to get done. But on
Friday morning from nine to twelve, we're just kind of
treating it as an open house. Folks who are interested,
who want to learn more, who want to meet, to
(44:44):
commute our staff at the first time, or you know,
just see what we've done in the past little while,
are welcome to come by. It's that sixteen Forest Road.
Come on inside, take the elevator up to the third floor.
You'll find us, I promise, And yeah, we're going to
have some snacks and treats, some coffee. It's just a
time for a few folks who want to come in
and see what the space looks like and to meet
some people who are going to be running out of it.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
Great part of town. As I said, I'm partial to
the East End. Colt, gotta leave it there. Thank you for.
Speaker 8 (45:11):
Three cafes from here, my friend, I love.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
It all right. Well, we don't want to get the
West end and the rest of the province. Mada's gotta
leave it there, Colt. Great to talk to you. Thank you,
no worries.
Speaker 4 (45:21):
Have a great day.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
Tim, all right, take care. Colt pullet Tie, the executive
director of Quadrangle. That's our show for today. Thank you
to Claude. That back tomorrow with more of the Tim
Power Show.
This is the Tim Power Show on your VOCM. The
views and opinions of this program or not necessarily those
of the station.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
Here's Tim. Hello everybody. It is Wednesday, November, fifth day
after the federal budget. It's getting a fair amount of attention,
as it should given it's the first budget of the
new Carney government. It's supposed to be a budget with
that has generational investments in it. It's a budget that's
certainly getting some criticism from different sectors, and we'll have
(00:32):
some of those critics on today. We will also look
at the politics of that budget because it's become the
preoccupation here in the nation's capital. So we're going to
do all of that. I'll get to that in a minute.
I just want to outline the rest of the show.
Doctor Tom Cooper is going to join us to dive
(00:53):
into some of the businessy elements of the budget, some
of the tax measures and measures there that are designed
to help business and attract business to Canada away from
the United States and elsewhere. We'll get doctor Tom Cooper's
take on that. Of course, Tom is at Memorial University.
(01:14):
We are going to talk to Keith Russell, the newly
elected MAHA for Lake Melville. Of course, Keith previously served
in that role in a different era. He and Phil Earle,
the Labrador MP, and others were part of a meeting
looking at informed looking at the crime and safety issues
(01:37):
in the Happy Valley Goose Bay area. We'll talk to
Keith Russell about that, We'll talk to Jim Dinn, the
NDP leader, about his reaction to the budget, and we're
going to talk to Quadrangle about their new facility. So
all of that coming up on this show. Let me
(01:59):
give you a few highlights of the budget, then we'll
get into the politics of it. So again you've probably
heard this, but important to put it out there again.
And this is as is being reported by all media outlets.
They do the math a little bit differently, but one
hundred and forty one billion more over the next five
years in spending, but that's offset by fifty one point
(02:19):
two billion in cuts, a seventy eight billion dollar deficit
this fiscal year. Slashes to the federal bureaucracy of forty
thousand jobs over a five year period. I believe is
the intention there fifty one to billion to spur infrastructure development,
major projects like high speed around newports. Carbon capture and
(02:40):
storage likely face approval in the coming months. I'll note
that Premier Wakem expressed some frustration that there weren't Newfoundland
specific major projects announced, though he did recognize as was
the case, that there was a I would call it
tertiary mentioned of gull Island and Churchill. The big number
(03:02):
at many in Newfoundland and Labrador connected to the military
will likely applaud this eighty one billion for the Canadian
Armed Forces. Immigration getting slashed with temporary residents like students
and foreign workers being cut by nearly fifty percent, and
this has got some attention at home. Former Premier Hogan,
now leader of the Opposition, and Premier Wakem have both
(03:24):
spoken about this that it looks like the previously proposed
emissions cap industrial emissions cap will be scrapped. And we've
gotten into all the weeds on other budget issues on
different programs during the day. So let's talk about the
politics as this was happening yesterday. Chris Dan Tremont, who
(03:45):
is a Member of Parliament for Southwest Nova Scotia, was
a Conservative member of Parliament yesterday, but he crossed the
floor last night. He is and it says he likes
the Carney budget, like this style of leadership that Pierre
Polyev offers. He has also said, and we'll hear from
him in some clips, in a clip in a moment,
(04:07):
that he is also of the belief that more Conservatives
are likely to cross the floor. That certainly has been
the rumor here in Ottawa today. There have been at
least two Conservatives who were being spoken about over the weekend.
(04:28):
Over the weekends, excuse me, over the course of the day,
wh would like to make it to the weekend. I
suspect without being part of the conversation whose name was
mentioned as floor crossers. They've come out and said no, no,
we're staying where we are. But the desire to continue
the conversation about floor crossings seems to be continuing. We'll
(04:50):
see how it plays out. Why does all that matter? Again?
