Tag: governance

This article traces how reputations in Newfoundland politics are recycled and scaled beyond local disputes. It follows Tony Cornect’s shift from MHA to FFTNL president, an oral testimony from Garden Hill showing politicians inserting themselves into industry, and the continuity of influence across offices and generations. The piece then reflects on the very meaning of “kingmaker,” introduced to me in 2016 while working at Le Gaboteur. Finally, it connects these local patterns to global ones: Canada’s selective use of UNDRIP, the role of French consulates in Atlantic Canada as external arbiters, and the Canada–Germany hydrogen deal that crowned Newfoundland as Europe’s energy province without local consent. The article argues that, whether in local halls or international boardrooms, kings are appointed — not elected. Read More...

This article examines how Newfoundland’s politics and activism are shaped less by policy and more by gatekeeping. Using the Port au Port water crisis as a stage, it shows how the Environmental Transparency Committee frames legitimacy through process, how Jeff Todd Young’s career has been carefully groomed across Franco-Jeunes, Mi’kmaw Cultural Foundation, and Liberal nomination, how Tony Wakeham’s silence operates as a deliberate strategy, and how Jasen Benwah leverages Indigenous authenticity as a form of power. The piece argues that reputations in Newfoundland are not won at the ballot box but managed by those who decide who is allowed to speak. Read More...

This article argues that Newfoundland is trapped in a cycle of repetition: crises are framed as opportunities for “resets,” but the language, promises, and outcomes are the same every time. From resettlement and Churchill Falls to Muskrat Falls and the “Big Reset,” the province rehearses the same narratives of crisis and rescue rather than building new strategies. Municipal bailouts reinforce this cycle by rewarding dependence, while centralized politics and performative culture keep institutions weak. The result is stagnation — Newfoundland isn’t moving forward but re-performing the past. The piece closes by linking this cycle to political candidates themselves, setting the stage for the upcoming Kingmaker article. Read More...

This article uncovers how “consultations” in Newfoundland function less as democratic exercises and more as staged performances. Funding streams through ACOA, REDBs, and provincial programs are already aligned with federal agendas, while consultants, dignitaries, and business elites manage the optics. Public surveys and town halls ask not if projects should happen, but how—with dissent delayed or sanitized into minority notes. Petitions stall, reports reframe opposition, and “What We Heard” documents mask predetermined outcomes. The cycle persists because municipalities, underfunded and dependent on external transfers, lack leverage. By exposing this choreography, the piece shows how managed consent substitutes for true debate, leaving communities disempowered under the guise of participation. Read More...

This article explores how Newfoundland’s weak local governance structure has made it an ideal testing ground for global agendas like the Great Reset and Agenda 2030. Drawing on Van Assche’s “local paradox” concept, it shows how a vacuum of strategic direction enables foreign capital, ESG-driven policies, and top-down transformations to bypass real public accountability. The piece highlights how green colonialism, staged consultation, and technocratic control have redefined development in the province, connecting Newfoundland’s geopolitical vulnerability to broader global patterns of depoliticized governance, simulated consent, and elite-led transitions. Read More...