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My Love Affair With Premier Danny Williams |
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Written by D.L. McCracken
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Wednesday, 09 November 2005 |
 Let me clarify - my love affair with the concept of Danny Williams. You can get up off the floor now. Many may disagree with me on this but Newfoundland/Labrador Premier Danny Williams is the coolest provincial leader in Canada. He just can't help it - he's a Newfoundlander and he's damn proud of his province. The difference between Williams and any given provincial premier is the fact that Williams isn't afraid to stand up to the microphone and declare his love and undying support for his fellow Newfoundlanders & Labradorians. Hence my love affair declaration - Danny Williams is one hell of a leader and the day he decides that he's had enough of public life should be the day he starts to teach future premiers the fine art of personable and effective leadership. Call it 'Dannyisms 101'.
The good people of Newfoundland/Labrador have been graced by William's leadership since October 21, 2003 when he led his Conservative party to a majority government and put an end to a long and largely unproductive Liberal rule.
The rest of Canada was formally introduced to Williams during his negotiations with the federal government over Newfoundland's off-shore revenue rights. Paul Martin had promised Newfoundland/Labrador along with Nova Scotia that they would receive 100% of the royalties from offshore drilling - this promise was made during Martin's election campaign. When it was discovered that Martin was not going to honour his promise, Williams stepped up to the plate and demanded that Martin deliver on his commitment.
When a tentative agreement was sent to the Department of Finance, Williams discovered that Minister Ralph Goodale wanted to renegotiate to the detriment of Newfoundland. Frustrated and angry, Williams in December 2004 ordered the removal of all Canadian flags from provincial government buildings in his province saying, "I think what happened was the price of oil hit $45 a barrel and they realized just how much money was going to Newfoundland."
Thus the Great Canadian Flag Flap was born. From across this great land could be heard shouts of encouragement sometimes drowned out by cries of anger. It was at that moment that my love affair with Danny Williams began. Here was a man who felt he and his province had been scorned by the feds and took a stand. It was a gutsy move and Williams instantly became a household name as far away as Nunavut. To be sure, there were lots of naysayers and an abundance of name-calling but mostly from Upper Canada and beyond.
Globe & Mail columnist Margaret Wente wrote in a scathing article, "I like Newfoundlanders. I really do. But their sense of victimhood is unmatched. And their flag protest isn’t winning them much sympathy on this side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In fact, the sensation on this side is of a deep and painful bite to the hand that feeds. Mr. Williams reminds me of a deadbeat brother-in-law who’s hit you up for money a few times too often."
Proves how much Margaret Wente knows. But typical of the reaction from that "side of the Gulf of St. Lawrence". In the end however Williams got exactly what he knew his people deserved and the very thing promised him by Paul Martin - he got his deal. Almost as a side note, Nova Scotia's Premier John Hamm also received a solid deal from Ottawa for their own offshore royalties. Premier Hamm can thank Danny Williams for that. Wonder if he ever did..
So imagine my delight to read in this morning's paper that my hero, Danny Williams was in the news again. Nothing even close to the Flag Flap but now it seems that when Danny speaks, the whole country listens. The headlines earlier today screamed, "Danny Williams Has Plan To Take Over Canada!"
Thinking that it was about time Williams proceeded with his brilliant master plan, I started to read with barely concealed anticipation when the take-over would begin and Danny would lead the charge to claim his rightful place as King of Newfoundcanada and declare St. John's as its capital city. Oh the glory of the new day...Williams spoke of his planned infiltration of Canada by revealing at long last, "When you look over the last 10 years at what the mainland Canadians thought was an out-migration strategy", referring to a decade of perceived out-migration by Newfoundlanders and Labradorians he added, "nothing is further from the truth. That was a deliberate strategy to get 50,000 Newfoundlanders and Labradorians out there to infiltrate Canada and to infiltrate the army."
I was ready to jump up from my chair and chant, "Victory is mine!" as Williams revealed that fellow Newfoundlander, Gen. Rick Hillier was in on the plan from the very beginning. Oh, the dastardly duo...the plan is brilliant in its simplicity.
Of course Williams had to pretend that it was all a joke and I have to give it to him, he had the audience eating out of the palm of his hand and laughing till their sides hurt. "Oh that Danny Williams, he's such a kidder" could be heard from various parts of the room.
And so my love affair with Danny Williams continues. I'll be watching closely over the next several months. He wants you to believe that his decade-long plan for Canadian domination is a joke...but can you really believe that he's joking?
April 1, 2006 is going to be a very interesting day. Newfoundcanada is sounding better and better...time will tell who ends up the fool but I can assure you, it will never be Danny Williams. |