Back to the math. Prior to mister Don Tremont crossing
the floor, the Liberals needed three votes or three abstentions
to pass the budget. Now they simply need to although
it is unlikely to be simple. Both the Conservatives and
the blockbec while so they will oppose it, the NDP
(05:14):
and the Greens. The Greens say they are prepared to negotiate.
The NDP is still reviewing what course of action it
may take. I will say again, as I've said repeatedly,
it doesn't feel like people are wanting an election, but
accidents can happen. But let's listen to mister don Tramont. Earlier,
(05:34):
he went to an event with the Prime minister this morning.
The Prime Minister brought him clearly showing that he and
his budget had some appeal, perhaps looking to entice others.
He brought him to his first post budget announcement, and
then mister Dontramont spoke to reporters. Here's what he said.
Speaker 3 (05:52):
What was the deciding factor in crossing the floor, And
if you could also indulge, how many other conservatives in
or caucus feel the same way that you do.
Speaker 1 (06:02):
Well, let's start with the story of how I got here.
You know, I would think over the last number of months,
I wasn't feeling that I was aligned with the ideals
of what the leader of the opposition had been talking about.
So I've been sort of re looking at, you know,
what my career is bringing and what I can do
(06:23):
for my constituency. So over the last a little bit,
talking to many of my friends in the Liberal Party.
As Deputy Speaker, I get to know a lot of
those a lot of those members personally ask questions, see
what's going on, and understanding the point that we are
in Canadian history, where we are where where it's time
(06:45):
to actually try to lead lead a country, to try
to make it better and not try to knock it down,
not to continue to be negative.
Speaker 2 (06:59):
In my case as a.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
Nova Scotian, we're always trying to find ways to work
together to solve solve issues that are important to our communities.
And I didn't see it by sitting in the opposition.
I saw it by being a part of the government caucus.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Sorry, and just in terms of how many other Conservatives
feel the same way that you do that are currently
sitting in caucus, yeah, I.
Speaker 1 (07:21):
Would suggest that there probably are those that are in
the same boat, but I will let them tell their
stories if that time comes.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
We listened to the Prime Minister just a few points.
You will remember what was it two thousand and fifteen
when we had seven Liberal MPs and we had that
same configuration in nineteen ninety three. Nova Scotia now has
joined Dufoundland of past Eras and having all Liberal MPs.
(07:51):
There are no Conservative MPs in Nova Scotia now, mister
Doctremont was the only one that was there, so there
are eleven MP's. They are all Liberal. There are some
who are support of the Conservative Party Nova Scotia who
are lived at mister Dontrement. Floor crossing is a very
(08:11):
emotional thing and there's been a pretty blistering critique at
mister don traumat form from his former colleagues. Say more
about that in a moment, but let's hear the Prime
Minister on mister don Trama and the potential that others
may follow.
Speaker 4 (08:28):
How many Conservatives has your caucus approached about joining the
Liberal Party? Well, i'd say the following. First, I want
to underscore what I said at the start, how much
I admire Chris dntrament appreciate his joining the government at
this crucial time for a country. And I think that's
the point to all MPs, wherever they're sitting in the House.
(08:53):
This is a time where we need to act as
a country, be as unified as possible, to act boldly
and to invest in the future of Canada. That's what
this budget does. And we'll speak to anyone publicly or
otherwise that can support us.
Speaker 2 (09:11):
So there you have it, Mark Curney not hiding the
fact that there is a seduction underway. That is not
unusual in minority settings, particularly ones that are close. You
only need hearken back to the days of a mister
Martin when he held government in two thousand and three
two thousand and four and Belinda Stronik, then a Conservative MP,
(09:33):
was brought over to the Liberal side and he won
a budget vote because of that and the support of
another independence So this stuff does tend to happen when
things are tight, and indeed they are tight. So we'll
see what it means at a minimum what it has
done today for the opposition, and this must be frustrating
for them. It has taken them off message. Pierre Polyev
(09:55):
has in the past connect with Canadians talking about their
affordability issues and challenges. The opportunity to do that effectively
today for him and his party has been diminished because
the league question is are people going to move over
from your party to the Liberals? Will the Liberals co
opt three more people they need to have a majority government?
(10:19):
Who knows? Time will tell. As I say, this place
is afloat rumers, as it often is, but they are
fast and furious. Today I will tell you we were
supposed to have a conservative MP join us on this
program today, but that MP suddenly had scheduling issues wasn't
able to join us. So what started as the opportunity
(10:42):
that they sought out to provide a critique of the
budget disappeared because of scheduling conflicts. It's a coincidental thing,
but who am I to judge or assume there may
be other reasons at play. Anyway, We'll continue to monitor
all of this because it is some interesting political dress
and there are piractical implications. If you're in the Canadian military,
(11:03):
if you are involved in and hoping to get some
new infrastructure, if you're in the public service, all of this,
all of this politics matters, and if we all get
thrown into an election in the next number of weeks,
that will be something that may not sit well with Canadians.
