Newfoundlanders Feel Hard Done by: Royal Commission BREAKING NEWS POSTED AT 2:53 PM EDT Wednesday, Jul. 2, 2003 Globe and Mail Update A royal commission urged Wednesday the building of a "a new effective relationship" between St. John's and Ottawa, one that will help bring prosperity back to a province that feels hard done by Confederation. The voluminous report ruled out a reopening of the Terms of Union that brought Newfoundland into Canada in 1949, but it also warned that the status quo is increasingly unacceptable to Newfoundlanders. "The issue of separation is not a priority for the large majority of people in the province," the report says. "[But] Newfoundlanders and Labradorians do not believe that the province has yet found its full place in Canada." The report notes that the province brought great natural resources into the country when it joined, but barely a half-century later finds itself mired at the bottom of Canadian provinces, with high unemployment, low income and a declining population. The reason for this, the commission believes, is decades of managing Newfoundland resources for the benefit of others. "Newfoundlanders and Labradorians have been on the end of a powerful set of circumstances, unique in the country, that places the province in a very disadvantageous position," the report says. Mentioning hydroelectric resources, oil and fish specifically, the authors argue that "Canada is not meeting the expectations of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians." The authors of the 224-page report, written after 14 months of research and interviews, recognize that many will be skeptical that these problems can be solved by building a new federal-provincial relationship. But they argue that the political scene in Canada is at a propitious moment for such a change. "At the federal level, three of the opposition party leaders are relatively new in their mandates, and a new Prime Minister will be in office by February, 2004. By that time, as many as seven provinces could have newly mandated governments. Therefore, at the same time as the people of Canada are asking for significant change, there will be revitalized leadership with the opportunity to respond." Premier Roger Grimes welcomed the report, saying that it "will add tremendous weight and credibility" to his government's dealing with Ottawa. "The time is ripe for us to reflect with other Canadians on the kind of Canada we need. There are exciting possibilities ... for creating a new kind of Canada." Source: Globe and Mail Back to the Wigwam ©2003 - 2008 KMA - Ktaqamkuk (Taga-ma-goog)Mi'kmaq Alliance   Hosted by Your Community, Online!