Lately, I noticed that many visitors are visiting this site because they are searching Frank McKenna's picture in image google.
My website site shows up on the very first page.
I haven't receive an email from Frank and I wish he would send me something so I can say that he does communicate with the public. < just like the good old days > Here's what I wrote months ago that appears in Google. Just click below-
target="_blank">Charles
Blog
6 comments:
Maybe you'll hear from him now, woth all the talk of hin re-entering the Political Arena ?
No subject should be outside the realm of debate in a democratic society.
January 22, 2006
The Integrity Challenged #2 -&- Whistleblower, Alan Cutler
Irving Power in Have-Not NB, has spoken
The Irving's Daily Gleaner which pretends to be a newspaper, published an editorial telling people to vote Liberal; wait another election before changing. IMHO, that will give them adequate time to help put in place a non-scary leader, maybe someone like ....... Frank McKenna? Bernie Lord? Michael Ignatieff? ..... Whatever.
The object is that you poor Maritimers vote for more of the same corruption and gerrymandering, the same diversion and sluicing of what you work hard for, the same tossing your hard-earned tax $$$ for the advantage of those companies which always seem to do well. Oh, yes, and more of the same preferential treatment will go to the right families.
The agreements, the special tax advantages for the family businesses are in place.
And you? Why, the whole thing will continue as usual. You'll just have to work harder because if the Liberals are returned to office, there will be more $$$ shunted and sluiced to the movers and shakers .... why, perhaps even to the Lieberal Party ... again and again and again and again.
It is up to you. Do as the Big Boys and Big Government wish. You have nothing to lose but your freedom.
Hi Charles, here is another article that tells some truth and not afraid to do so about Frankie. It's probably too lengthy though for your site...
Book Review — The Fisher Kings: Canadian Business reviews The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business
Jeff Sanford
writeArticleSource("December 5-25,2005"); From the December 5-25,2005 Issue of Canadian Business Magazine
Sure, the arch-anglo Upper Canadian surnames Thomson and Weston appear (again) in spots one and two on our Canadian Business Rich 100. But energy-challenged Ontario is in decline and the huge levels of oil wealth piling up in Alberta suggest power in this country is going to shift over to the left side of the map in the coming years.
Or has it already shifted the other way? It's now clear that a secret network lurks deep in the social structure of this country--an organization that has successfully extended its influence into the corporate boardrooms of the nation and the halls of Parliament, and that may someday even find its way into the Prime Minister's Office. And it comes from the East.
That's the lesson, anyway, in a new book by veteran Canadian business journalist Gordon Pitts, The Codfathers: Lessons from the Atlantic Business Elite, (Key Porter; $38.95).
As the title suggests, there's a Maritime Mafia on the loose in this country. It includes such imposing names as the Irving and the McCain families, of course, but they are just the tip of this Labradorian iceberg. Other members of the cabal include John Risley of Clearwater Seafoods, Ron Joyce of Tim Hortons fame, and Nova Scotian John Bragg, operator of a massive blueberry production ring. Also in on the deal are Richard Currie, the well-respected former manager of Loblaws; Purdy Crawford, who maintains his cover as the governance guru of Bay Street; and the ceremonial kingfish of the clan, Frank McKenna, Canadian ambassador to Washington and an oft-mentioned replacement for Paul Martin.
These Codfathers have long tentacles, matey--but there's not much fishy about their success. According to Pitts, the pearl they share is the blunt, tell-it-like-it-is attitude of the East Coast. This is especially true in the case of McKenna, who has impressed Americans with his defence of Canadian interests in the U.S., where direct, forthright discussion is highly respected.
So where do you go to ask a favour of a Codfather? Try any one of their fishing lodges on the Restigouche River, or the stunning 1,000 acres of reclaimed swampland that make up Fox Harb'r Golf Resort & Spa, a Joyce-built bit of luxury that might be considered the Codfathers' informal headquarters. In fact, it was at Fox Harb'r that former U.S. president Bill Clinton spoke to the group in person. Clinton is a favourite of the Codfathers. After all, like them, he managed to scramble his way to the top of the North American economy from Arkansas, another economically challenged area. A Codfather always respects that kind of thing.
If there is one trash fish that Pitts hauls ashore in this book, it's a deal struck between Irving Oil and the city of Saint John, N.B., that will see taxes capped at $500,000 for the 25 years on an LNG terminal Irving is building there. Some have complained Saint John city council is giving the surf 'n' turf buffet away for free--inflation will begin to tip that deal in favour of Irving from Day 2--but you didn't hear it here. We don't want to end up sleeping with the fishes, do we?