(11:26):
Though important to point out it will likely be on
the week of the seventeenth when the voting starts. A
lot can happen between now and then, whether it be rejection, seduction,
or anything in between. Speaking of in between, we're going
to take a commercial break and when we come back,
doctor Tom Cooper is going to join us to look
at some of the more specific measures in the Carny
(11:47):
budget that are there to encourage businesses to come to Canada.
Back with doctor Tom Cooper in a moment, Welcome back.
Great to be back with you, and we're going to
keep our analysis of the budget going. Delighted to have
doctor Tom Cooper from Memorial University. Among the many things
(12:08):
he does, Tom is a business strategy professor and looks
at global business and Tom looking at this budget. One
of the things that both the Prime Minister and the
Finance Minister are talking about our efforts they're making in
the budget to attract global investment and to compete directly
(12:30):
with the US. They've talked about having this super charge,
productivity tax cut and benefits in there, and a lot
of it deals with how the federal government would deal
with the development of new facilities manufacturing and how they
would record expenses there marginal tax rate. Can you take
(12:54):
us through these things too as best you can and
talk about what the attempt is here and what they
may actually do in terms of attracting business to Canada.
Speaker 5 (13:06):
It's Tim so I'm excited by this kind of stuff.
This is nerdy stuff, but it's this whole budget. I
would describe it as more form over fireworks, so less
stuff to get people, maybe super interesting, but when you
start to dive into it is really exciting. So the
budget is really trying to shift Canada's economy from what
I call credit card type of issues, so consumption, real
(13:29):
estate growth, to productivity, innovation, industrial competitiveness, so kind of
stuff you can put mortgages on. So it's very kind
of long term. Part of that long term is, as
you mentioned, is new capital investment, tax incentives, workforce attraction measures,
and then industrial and artificial intelligence, innovation sports. Now, if
(13:51):
I'm listening.
Speaker 6 (13:51):
To this, I'm going, oh god, Tom is going on about.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
Kind of super nerdy things. But what does that actually mean.
So that means is, first of all, they set US
billion dollars to attract high skilled workers, including engineers, advanced
manufacturing technicians, AI specialists, and applied scientists. So and they're
really targeting their integrations streams. The US has cut off
(14:14):
basically a lot of immigration and work saying hey guys,
we want our heye people. Sorry, it's in general we
want people to come in now where tach the super
deduction is and you've got to read a little bit
of budget to find that, but it basically allows an
organization or company to write off their new capital investments
more quickly. So what that means if you have a
(14:37):
new plant, construction, expansion, industrial equipment, it's basically tag free,
which is super exciting, or at least you can do
it much much quicker. And that's different than the budgets
we've had in the past before, So it's very much
You know, this changes the math for companies thinking about
building and expanding in Canada. As you alluded to, it
(14:58):
makes investing in have to be cheaper and faster, and
that's why it's really based around superproductivity.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
Yeah, and as I understand it, you can correct me
if I'm wrong, but what I've read to data about this,
it would make our marginal effective tax rate for corporations
the lowest in the G seven. Again, if you can
explain that as best you can, Why does that matter?
Why do companies want to invest in G seven countries?
(15:28):
What is the benefit they get from doing that? Just
take us through that, Tom.
Speaker 5 (15:34):
Yeah, company's want to do two things. Sim and my
make it really simple. They want to make profit and
they want to pay less docs and taxes alluded to profit. Now,
if you spend a lot of money and you can
write that off your taxes because you're building something that's
a new building or a new investment that's going to
help the Canadian economy, well then you just suddenly made
(15:57):
more profit. So it makes Canada way more as a
place to come and set up shop and make investments
and especially research and development, which is really the future
of our economy. And once again it's investing rather than spending.
And I think that's the best way us thinking about
(16:17):
it and allows you once again, I build a building
for say one hundred million dollars that's going to improve
I don't know fish craft manufacturing is going to complete
the productivity. Well, traditionally you'd be allowed to write that
off maybe in six seven years. Now you can do
it potentially in one or two or a much shorter
(16:39):
time period. That's attractive to companies.
Speaker 2 (16:42):
An important to note. One of the criticisms that Mark
Karney did have of business and I think still does,
and this comes from days at the Bank of Canada,
was they were sitting on too much money. He's obviously
thought about how to do this for a long time.
Got to get your take on this, Tom, because again
Carney's mantra is invest more, spend less. One of the
(17:03):
things that was also announced was measures to encourage investment
include a two billion dollars for a critical Mineral Sovereign Fund,
which will help unlock natural resources that are crucial for
the development of new technologies. The details we don't know
in broad, in broad mannery, or in specific manner. Yet
(17:24):
critical minerals certainly something new Finland and the Labrador is
looking to get into. What do you interpret that to
be and the opportunity it presents.
