According to the Globe and Mail, Danny has decided that Newfoundland will be expropriating Abitibi assets, including all hydro electricity rights from the generating station at Star Lake, as well as all timber rights to forests on Crown land.
I know this will cause a lot of people on the mainland to scream and shout about how this is just another example of heavy handed Danny stepping in where he should not, and while I am not one of his biggest fans, I am not sure I can condemn him here.
Maybe because I am too close to the issue emotionally, that is my hometown. I don't want to see it die.
What is really going on here? Some say the Abitibi created a deal the workers couldn't accept- they wanted to shut the mill down. Others say the workers would not negotiate.
When the mill was operating in Grandfalls it was given timber and power rights- and in exchange the mill employed thousands of people over the years. They don't access to those assets anymore, because they closed the mill. So the use of those leased assets should now revert back to the province.
Maybe I am just failing into the big bailout frame of mind. Bail out Wall street. Bail out banks. Bail out the big three. Bail out my home town. Heck why not?
I do not have all the facts- I know that. And yes, I am allowing sentiment to cloud my judgment.
I guess I just want the people back home to have a chance at starting something new. A chance at starting fresh.
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