The Throne Speech Truth Serum

 

Sometimes when you speak, you disclose more than you intend. 

 

Take today’s provincial 2013 Throne Speech. 

 

In addition to revealing where the path ahead is veering, 

Government also highlighted where there are huge issues.

 

Well, when you are at the provincial helm for close to a decade,

you get full credit for the path you left behind; 

Or in this government's case, for the mess they have left behind.

 

Today, injected with a little Throne Speech Truth Serum, Government admitted that ...

1. They allowed the public sector growth to get out of control.  In their own words Newfoundland and Labrador’s public sector costs are greater than our economy can afford or sustain.   
2. They spent more on public sector than any other province.  In their own words ... This province’s public sector spending per capita is the highest of any province
3. They screwed up on the price of oil leaving less ching ching in government coffers.  In their own words ... From Alberta to Ottawa and beyond, all jurisdictions heavily reliant on oil revenues have suffered large reductions to their bottom lines this year because oil prices have tracked far lower than the markets projected
4. They failed to diversify the economy. In their own words ... We must diversify away from an overreliance on oil if we are to put our economy on a solid, sustainable footing
5. They failed to live within their means.  In their own words ...  We have to live within our means and continue to set clear and responsible priorities. 
6. They have not been prudent managers of our taxdollars. In their own words ...This is the prudent time to take on the challenge of focusing on critical priorities, streamlining our public sector accordingly and zeroing in on the initiatives that place our province’s economy on a solid, sustainable footing for the decades to come
7. They have not set sound priorities since 2003. In their own words ... The path forward is about setting sound priorities.
8. They have not been innovative in their thinking since 2003. In their own words ... ... The path forward is also about innovation – about finding new and more-effective ways of achieving our goals.
9. They have not had a Sustainability Plan until now!  In their own words ... This Sustainability Plan will guide our approach moving forward. It is a fresh approach to governance, with a clear focus on the people we serve, the priorities we stand by, the results we need to achieve, and the path that will get us there.
10. They have not been spending smartly in health care. In their own words ... We are convinced there are ways to spend our health care investments more effectively to maintain and improve the quality of frontline services while increasing the value we get for these investments.
11. Their greatest achievement in the development of our fisheries is the give-away of our resources.  In their own words ...  After several months of intensive negotiation, the province and Ocean Choice International reached an agreement to reopen the Fortune fish plant to process its unutilized yellowtail quota. This agreement will return a minimum of 110 workers to the plant when the retrofit is complete and secure an additional 126 year-round harvesting jobs.

So it seems that Bill 29 cannot silence all Government information.

Sometimes, an innocent psychoactive medication known as the Throne Speech exposes all government's inner truths.

Today's Throne Speech could have been simplified to one truthful line.

We have achieve little, but we NOW have a plan ... after 10 years.

The Truth sometimes hurts,
but it is better than the platitudes and deception contained in the rest of this year's Throne Speech; and the past decade of Tory goverance.