Speaker 5 (17:33):
I would imagine is that they'll be God might be
put aside, especially to unlock some of the infrastructure that
you're going to need to access these critical minerals. Some
of them are in No I'm not a geologist him,
but if it's like most minerals, they're not easy to access.
They could be up in Canada's North, they could be
even in the central and you find Labrador it's difficult
(17:56):
to access. Mining requires signific against significant capital investment, building dutchess,
building roads to get there, but also digging, sampling, all
those sort of things. So I see it as government
company mining companies specifically maybe be able to access some
of that funds where government is basically acting as a partner,
(18:18):
then they can go into the private section amazing and
more money.
Speaker 2 (18:22):
One of the big headline items that is relevant for
business but also for consumers potentially is the government in
the budget is not fully declarative on the fact that
it will end the industrial emissions cap, but it is
pretty close to being so saying it will end the
industrial emissions cap if organizations, corporations, and the regional jurisdictions
(18:49):
can find an appropriate industrial carbon pricing mechanism. Is this
a better approach than what was there before? Tom? And why?
Why is this construction helpful for increasing investment?
Speaker 5 (19:04):
I think, once again, Tim, this is kind of a
long term play rather than a short term play. Short
term you would just say, Okay, well we're going to
keep a cap, we're going to regulate it, we're going
to make sure companies to only produce a specific amount.
If you go to put a price on carbon where
it can be traded, where it can be a market,
(19:27):
where it can be basically valuable, because you're trading it
back and forth, and where you're trading the credits back
and forth. Then you're creating a market solution to what
right now is a regulatory problem. It's worked in other jurisdictions.
It's still slow to take on because it's hard in
terms of the pricing and the markets and what do
(19:50):
you do with it and all what sort of thing.
So I would say that I'm excited by it, but
I'm excited in the long term in terms of what's
going to look like because in terms of productivity and
what it means for specific companies. You mean, it's easier
almost to have the camp because they know that's how
much they're allowed. But in terms of trying to address
(20:12):
this as a long term problem, I think that the
market solution is better.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
Last one for you, A lot made of the infrastructure investment.
We've seen infrastructure investments of great significance before hearkening back
to the financial crash in eight HA put a lot
of money on the table then for infrastructure investment. I
heard somebody from the Canadian Construction Association today say this
(20:38):
is a wise move. Your take on what the infrastructure
investment the government lays out may do for our overall
economy and creating opportunity.
Speaker 5 (20:52):
I'm excited by tim because we have If you look
at the Canada's infrastructure scorecard, we have very low on
a lot of our infrastructure, especially in roads, water and sewer, etc.
There's a lot of infrastructure that was put in place
in the nineteen seventies effectively, and now that's been slowly deteriorating.
It's just showing its age as well as the age
(21:15):
accelerating because of climate change. So ultimately this could be
a really interesting strategic opportunity to build the Canada of
the future. The negative side though, is like anytime you
have all these different projects, there's only so many skilled
trades workers out there, and there's only so much capital
(21:37):
out there, and there's only so many projects. And that's
the negative part of it, is that if you have
five of these projects all at once, then you increase
your cost significantly because they're basically fill trades. People are
going to be up to the auction and they'll go
to wherever they get paint the most, and so this
is the problem. As a supplying demand.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Appreciate the time and the inside time, because I think
I'll a lot of this got dropped yesterday and we
haven't had time to go into it in detail. This
is really helpful. Thank you for joining us today. I
always appreciate it.
Speaker 5 (22:08):
Always appreciate as well.
Speaker 6 (22:09):
Tim, have a great day of thanks.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
All right, take care. That's doctor Tom Cooper, Memorial University
Business Strategy, International Business Experts. You heard his feedback on
some of the measures that are in the budget. When
we come back, enough is enough, Happy Valley Goose Bay officials,
residents want to take back their community. We'll talk to
the MCHA for Lake Melville about all of this when
we return on the Tim Power Show. Borrowing from Sean
(22:36):
Ridgeley's story in the Telegram of today, the sub headline
says Happy Valley Goose Bay officials and government are at
their wits and dealing with crime in the town. Pledge
urgent action. Diving into the story, Sean writes, falling a
rash of fires suspected to be caused by ourson and
Happy Valley Goose Bay. Recently, a public safety meeting was
held on November first to show solidarity and hear the
(23:00):
concerns of the residents. Among those in attendance for a
Labrador m P Philip Earl and mh A Keith Russell,
representing the first time that both of them had been
seen together in the town. Both stressed the importance of
collaboration at all levels of government and community in order
to make progress. Joining us is Keith Russell, the newly
(23:24):
elected MHA for Lake Melville. Keith, congratulations on your election.