Hi Charles. I think we agree on Frankie McKenna in that he's an irving man...here is an article that's old but still very, very important. As we all know the leopard doesn't change its spots. In 1993 he forced a province wide strike of 20000 union members. He had the highway to Moncton paved and fixed because that's where he decided to live during his reign as premier, but what about the highway from Saint John to St. Stephen? All we got in terms of jobs were call centres here in Saint John and no hope for any kind of competition to help set off irving prices for regualtion and job control for the people. The last time I heard from Frankie was when we needed his voice in 2005 to help us with the LNG and what did he do, he campaigned against the Passamaqqoddy Bay LNG,,, to have it passed would have helped regulate LNG in this area but he wants irving to get it ALL, the same as Lord does >
No, we need to tell all we know about this guy past, present and future and blog it for all to see so that when voting time comes we will vote knowing exactly the man we are voting for.
The Militant(logo)
Vol.60/No.5 February 5, 1996
Irving Oil workers continue fight
Striking workers at the Irving Oil refinery in Saint John, New Brunswick, turned down another "final offer." They voted by 82 percent on December 9 to reject the most recent company demands.
The latest contract offer would eliminate the jobs of 55 strikers and offer a "reorientation" program to the other 131. The refinery would rehire those who "successfully complete" the program. It would fire those who, in the words of company general manager Robert Chalmers, "were so bitter from their experience that they would not be productive in the workplace."
All but one of the members of the union executive committee are among those who would lose their jobs.
"There is no seniority or other rationale for the names they picked of those to be fired," explained striker Cathy Dube. "It's union-busting, pure and simple," said Dan Farrer, another striker describing company demands.
The proposed contract would also gut almost every clause in the previous collective agreement. New company regulations would include 22 rules for which a first violation would be grounds for firing. These include the loss or suspension of a drivers license due to an alcohol offense, smoking in a prohibited area of the refinery, and violation of plant safety rules.
Engaging in an argument with a scab who remains employed by the company would also be grounds for firing. The company calls it a "zero tolerance" policy.
The strike began on May 12, 1994. The workers are members of Local 691 of the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada (CEP).
Following the latest vote, Chalmers held the first company press conference since the beginning of the strike to denounce the workers and say that all negotiations with the union were finished. He followed that up with an open letter to all strikers saying, "This note is simply to put on record that some of the terms of the last offer are no longer available." The letter lamented the December 9 vote by workers turning down the company demands even though the executive vice president for Canada of the CEP had strongly recommended a vote in favor.
Frank McKenna, premier of the province of New Brunswick, joined the company chorus on December 20 when he said that he would not intervene to pressure the company to negotiate anew.
The latest company plan was a slightly-modified version of one that strikers rejected by a 90 per cent vote on November 10.
The two votes have angered company officials because, they say, the strike is hurting sales and disrupting Irving Oil's business plans, including its expansion into markets in the U.S. northeast. The union has waged a widely-publicized boycott campaign against Irving Oil products across eastern Canada and in the U.S. state of Maine.
Prior to the November 10 vote, the union told the company that it had dropped opposition to the key issues that provoked the strike, including the company demand to lengthen the work week of shift workers from 37.5 to 42 hours and of day-shift workers to 40 hours. Since the strike began, 48 workers have crossed the picket line and 25 have taken a voluntary severance package. "Picketing and the boycott campaign continues," said union president Larry Washburn. "We're going to hold out as long as it takes to preserve our union."
Bob Miller, member of United Auto Workers Local 980 in Edison, New Jersey; and Roger Annis, member of CEP Local 841 in Montreal, Quebec, contributed to this column.
I remember when Frank McKenna first ran for Premier of New Brunswick. It was when Mr Hatfeild was found to have either traces or, an actual illegal substance in his carry on luggage on the her Majesty's Plane. because he was an embarrassment to the Province and as a result of this, and probably many other things he was defeated by the McKenna Liberals. When McKenna and his was first elected as the governing party in the Province it seemed that it was a breath of fresh air. However after a short period and especially in his second term he turned just like a leaf in the fall of the year. and drove this province into such a debt that the NB voters became somewhat displeased with his administration and quickly voted him out of office. Now we have Mr. Lord is the Premier and he and his Government has to clean up the Mess of the liberals. No matter who we have running the Province there are still going to be those who will bark rant rave and complain about something. This has been the way things have gone. And I understand this because the only time most people speak out is at election time. Well if we vote we have a right to say something when we are not happy with the status quoe. not just at election time. but many people don't vote and still they rant rave and complain about stuff they are not correctly informed about on many issues. I think that it is time that we stop blaming the government for everything and read into the party's policy and mandate or, agenda that they are putting forth to the voting public. I am also keenly aware that there are many elected officials who blaitently mislead the voting public into voting for their party. I would not vote for McKenna because he has done nothing for the ordinary person, the Homeless, The low income and the person who just needs to be shown the way to access services to become productive once again to support himself and or his family.
Also just one more thing on this topic. I could be wrong on this statement but wasn't it the McKenna liberals who would not support the Saint John Shipyards and brought in the Call centres. We once had real industry that was second to none in the North America if not the World. Now according to Mr. Lamrock we have some kind of industry but it is by far not as beneficial as the Shipyards were
Post a Comment