Read more Damian

Babble on.

Damian Penny's post today regarding the Churchill Falls fiasco is a must read.

The Globe editorialists actually spin this as an argument that Newfoundland would have been no better off had it not joined Canada, since an independent Newfoundland would have had even less luck in getting a power corridor. They may have a point, though whoever the Prime Minister of Newfoundland would have been at the time, he almost certainly would have been more competent than Smallwood. But the point remains: Newfoundland and Labrador had its best chance to escape the "welfare ghetto", and Ottawa blocked the gate.

Newfoundlanders didn't narrowly vote to join Canada so it could be a second-class province, but that's what happened, at least in this case. And we won't get over it any time soon.

Damian, always the thoughtful commentator, resists the temptation to lay blame, and instead apportions responsibility, not the least to Newfoundlanders. Not many of us would be able to exhibit such balance and perspective on an issue that literally hits so close to home.

Babble off.