Tell us about this meeting, but first about how people
are feeling in Happy Valley Goosebee. I've never got such
a sense of unease and anxiety coming out of that community.
Speaker 7 (23:43):
Well, firstly, thanks there, Tim, I'm glad to be back
in the role. People are feeling hopeful, yep. Still they're
feeling I guess stress realities in our communities, you know,
the crime rates, some of the things we're so people
are very very receptive to this rally, this public As
(24:07):
you had said, I believe it was the first time
that we've seen mayor complete with counsel, the MP, the
MFA and in a public forum where we let people
come up and share their thoughts, share their ideas. And
it was an excellent, excellent meeting overall, it really was.
Speaker 2 (24:24):
And now if I remember this correctly and correct me
where I get this wrong, Keith, But think the new
premiere mister wakem had promised that there would be a
regional specific addiction center, plus also talked about increasing policing
resources across the province. When I mean it takes time
(24:47):
to do both. When might some of those things begin
to happen?
Speaker 7 (24:52):
Well, in terms of the policing numbers, the work commitments
made already, some of that was on their way, I believe.
In terms of officers in Lake Marvell, I think we
all give space. The three have been processed, two are
still in transit. I think that is the number. But
(25:13):
even at those levels, Tim the indications given from policing
on the ground or saying there is no way to
achieve twenty four hour coverage with the numbers, even with
that plus five, so there's still work to be done
and still evaluation that has to take place.
Speaker 2 (25:27):
I mean, this is fascinating and frightening. Keith again, I'm
reading from the story, and I'll just read this for
the broader audience. You already know it, but says the
town is listed as three hundred and seventy seven point
five on the Crime Severity Index scale, placing it in
the most serious category for crime in Canada. In comparison,
that same index for Newfoundland and Labrador in twenty twenty
(25:50):
four is listed as eighty nine point three. I mean
this is obviously a multifaceted problem, Keith. What do you
say to the rest of the province about, you know,
buying in and helping here. What what can be done
outside of Happy Valley goog Spay to help Happy Value
Goose Spae.
Speaker 7 (26:11):
Well, I think the directive that comes from Premier Wakens
is simply that we have to as m AHAs, no
matter what your role is with our with our party,
you have to go back and this this should be
a message to ms from from all parties uh something
such as as crime and public safety. It transcends any
parties in politics at all. So it's about engaging your
(26:33):
your your municipalities, about engaging your mayor engaging your council.
MHAs should be there to partner with them. Is to
go out and every community is going to be different.
And I tell you what Lake Mevel's and do Spay
is certainly going different. So it's we're tasked with calling it, liaising,
starting that communication, building those relationships and then eventually getting
(26:55):
to a talk which is going to be specific to
each community about appropriate resource outations and what can be
done to see positive outcomes in terms of the needs
in our communities. So it's it's up upon each MHA.
I mean, we have to be very serious now, we're
not proud of those numbers and goosepay I tell you that.
And provincially we've done a lot of work to what
(27:17):
we've done is we have we've shown that we're given
that show of solidary community if if you get my drift,
so with the MP of the MHA, the mayor of
the council, it's those established establishing that that this is
the this is the line in the sands. We are
here now the communication lines are open. We are taking
our stand together. We are we are acknowledging the issues
(27:41):
and giving the community the respect it deserves by acknowledging
those and then we're saying that the doors are open.
We need public input. Everybody's got to be vigilant, we
need to be creative. We need to go back to
our councils, to our mayors, and our councils need to
go back to start to look at their own bylines.
If there's way of strengthening they're involved. We've got to
look at, yes, resources financial and otherwise to put into
(28:04):
these communities as well. Well. It's time to reclaim our communities.
I think Tim bide by getting those citizens on you know, uh,
you know how I look at the whatever you call it,
citizens on patrol or taken you know, with that take
back to night time and mentality that we've seen with
some organizations. It's about it's not always about throwing money
(28:26):
at a problem. I think we've seen, you know, through
the last couple of decades, we've seen everything get worse
and we're still throwing resources out, but we're not getting
the results we need.
Speaker 6 (28:36):
So now it's about doing something.
Speaker 7 (28:38):
Different, being creative, working together, not letting parties and politics
get in the way, and reclaim the beauty that was
that sense of community that we've had in other community
in past decades where everybody helped everybody. You know, there
was always never we were never one hundred percent free
of crime, and we always had those one or two
(28:58):
anomalies in your in your town, but we were never
at a point where people were afraid to come out,
Seniors are afraid that somebody's going to come through the door.
We've never been there. This is the worst it's been.
