Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Harper to Conjure Up NEP Zombie to Buy $850 Million Worth of Nova Scotia Votes

Whooee! Well friends an' foes, things don't get much stranger than this. Stephen Harper's Conservative government is reviving the NEP (National Energy Program). No, I'm not referring to Harper's attempt to equate Dion's Green Shift with the NEP. Harper is actually reviving the NEP itself.

Read about it in the National Post. A tip of the tuque to Impolitical (Oh, how I wish he allowed comments. He'd have about the best blog in Canada.)

From the indispensible Impolitical:

There's likely to be outrage over this one: "Tories set to hand N.S. $850M windfall."

"The Conservative government is set to buy political peace in Nova Scotia with $850-million in taxpayers' dollars."
These funds are recommended settlement moneys from a panel of experts opining on how much Nova Scotia should get for having lost a potential ownership stake in offshore oil and gas projects.
The Crown share issue dates from the 1980s' National Energy Program and has been dormant for 20 years. Under the NEP, Nova Scotia gained a potential ownership stake in energy projects on Canadian lands off its shores. Successive governments have argued that when the NEP was dismantled in the mid-1980s, the Crown share went with it. But Nova Scotia has argued consistently that it should be compensated for loss of potential profits. (emphasis added)
In the wake of Harper messing with the Atlantic Accord last year, in order to save face with Nova Scotia, they agreed to throw in resolving this outstanding issue from the 1980's. This panel has now recommended that Nova Scotia get $850 million in compensation - for something that really was pie in the sky - and based on the Nova Scotia government's inflated numbers.
I reckon this tells everybody just how desperate the Con's are in Nova Scotia. Peter MacKay is lookin' worser and worser while the gal I adore, Earth Mother Lizzie May, keeps lookin' better an' better. Ol' Pete's on the hot seat about a bigass submarine contract that he awarded to a BC outfit. Then there was the Bill Casey fiasco.

Junior MacMoneybags is buying NS votes. Harper is reviving the NEP to make it happen. I wonder what the Alien Alberts think of their boy bringing the zombie NEP back to life in order to give away $850,000,000 to the 'the region that breeds a culture of defeatism.' Poor little Allbertans had to work hard squeezing those millions out of tar sands and now, YoBoy is handing it over to those layabouts for NOT drilling.

JimBobby

5 comments:

Rosie said...

alls i can say is "yikes".

Scott in Montreal said...

This is like an episode of the Brady Bunch.

As his way of saying thanks for the time she didn't cry when Bobby bumped into her and knocked her ice cream cone out of her hand, Mike gives Jan a hotrod car! Mom shakes her head and Alice gasps, but Jan's so chuffed she jumps into her daddy's arms, crying with delight. But before long, the other Brady kids aren't as amused, and when they start to turn on Jan, even Jan herself starts to resent her dad's badass present.

Tune in next week to find out what happens when the Mike realizes he has to mortgage the house to pay for hotrods for the whole family!

JimBobby said...

I'm just waiting for Harper's base to realize what he's up to. Quebec nationhood, reviving the NEP... what's next?

camsax@gmail.com said...

Albertans will likely ignore this story, with their heads planted firmly in the tar sands. To many there, Harper can do no wrong. But...

The income trust fiasco and other boneheaded mistakes by the Cons might eventually add up and have an impact in AB.

Thanks for the great post!

Anonymous said...

I dont see why it is so outrageous to realize that Ottawa did everything it could to screw the provinces during the NEP.

It's high time a prime minister was willing to deal with regional issues instead of protecting a bloated and innefficient central government.

Less Ottawa.