But we've got to stay positive, we've got to become
more organized than we've ever been, and we've got to
let people know that we're on this. We're going to
be I met with the premier on this today. We
(29:21):
had a very long talk about my specific district, but
what's going on we'll do and how we're going to
get everybody marching together, polling otors if you will, at
all levels of government and involving the town. Anybody who
wants to throw it any ideas or participate in that.
That was the part of that was the point of
our rally, to give that microphone to people from all
(29:42):
walks of life and say, come join us and take
them back our communities.
Speaker 2 (29:47):
I mean, look, I think I've said this to you
in person, I'll say it on the radio, and people
know this about me and our families experience in Labrator.
One of the things I've always admired, particularly about Happy
Valley Goose Bay, is that sense of community and loyalty
and commit and family that I'm sure still exists there.
Last question is this, Keith, do you worry then with
(30:07):
this number and the concerns that people have that you're
going to have trouble at both attracting people to the community,
and even some longtime residents may leave because they don't
feel safe anymore. How worried are you about those things?
Speaker 7 (30:22):
Those are always, of course in the back of your mind.
But I'm going to put it this way, Tom, I'm hopeful,
I'm not going to be worried about it. I'm going
to make sure that we trend these concerns pour away
and we take control of this because, like I said,
it's time to draw that line and sand, it's time
to say no more. We've had enough. We're taking back
our communities. We're going to get organized. We're going to
(30:43):
involve every level of government. We're going to reach out
to the community, and we're going to have people get
together on a regular basis, and we're going to let
people know that the criminal element and all the negative
things in our communities, they're the minority, and that we're
not going to take it anymore as civil as.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
That all right, Well, we will continue to watch this
and give voice to all the efforts that are being
made there. Keith, thanks thanks for joining us today. Good
luck in your return to the House of Assembly. Appreciate
the time.
Speaker 7 (31:10):
All right, thanks so much, Tim, You have yourself.
Speaker 2 (31:12):
Great day, all right, you two. That is Keith Rustle,
the new MAHA for Lake Melville. Of course he served
in that role before. And this is a big issue
in Goosebay, not just in Goose Pay, but certainly you
saw that crime index number. It is. It is frightening.
And somebody who has a great admiration for that community
and spend a lot of time there, I worry about
(31:33):
it too, all right. I know somebody who is not
too admiring of the federal budget, and I wonder what
he would do if he were the federal NDP leader.
Maybe I'll ask him. Oh wait, it's our friend jimmed In. Jim,
congratulations as well for getting re elected and leading the NDP.
Speaker 8 (31:53):
LO.
Speaker 2 (31:53):
And behold, you're back to work right away looking at
this federal budget, your initial thoughts on it and what
you see in it or don't see, and that that
has raised your ire.
Speaker 6 (32:05):
Well in many ways, I'll say this one of it didn't.
It hasn't made cuts to the school lunch program or
dental care, which will continue. However, I'm concerned about the
fact that it doesn't seem to have in there by
expanding pharmacare, and that I think that was that was
(32:27):
a missopportunity by this problem is to get on board
with that. Uh and the previous deliberals didn't didn't sign on.
I would hope that the PCs here reach out and
see about having it if it's possible to have that
extended to new Land Labrador. And I'm just thinking about
the number of people here suffering from diabetes and that
(32:50):
who could well, who could well make use of that.
I know a number of people who are struggling well
not only put food unsailable to for prescription medicine. So
I understand the budget and that this is a budget
about I guess what they call it Canada strong about
(33:10):
in response to the what the events that are going
on in the States and the possible threats to our sovereignty.
But there is a concern here that is going to
leave some people at a disadvantage the other. With regards
to the job cuts to the federal the public service,
(33:32):
we all talk about government needs to be smaller, and
we te I heard the term right sizing. I guess
comes down to what does right sizing mean exactly. It's
like if I were to ask you Tim how many
lifeboats should be on board a ship.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
Jim, I would tell you I don't have a goddamn clue.
At least one, I would start with one, but they're
probably a bigger number than that.
Speaker 6 (33:54):
Well, I would argue that it would really depend on
the number of people who are on that boat, right, Yeah,
picking a number of the head. So I guess what
I'm saying here is that this is this, this is great.
I guess you know, if they're looking at cutting a budget.
But when I go to call or when someone goes
to call for seeking for help, whether it's getting EI
O as anything along those lines, is there are there
(34:17):
going to be enough people there? Like the more the
fewer people you had to do the job, the more
work they're going to do, and the less, I don't know,
less efficient we become. So those are and the job
because will they affect new flannel aby or more have
a greater impact here, So that that's the concern. So
I think about who you know, mean, they got a
(34:38):
few questions to ask here, and who's going to determine
which jobs get cut and where do they get cut?
So that's the first those two things housing is the
other one twenty five billion over five years, and I
know that works five billion a year, let's say. But
we are listening to Doug pass on this about you know,
in terms of what's the opportunity new plan be able
(35:01):
to cash in that available these funds will come, what
comes to providing the operational grants needs for more non
market community housing or are we going to be looking
at I guess more profit driven measures which don't always
result in affordable housing. There was a report we released
a few months ago Annex Consulting talked about the fact
(35:24):
that Newfland Labrador, when it comes to more non market
community based housing and deeply affordable housing supportive housing, it
probably has the lowest lowest percentage of all the provinces.
I think point three is compared to four percent national leverage.
So we know that in the time and you've flready
heard me speak to this before. Since twenty nineteen, the
(35:46):
number of shelters have emergency housing shelters increased and we
spent four million in twenty nineteen to fourteen million. So
those are the other things. And then there's the issue
around climate change and the custom integration. There are some
challenges here that are they're going to have significant impacts
on us.
Speaker 2 (36:05):
I have to ask you about this because in your
platform you talked about fiscal your prevention platform, you talked
about fiscal responsibility, getting the balance budget, managing deficits. You
have concerns about the seventy eight billion dollar deficit or
is that the reality of the time given the public
spend that is needed.
Speaker 6 (36:29):
Well, you can, you can always it is a concern.
But in the end, in cutting and solving a physical deficit,
do you create a human resources deficit? Do you create
an infrastructure deficit? You create a health deficit? Like in
the end, like we're going to and I believe this,
We're going to pay for this one way or the other.
(36:50):
So where do we choose cut? There is that illusion
sometimes that we're saving money when't actually we've become that sufficient.
The other thing is when we look at the I
know people like to compare the the budget to like
a household budget. Well, how a household and a country
or two different things. But I think we've got to
(37:12):
look at making sure that in the process of making
Canada strong, that we don't actually download uh this on
people and make communities weaker and and put more people
in the poverty. I heard one. I don't know whether
they can. Public service worker is great, who can we
if you're looking at early retirement, the question is who
(37:33):
can afford to retire in this economy? And that's the
other thing, so we can. Yeah, it is troubling, and
in our budget we did try to say, okay, here's
without making cuts, but here's what you can live within
our means. And as you can see, it was a
budget that was practical or a platform that was practical.
But that's reality, right.
Speaker 2 (37:55):
I got to ask you about this before I let you.
Speaker 6 (37:57):
It's a good question.
Speaker 2 (37:58):
Yep, thank you. I try to get won every interview.
I'm noting my my batting percentage is not as good
as Laddies. This this one you can speak to, though
you don't have a say in this. So uh. There
is a sense that this is the NDPR and an
interesting predicament. And you know Don Davies, you know a
lot of the other six MP's that are there. There's
(38:20):
a frustration in the NDP party that in the previous
regime under mister Singh, there was too much support of
the liberals that hurt the federal NDP at the polls.
But in the same vein there are things you just
mentioned dental care, pharmacare that the the NDP fought for
child care. How difficult is it going to be for
(38:41):
the NDP to find a way either to abstain from
this or vote for it. What's your take on that?
Speaker 6 (38:49):
I don't know if you can, That's that's a question
that I had to ask myself phone order dating the
Churchill Falls mlu and I knew like we're like where
Jordan had to vote on this, and I have my doubts,
but I abstention did come into my mind. But I
really quickly realized, you no, I don't get paid. I
get paid in here to make a decision. And and
(39:12):
it's difficult, that is, to make that decision in the
best in the best interests. So it's going to be
a tough decision in the end. As I said, there
are there are There is money for housing. It's questions
how is that money going to be spent? Isn't enough?
There is money there for the continued the dental program
and the school lunch program, but we also needed and
(39:33):
over the parmature, So there is that mixture there. But
and there is a like you look at the infrastructure
development and and part of me understands too that let's
let's call a spade a spay. We're in this predicament
because we've got a very unpredictable neighbor to the south,
and uh and we're bought us trying to uh trump
(39:54):
proof our economy. Uh and and and and and and
and come out of this uh strong ourselves. But my
thing is that we do not in the end, in
our in our efforts to I guess cut the deficit
that we don't also download this responsibility and people who
(40:15):
can least support it. So I don't know. It's a
tough place to be in, but I guess you got
a way to balance. And I avoid this thing about
supporting liberals or PCs. I know ourselves here we have
voted for things that are a good idea. It doesn't
matter like we've when the m OU it wasn't about
supporting liberals. It was about at this point in time,
(40:37):
supporting the process. Didn't matter who was there. Of the
times we've been on side with the PC, so we
have done our best to make sure we look at
this insues based thing and how it aligns with our
own with our own I guess ideology and politics, but
we've got to get away from there, like you know
this is a good deal, then you vote for it
instead of turning into this as your previous color talk book,
(41:00):
the partisan politics and it starting like you're voting because
I've had that thrown at me. Are you're voting with
the liberals? Are you're supporting No, I'm not. If I
look at something here, then we've been on I to
odds with both PCs and they're both time and supporting
them and others. Right, So, but it's it's a tough decision.
I wouldn't want to be in there.
Speaker 2 (41:19):
Well you if Don Davis calls him, you can call.
You can give them that advice. All right. I got
to leave it there. Jim, nice to talk to you.
Speaker 6 (41:25):
Thank you appreciate it, Take care, bye bye.
Speaker 2 (41:28):
All right. That is Jim din an l NDP leader.
When we come back, the executive director of Quadrangle NL
about an exciting opening of their facility, a new community space.
I should say back with that in a moment here
on The Tim Power Show.
Speaker 1 (41:44):
The Tim Power Show shoing the conversation weekday afternoons at
four pm on your vocm.
Speaker 2 (41:50):
Only a few minutes to tell this important stories. We're
going to get right at it. If you don't know
what Quadrangle NL is, I will tell you. It's the
only charitable new phil organization in Newfoundland built to bring
together two s LGBTQI plus people and organizations in Newfoundland
and Labrador into a dedicated shared space where resources, ideas
(42:12):
and support can be exchanged. Joining us is the executive
director of Quadrangle Cult. Pol A t. Cult. How are
you today?
Speaker 8 (42:23):
I'm Will Tim?
Speaker 7 (42:24):
How are you?
Speaker 2 (42:25):
I am budgeted out, so it's nice to talk about
something else unrelated to the federal budget. And I won't
even ask you about the federal budget. I am looking
at this great picture of sixteen Forests Road and your
new special soft opening celebration that you're going to have
of a new community space. Tell us about that. Cult.
Speaker 8 (42:49):
Yeah, So we were originally at three thirty Elizabeth Avenue
as part of the Saint James United Church here in
Saint John's And you know, over the past year that
we've been for the past two years we've been, we
grew and we got a lot bigger than we were
when we first moved in. As I think every nonprofit
charity starts out as and this new space at sixteen
for Ut Road that we've just you know, started settling
(43:11):
into is going to be our new hub for the
queer and trans community for you know, Saint John's, and
we hope that we'll eventually expand and support folks across
the province.
Speaker 2 (43:19):
You are in the neighborhood where I grew up. It
is a great spot where you're going in. I think
I know precisely where sixteen Forrest Road is. Just for
people who maybe don't understand why is it important to
have your own community space cult, I think it's.
Speaker 8 (43:35):
Really important people to understand that, like the community space
we offer is a place where queer and trans folks
can come and just be. There's no extra explanation someone
has to give, there's no reasoning someone has to provide.
It's just a space where you come in.
Speaker 6 (43:49):
It's yours.
Speaker 8 (43:50):
You can hang out with us, you can enjoy some
time and play around on our game, with our games
and our systems. You can just chat with our staff,
meet with our folks, or even just have a bite
to eat and just join the library space that we're
setting up. It's truly what folks want to use it
for is what we're trying to build the space to be.
Speaker 2 (44:07):
Yeah, I say, you had a great name there, come
to the quad. I think that's awesome. When is the
soft opening and who can go? And I think, more
importantly to many people, you're going to have refreshments there
cult you will always get people when you have refreshments.
Speaker 6 (44:23):
Yes, I'm going to have snacks.
Speaker 8 (44:24):
So we had a very light soft opening today where
we had a few of our close community partners come
in and just see the space and see how we're
planning on using it. We're still trying to like clean
up you know, the moving jitters with the boxes everywhere,
on the painting we have to get done. But on
Friday morning from nine to twelve, we're just kind of
treating it as an open house. Folks who are interested,
who want to learn more, who want to meet, to
(44:44):
commute our staff at the first time, or you know,
just see what we've done in the past little while,
are welcome to come by. It's that sixteen Forest Road.
Come on inside, take the elevator up to the third floor.
You'll find us, I promise, And yeah, we're going to
have some snacks and treats, some coffee. It's just a
time for a few folks who want to come in
and see what the space looks like and to meet
some people who are going to be running out of it.
Speaker 2 (45:06):
Great part of town. As I said, I'm partial to
the East End. Colt, gotta leave it there. Thank you for.
Speaker 8 (45:11):
Three cafes from here, my friend, I love.
Speaker 2 (45:12):
It all right. Well, we don't want to get the
West end and the rest of the province. Mada's gotta
leave it there, Colt. Great to talk to you. Thank you,
no worries.
Speaker 4 (45:21):
Have a great day.
Speaker 2 (45:22):
Tim, all right, take care. Colt pullet Tie, the executive
director of Quadrangle. That's our show for today. Thank you
to Claude. That back tomorrow with more of the Tim
Power Show.
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